Lego’s timely message
too many other movies you’ll see this year that include a wedding between a superhero and a shapeshifting horse, cameos by Bruce Willis, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and, um, Barry Poppins and nods to everything from Radiohead to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The story’s downbeat nature may also be a little too intense for some littlies, especially when many of the jokes seem aimed more at the adults in the audience (‘‘No one’s tying down this Batman Forever,’’
one of many lines clearly aimed at those familiar with 1980s and 90s pop-culture).
Having said that though, there’s plenty of visual laughs to back up the rapid-fire verbals and a surprisingly poignant and timely message at the heart of Mike Mitchell’s (Trolls) movie.
If the first instalment was about everything being cool ‘‘when you’re part of a team’’, returning screenwriters Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and newbie Matthew Fogel (Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son) this time focus on inclusion, sibling rivalry and mutual assured destruction.
While parents of warring children will hope their charges take note, it’s likely to also strike a chord in post March 15 New Zealand.
Serious undertones aside, The Second Part is also a heck of a lot of fun.
Whether it’s marvelling at the movie’s construction, recognising celebrity voices (which here include everyone from Richard Ayoade to Noel Fielding), or tapping your toes to This Song’s Going To Get Stuck Inside Your Head, this is an animated adventure that demands your attention and doesn’t let it go.
Advance previews of The Lego Movie 2 are taking place in select cinemas this weekend, before the movie opens nationwide on April 11.