The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part nails it again

8/10

by Alexis Tucker, Editor-in-Chief

Illustration by Tamara Turner

After the unexpected hit that was “The Lego Movie,” it wasn’t too much of a surprise to hear of the spin-off sequel “The Lego Batman Movie,” but it was surprising to hear of the true sequel to the original “The Lego Movie.” Where could they go next?

As a brief summary, “The Lego Movie” followed Emmett, just a regular construction worker that followed the crowd, being the exact opposite of a leader. Emmett finds himself as “the special” destined to save the Lego world from “the kragle” and the businessman. “The Lego Movie” subverted expectations by showing that there was a true story behind the Legos where a young boy was fighting with his father to express his imagination with Legos, representing the child-like wonder children feel and the importance of expressing one’s self.
“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” subverts expectations again and flips the story on its head. The beginning is an immediate continuation from the first movie, which explains how the world became an apocalyptic wasteland. “Aliens” from the galaxy “Sistar” invade and destroy the world. Emmett and Lucy are back again to save the Lego world from Armageddon.
The background, real-life story is a touching one surrounded by the complicated relationship siblings can have, especially siblings with an age gap, and there some interesting nods to how parents struggle to keep the peace and may lose their sanity with sibling squabbling. Some other themes include kindness, growing up, imagination and how misunderstandings can exacerbate the problem exponentially.
There are a few jokes that fall flat because they were shown in trailers or were done before in the first movie, but they move on quickly rather than doubling down on the joke. As always, the more adult jokes are still very funny, especially considering the majority of them go far above the children heads.
There are some small nods regarding “The Lego Batman” standalone film, which adds to the hilarity. The music is still as well done, pop-y and catchy as ever. The glaring plot holes are addressed, and this adds to the tone of the movie and makes sense in the movie’s internal logic (if one could say the logic even exists considering the children playing Legos).
When the movie isn’t being ridiculous or hilarious, it is still enjoyable with the nice underlying message. “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” is a fun movie to watch, and fans of the first will thoroughly enjoy this one.