The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part Review

February 7, 2019 at 4:08am
By Jason Stettner

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part takes place almost immediately after the events of the original, it then presents a massive time jump of five years. This is a change in time that resonates throughout as I'm truly surprised it took that long in real time and this is what was presented. That might sound negative, but overall I did generally enjoy this follow-up. It's not quite as great as the original which was a gem, but it was still a good time and it built upon the first one in many ways.

Still, I had generally expected a bit more. I didn't find any of the musical numbers to be particularly charming and they threw the original cast to the side in favor of picking a few key leads. I thought the overall message was charming, true to the first film and meaningful. There was just quite a bit going on, and I would have liked them to focus on other elements instead of what they went for. Still, there are plenty of laughs to be had and so many references to things. It is deep with the layers of comedy and it's nice to see that Batman's (Will Arnett) last adventure was part of the canon.

The animation work was gorgeous here, the wear on the characters and the distinct designs were awesome. They made some really impressive worlds while greatly expanding upon the scope of the original. I'm not sure I'm a fan of how much the LEGO Friends were pushed here, but I get why they did. This film also really centers on the character of Emmet ( Chris Pratt), and his growth as an individual.

There's a lot of self discovery and an interesting change in perspective when he meets a new, more intense friend along the way. We also see Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) in action quite often, with some character changes though she largely doesn't do much in this. I noticed some pacing issues as well, seemed to get slightly slow at various points. That aside, it had the heartwarming elements that we've strangely come to expect after the excellent first film. It just wasn't quite as strong as that one was in terms of getting me excited about blocking building again.

The Conclusion

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is a solid follow-up to the original with new ideas, but it doesn't quite feel like it was worth the wait. That doesn't at all make this a bad experience, it was enjoyable for sure. I laughed quite a bit, maybe even more than others and they had many well done references scattered throughout. I didn't really enjoy the musical numbers in this, with the core one's take on the original theme feeling a bit weak. They were probably trying to get a point across, but I like something good to listen to outside of the film.

They had one moment to be ultra bold, and they just skipped out on it. The animation was absolutely gorgeous, but they didn't really introduce anyone new. There were minor new characters, but you didn't see much development for them and they were rather odd looking. The use of the real world was blended well, a fun element of the last one and just expected here. They maybe went into that too much, but it did have some strong moments. I waited a long time for this, while it wasn't up to my expectations I still felt this had strong moments and delivered a worthy viewing. Also, the Raptors were awesome.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Warner Brothers

Rating Overall: 6.8