The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

[baumer]

Discuss

[Reddroast]

Just as great as the first!

 

A+

[Avatree]

A complete misfire. Everything the original did so well, this one didn't. I liked the songs though. 

D

Edited February 12, 2019 by Avatree

[filmlover]

Nowhere nearly as great as the original movie from 2014 (one of my favorites from this decade) but on par or even slightly better than The LEGO Batman Movie (never saw Ninjago, like everyone else). In the likely event this is the last we get of these movies, it's a fun, witty, and beautifully animated send-off. B

[YM!]

Looking back. I actually like this as much as the first if not slightly worse. While yes, it pales in terms of humor and creativity on the original (admittedly being the 4th theatrical LEGO movie can take a lot of off the person), it’s still fun, witty and a heartfelt film. It also expends on ideals and allows both Emmet and Lucy (who gets much more to do than the first film and arguably a bit better) some solid character development as they face the challenge of maturity.

 

I have been rather mixed on twist villains resurgence in animated films, it worked for Zootopia and Coco, not so much for Moana, Big Hero 6 and Frozen. Rex Dangervest actually works as the surprise twist villain. It not only shows a parallel of a darker Emmet forced to conform and succumbing to his darker instincts but rather the option that Finn finds himself conflicted as he enters adulthood on how he should grow and some of the worst qualities of heroes in media, mistaking self reliance for selfishness and using cruelty instead of compassion, and that all in all cynicism only gets you so far in life as easy as it is. He can be like Rex and close himself off or be like Emmet, learning and accepting life’s full of compromise and accepting other into your heart. It also works as a great parallel to toxic masculinity. 

 

Also Tiffany Haddish slayed in this, her best work since Girls Trip. Stephanie Beatriz and Richard Ayoade also had a few fun moments as new characters go. The musical numbers are vibrant and fun and I’m a Ride or Die Lord/Miller fan. As much as like the characters, kind of felt Benny, Unikitty and Metalbeard didn’t have much to do and Batman reverting back to his shtick is hit and miss. All and all it’s one of the few great animated sequels next to Toy Story 2/3, Shrek 2 (hot take), and Kung Fu Panda 2/Dragon 2. And even though it’s box office looks awful, it’s a great sendoff.

 

A-

Edited February 12, 2019 by YourMother the Edgelord

[Mulder]

I liked this a lot but it sure was annoying what they did with Batman here.

[cookie]

Not as good as the first, can't say it's as fun as Lego Batman, but I do like the lengths the film went and what you can read into what it's saying about gender divides and toxic masculinity.

 

Like Rex Dangervest being a twist villain I saw coming, but what surprised me was how it was carried out (Rex is in reality a version of Emmett from the future that through personal tragedy took everything Wyldstyle said about toughening up to heart and became the nasty end point of what present Emmett thought he wanted to be). I also like how it circled back to Wyldstyle by making herself a victim of said mindset (she's embarrassed over the fact she once had a 'girlier' exterior and tried covering it up), and even ended up propagating it by trying to force Emmett into something he wasn't.

 

I may be the higher budget, but the animation in general felt a lot smoother without being Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks/Illumination-level smooth. The first movie had its bits where it went too far in the "laggy" direction but this one found a nice balance.

Edited February 12, 2019 by cookie

[Avatree]

10 hours ago, YourMother the Edgelord said:

I have been rather mixed on twist villains resurgence in animated films, it worked for Zootopia and Coco, not so much for Moana, Big Hero 6 and Frozen. Rex Dangervest actually works as the surprise twist villain. It not only shows a parallel of a darker Emmet forced to conform and succumbing to his darker instincts but rather the option that Finn finds himself conflicted as he enters adulthood on how he should grow and some of the worst qualities of heroes in media, mistaking self reliance for selfishness and using cruelty instead of compassion, and that all in all cynicism only gets you so far in life as easy as it is. He can be like Rex and close himself off or be like Emmet, learning and accepting life’s full of compromise and accepting other into your heart. It also works as a great parallel to toxic masculinity.

am I just being thick ? I didnt see any of this stuff in the film.

 

 

@cookie you couldn't tell Rex was a different version / clone of Emmet?

[YM!]

13 minutes ago, Avatree said:

am I just being thick ? I didnt see any of this stuff in the film.

 

 

@cookie you couldn't tell Rex was a different version / clone of Emmet?

I could be digging deep and know I’m reaching but in the film Finn is entering adolescence and has been questioning the right way to grow up. If how quick Lord Business which is a parallel to his father, was sidelined as well as his uselessness in revolving Bianca and Finn’s issues, it could imply (again this is reaching), he perhaps has been involved much and probably wants a more throuogh role model. 

 

While Finn hasn’t said that, the whole Emmet in a dystopian society, sort of parallels that since in the first, it implies Emmet as a Lego parallel to Finn but this time he wonders how he’ll grow. Enter Rex, a hardened version of Emmet who’s trading in his kinder qualities like compassion, optimism and sensitivity in exchange for cynicism and selfishness, anger and cruelty which tend to be the absolute worse qualities of the brooding, cocky and can-do-anything heroes as well as a striking parallel to toxic masculinity. While Finn is nowhere near as bad as Rex, he adopts a more hardened personality upon adolescence and almost ruins his relationship with his little sister, which Rex says during the ending, it implies the death of imagination. Finn while playing, unconsciously goes through two choices in life on how to grow up, he can take the easy way and be like Rex however that only takes you so far or the harder way and learn that while life is not always great, there’s room for you to make the best of everything and accept compromises, as well as letting people into his heart learning like Emmet did.

[Avatree]

@YourMother the Edgelord I'm glad you were able to get so much out of the movie.  

[cookie]

1 hour ago, Avatree said:

@cookie you couldn't tell Rex was a different version / clone of Emmet?

I mean, considering time travel wasn't an established element in that universe when he showed up. If anything this movie establishes far more than the previous films that the LEGOs have the ability to break the boundaries of not just their universe but ours.

[Avatree]

1 hour ago, cookie said:

I mean, considering time travel wasn't an established element in that universe when he showed up. If anything this movie establishes far more than the previous films that the LEGOs have the ability to break the boundaries of not just their universe but ours.

not time travel necessarily but it was pretty obviously a different version of Emmet or maybe his Brother or something since both characters are voiced by Chris Pratt... i just assumed they are the same character as soon as he showed up in the movie. accentuated even more so by the character seeming to play chris pratts raptor trainer from jurassic park.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Avatree

[Morieris]

The moral is a natural progression from the first movie. They're both very good.

 

The humor that worked was nearly nonexistent for me, though I am glad WBA has toned back throwing in references to themselves as a joke.

 

But for the first hour of this movie, it's just borderline obnoxious to me. I wasn't even sure what they were trying to satirize or say until 20 minutes before it ended, just throwing bright shit at the screen. Might have been better if it showed Bianca and Finn playing together but growing apart for the rising action and conflict instead of straight up "Hate playing with kids". Feels like the twist and (very!) good moral came in too late to really make this a good movie. It's just...fine.

 

It was never going to have that punch because that twist was spoiled in film one. I'm surprised the music was so good.

[Blankments]

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part had me smiling from ear-to-ear for most of its runtime. A film with plenty on its mind and knowing how to make it so that doesn’t overwhelm the story, its packed with jokes and meaning. The smartest thing this one does is lean on the original film’s twist rather than ignore it, making it more the backbone of the themes than relying on the previous film’s actual plot. This is a very different film outside of its sense of humor and is all the better for it. This ambition might not always hit the mark (this movie does take its time actually getting started), but they’re reaching for the stars here which is both admirable and pays off remarkably well in the end.

 

Emotionally satisfying, creatively surprising, and always entertaining, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is a follow-up to a masterpiece that feels just as invigorating as the first film that feels wholly new and can stand apart from it entirely. As someone who considers that film the second greatest animated film of all time, it's not possible for me to give it a better compliment than that. A very pleasant surprise, I can’t wait to revisit this in a couple of weeks. Five years later, everything is still awesome. A

 

(P.S.: That song is definitely gonna get stuck inside your head.)