While nothing could match the element of surprise brought by the first Lego Movie, this sequel feels like a very worthy successor, bringing just as much fun, humour, inventiveness and heart as the original.

Premise: Five years after the events of The Lego Movie and the great Duplo war, the city of Bricksburg has devolved into the ravaged Apocalypseburg. Inhabitants like Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) and Batman (Will Arnett) have become hardened warriors, but earnest Emmet (Chris Pratt) is as endlessly cheerful as ever. But when alien invaders attack, Emmet begins to question whether he’s tough enough to save the day … again.

Review:

I think it’s important to manage your expectations going into The Lego Movie 2, as it faces the opposite problem that the first movie did. First time around, we all assumed a film based on a children’s construction toy would be awful … but it was actually a joyous surprise, and one of the cinematic highlights of 2014. But five years later, there’s a weight of expectation on The Lego Movie 2, and the truth is, no matter how good it is, it would never be able to match the sense of surprise and wonder that the first film had.

But with all that said, The Lego Movie 2 comes about as close to matching the genius of the original as you could hope. This is perhaps not that surprisingly when you realise that it was written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who not only wrote (and directed) the first Lego Movie, but they also wrote and directed 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street, the latter being one of the greatest comedy sequels of recent years.

“…humour-wise, ‘The Lego Movie 2’ is firing on all cylinders…”

As a result, The Lego Movie 2 is still as funny as the first film (offering plenty of laugh out loud humour for viewers of all ages), it’s still as inventive as the first film (the story is a genuinely continuation of the first film, and not a simple rehash), and it’s still got the same emotional core that the first film had. The only difference is that this time (spoilers ahead for the first Lego Movie), the audience is aware from the start that the Lego characters’ world is being affected by the “real world” of Finn and his family, whereas in the first film, we didn’t know that Lord Business was a manifestation of Finn’s father (Will Ferrell) until the end.

Humour-wise, The Lego Movie 2 is firing on all cylinders. Most, if not all, of the characters from the first film are back (including Charlie Day as Benny the Spaceman, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Nick Offerman as MetalBeard, and Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as “odd couple” Superman and Green Lantern), but they are all just given little comedic moments in the background of the main story, so the plot never feels overloaded or bloated. Instead, the beloved characters from the first film just pop up for a joke here and a joke there, without ever derailing the main action. The Lego Movie 2 also has three musical numbers, one of which is deliberately trying to be more annoying than “Everything is Awesome”.

“…there’s a lot more going on than just an endless stream of great jokes…”

To complement the returning characters, we also have a host of new characters representing the alien invaders, led by Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) and General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz). Emmet is also helped on his quest by the super-cool alpha male Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt), and there’s definitely a lot of fun to be had in watching the inept Emmet try to mimic the self-proclaimed galaxy-defending, archaeologist, cowboy, raptor trainer. Just as with the first film, there’s also a vast number of minor characters who deliver quick incidental gags, including a great cameo from Bruce Willis, and Ben Schwartz and Richard Ayoade as a two of the aliens (a sentient banana and ice cream cone, respectively).

Once again, there’s a lot more going on than just an endless stream of great jokes, and as the plot unfolds, it’s clear there’s actually a lot more to it than it might first appear. Not only that, but the “real world” elements are more overt this time around (the cat is out of the bag now, after all), with this film introducing Finn and Bianca’s mum (Maya Rudolph) as well. It’s these elements which set the main Lego Movies apart from their spin-offs like The Lego Batman Movie, which didn’t overtly address any “real world” elements.

“…offers genuine entertainment for the whole family...”

Like last year’s Incredibles 2, The Lego Movie 2 is a film that is still better than the vast majority of other family films out there, it’s perhaps just not quite as good as the genre-defining original. Offering genuine entertainment for the whole family, this should appeal to children of all ages and their parents, with its blend of humour, creativity and emotion. Surprisingly, it seems that the confines of the Lego films’ imagination is a limitless as the toys themselves, and Lord & Miller are showing no signs of running out of ideas just yet.