My Thoughts on: The LEGO Movie 2-The Second Part (2019)

*note: I’m trying to keep spoilers to a minimum but a few are going to leak out. So keep that in mind as you read my review!

One of the fears with sequels is that they won’t live up to the bar set by the first film, particularly when it’s a film as funny as the The LEGO Movie. Happily, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part proves to be a fun and entertaining story, though it is not without its fair share of weak moments.

The sequel picks up immediately where the first film left off, with Bricksburg invaded by “aliens” from the planet Duplo. The story then flashes forward five years and sees Bricksburg transformed into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Honestly, I was unsure about the post-apocalyptic vibe, but it really does work. My biggest complaint is that we don’t see enough of this new Bricksburg. Most of the story takes place in and around the “Systar System,” where Emmet must go to rescue his kidnapped friends. I will say it is very funny to see Emmet (Chris Pratt) retaining his “Everything is Awesome” personality while everyone else goes hardcore.

There are a number of catchy songs in The LEGO Movie 2, all of which I loved. My favorites that I want to highlight include:

-“Not Evil” -Sung by the ruler of the Systar System, Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), it’s a great song where the alien queen sings about all the ways she’s NOT evil (it’s as great as it sounds).

-“Catchy Song”- All I can say is “this song’s gonna get stuck inside your head.” You’ve been warned.

-“Gotham City Guys”-I can’t really give too much context for this song because that would spoiler a lot of the plot but this might be my absolute favorite song in the entire film.

-“Everything’s NOT Awesome”-The title speaks for itself.

Aside from the awesome songs, mostly great plot and what I’m pretty sure is a wicked funny Twilight joke, I do have a problem with the last act of the film. It involves Emmet and his new friend Rex Dangervest (also played by Chris Pratt). Rex’s backstory involves a lot of time spent in live-action and it is by far the weakest part of the film. I’m pretty sure this sequence is meant to be funny in a roundabout sort of way, but to me it came across as awkward and incredibly fake (I couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief watching it). I also feel like the story relies a little too much on Finn (the kid from the first film) and his family for the plot to make sense. It’s not that the segments are bad (they’re not), I just feel like there’s too many of them. The good news is the story comes back together by the end and provides a satisfactory ending.

However, I really do think that this should be the end of the story and there should not be a LEGO Movie 3. I think that because the story, while funny, relied a bit too much on jokes it introduced in the first film. I can only imagine a third film would do that even more and thus lessen the humor.

In conclusion, The LEGO Movie 2 is a lot of fun, and if you liked the first film, you’re going to enjoy this one. It’s not quite as strong as the first film, but its weaknesses aren’t enough to derail the story. Let me know what you think about The LEGO Movie 2 in the comments below and have a great day!