“The LEGO Movie” is a hard act to follow. Its world was so fresh and vibrant and unexpected, it’s no wonder that it spawned a number of spinoffs of varying quality. But the big test was always going to be the sequel and whether or not it could recreate the magic of the first. And I’m pleased to report that “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part ” is pretty darn good, but also you can’t help shake the feeling that it’s just never going to live up to the exciting newness of the first.
The script, written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is once again whip-smart. Jokes and clever pop culture references whizz by at lightning speed and you’ll be lucky to catch even half of them on the first watch. Even the songs (there are a few more this time) are packed with Lord and Miller wit. And you’ll definitely want to stay for the credits song which, oddly enough, is one of the best parts of the movie despite not really being part of the movie.
But there’s something that’s lost in this round. With a new director at the helm in Mike Mitchell (“Trolls,” ”Sky High”) you sense sometimes that the film is just going through the motions. Still, it has charm and winking fun to spare and kids will likely adore it just as much.
The movie starts by establishing the introduction of a little sister, and all the chaos and destruction and cuteness that implies. Her LEGOs are oversized and adorable, and really throw the more traditional LEGOs of the brother’s world for a loop, wrecking all the meticulous buildings of Bricksburg.
An abrupt cut to five years later finds Emmet (Chris Pratt), Wyldstyle/Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett), Unikitty (Alison Brie), Benny (Charlie Day), MetalBeard (Nick Offerman) and all the favorites of the first living in a “Mad Max” homage they call Apocalypseburg (which they say is “grittier and cooler” than Bricksburg). Emmet is still Emmet, though, bright, cheery and optimistic even while everyone else is brooding and scowling. He even builds a cookie cutter house for himself and Lucy with a picket fence, a front yard, and a toaster room, you know, so they can eat toaster waffles anytime.