‘The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part’ Review: As Awesome and Fun as the First

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is a film that I’ve been waiting for since the first movie released. I found the first film to be one of the most imaginative animated films ever. I simply adored it. And upon seeing the sequel, it’s great to see that witty writing and imaginative storytelling again, even if the film doesn’t really feel as groundbreaking as the original.

The Second Part starts off immediately after the original before springing us 5 years later (bringing us to 2019), where Bricksburg has turned into a complete wasteland called Apocalypseburg after Finn’s (the live-action child character from the original) sister invades with her Duplo bricks. When Lucy and some other LEGO characters are kidnapped by the Duplo army to the Systar System, Emmet and a new character named Rex need to rescue them.

I know, it’s a ridiculous plot. The film definitely gives us that same imaginative storytelling as the original. There are tons of surprises throughout the film, and a hilarious jab at a very common trope in animated films (I won’t say due to spoilers) which nearly brought me to tears from laughing. That is the truly brilliant and meta storytelling I come to expect from this franchise.

The writing is just as solid as the original. Phil Lord and Chris Miller return to pen the scrips. They are a writing/directing duo I seem to talk a lot about recently, especially since they just worked on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. They are incredibly talented and that talent shines through in each of their films. The LEGO Movie 2 is no exception. That very meta joke I mentioned before is only one of the clever and imaginative aspects of this film.

There are also a lot more live-action scenes in this film, which create an interesting and moving development between Finn and his sister Bianca, bringing home a beautiful theme about growing up and still having that child-like imagination inside you.

The film is as visually fun as the first, although it feels a little less special after the first LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago Movie. It’s still great to see, but it doesn’t feel as groundbreaking as it did before. Still, it is a great step in animated films that experiment with their art styles. Much like the first film, there are also a lot of crossovers with tons of superheroes and characters from other films. I always love seeing the easter eggs and hidden details in LEGO films.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is an excellent successor to the original. Even though it doesn’t quite stand out like the original did, it is still a ton of fun, insanely clever and a film I look forward to watching again.

A-