LEGO SEQUEL BUILDS ON THE ORIGINAL

The quirky characters of the first Lego Movie return in The Lego Movie 2.

Set five years after the original film, the city of Bricksburg has been under constant attack from the Lego Duplo aliens of the Systar System.

As a result, the city has devolved into a Mad Max style wasteland called Apocalypseburg and every one of its residents has become hardened and edgy. Well, everyone except Emmet (Chris Pratt), much to the chagrin of his girlfriend, Lucy (Elizabeth Banks).

The situation worsens when General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), a mini-doll from the Systar System, kidnaps Lucy and the other Master Builders and takes them before her queen.

Teaming up with rugged adventurer Rex Dangerfield (also Chris Pratt), Emmet must rescue his friends, all while dealing with the oncoming threat known only as “Armamageddon”.

The story overall is solid, with wellexecuted comedy and plenty of movie references and spoofs. I already mentioned Mad Max, but there are also references to Back to Future, Twilight, Die Hard and many more.

Even Rex is a spoof of some of Chris Pratt’s previous roles, namely characters from action movies.

Since the first film came out five years ago, the original audience has grown up during the time in between. This is shown through the overtly “tough and cool” attitude of the Apocalypseburg residents, similar to how most teenagers seem to behave.

This so called “tough and cool” demeanour is a major dilemma that Emmet has to face throughout the story, as he feels pressured by his peers to adopt the same attitude.

The film, however, doesn’t discourage pessimism nor optimism, instead encouraging audiences to find a balance of both.

To sum things up, this movie is goofy and silly, all while being inspiring to children. And that’s what makes it awesome.