MOVIE REVIEW | The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

We got a chance to see The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part on opening night! First of all, that’s a feat in itself, ok. I mean, getting us to a theater to watch anything is worth congratulations, but on opening night?! It was shocking. But yeah, we did it. And if there was a movie worth doing it for, it would have been The LEGO Movie 2. Not foreshadowing my thoughts on it which I’ll get to soon, but just going off what the first LEGO Movie meant to us. The original released 5 years ago! It’s almost older than my youngest kid and that’s crazy to think. Crazy because both my kids have seen it a bajillion times it seems. I could probably recite it word for word from having to hear it playing right behind my ear in the car so much.

Ok, allow me to digress because I need to talk about it since we’re already here. The LEGO Movie (2014) hit me so hard on so many fronts. Of course, the kid loved it when we went to watch it in theaters. But as a parent, you know we’re basically watching a completely different movie when it comes to what the kids like to watch. And it rings true for The LEGO Movie. The kids are getting a face full of LEGO awesomeness, with cool characters, heroes and villains, a great story to follow, etc. And for us adults, it was just as enthralling. Well, for us nerdy parents, at least. The ones who don’t mind getting down and dirty with some LEGO. The entire movie – characters, backgrounds, water, lava – all of it was composed of bricks. Visually, it was beyond captivating, seeing how much detail they can cram into the movie. On top of that, the cast was great. Trust me, remember, I listened to it a bajillion times. The voice work by everyone here is superb and downright hilarious in numerous parts.

But fast forward to the end and that’s where you get hit in the face with everything. Sorry, but I’m about to spoil a 5-year-old movie. If you don’t want to read any of it – which admittedly will spoil the underlying plot for The LEGO Movie 2 if you haven’t seen the first part – then I suggest skipping the spoiler warning.

Alright, enough digressing! Just like the first, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is just as engaging. It brings you into its world and you quickly find yourself sucked into its charm and wit. There’s a ton of nods and references to the first movie, like various characters that are not introduced but you are familiar with them from their first adventure. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see a few of them more in The Second Part but with everything going on I know it would’ve been too much. Thinking back, it was a great decision to do it how they did. There’s a lot going on in the movie, lots of paths to follow and keep up with. Nothing too hard that a kid can’t follow along, but enough that the involvement of more characters would have probably teetered it over into the confusing side.

The plot was very similar to the first movie in that it’s all controlled by a grand scheme. Sometimes, sequels have a hard time establishing themselves in the universe they’re continuing, but The Second Part does a great job at it. They are ridiculously self-aware in a lot of their jokes, making it a blast to watch as an adult, where you’ll more than certainly catch all the hidden meanings of things. The names given to places and objects were spot on, reminding you of everything going on in the underlying plot. Minor spoiler to a line that had me cracking up is when: They were trying to figure out who was going to help them, and they were going through a list of names, and mentioned that Marvel was not returning their calls. Basically, them saying they tried to get Marvel, who has a huge LEGO presence, but Marvel did not want to cooperate.

Overall, The Second Part really held its own and is one of those movies that has two meanings. The first is general fun. It is entertaining and keeps you hooked, caring about the characters and their struggles. You’re invested in the LEGO built world they’re a part of and you want to see where the story goes and finishes. Then there’s the meaningful side of it. The true to life aspect that is hiding, but not really hiding underneath all those LEGO bricks. As a parent, The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Movie 2 have this magic about them where they make you feel things on a very personal level. They take a seemingly harmless animated movie, and use it to wrap up this grand life lesson that hopefully everyone can walk out learning.

When you really stop to think about it, these LEGO movies are crafted by the same Master Builder geniuses who create these worlds with little plastic bricks. And just like those bricks – from the tiny builds with 50 to 60 pieces, to the gigantic builds with 800+ pieces – it’s all about fun, and learning, and playing. So it’s only fitting that together as a whole, they can craft movies that are fun and entertaining, while still teaching us that life and the worlds we can create with toys can be meaningful. That we can watch and have a blast, and still come out learning something about ourselves that make us better people. The LEGO Movie taught me that about my relationship with my kids, and The Second Part hopefully can teach my kids about their relationship with each other.

There you go. My review for the movie. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you or your kids were fans of the first. A lot of people may look at it as just another movie trying to capitalize on selling their toys to kids, but… well, honestly, yeah, the LEGO sets are freaking awesome and we may have went crazy in The LEGO Store recently. But that’s besides the point! Point is, that the movie IS about the toys. It IS about the imagination that lives and breathes in LEGO form. So yeah, being able to go out and buy the LEGO sets from the movie (SO many I wish we could get, like Welcome to Apocalypseburg!, or Sweet Mayhem’s Systar Starship!, but MAN LEGO is a pricey hobby) like we did after watching it just completes the experience. I know, this sounds like LEGO is paying me to say all this (a dad can dream, right?), but no, I’m speaking from parents standpoint.

And if you are sitting there wondering why I’m taking up so much of my time thinking so heavily about a kid’s animated movie. I ask, how can you not? LEGO is one of those simple pleasures in life and they’re great for any age. Checking out the LEGO Group’s philosophy on their site solidifies my views with the movie and makes me smile. Not only because I was right in how I interpreted the movie, but that they managed to perfectly deliver their message in their films.

I’m happy I get to share such things with my kids. That I’m connected in such a way that I can enjoy the simple joy of putting pieces of plastic together to build something. It makes me remember that I’m just like them, only older. And that no matter what’s going on in the world, the potential is there for everything to be awesome.