New ‘Lego’ movie builds on the pop cultural pillaging of the first
Like two little plastic bricks clicking into place, The Lego Movie 2 kicks off where the first one ends, seamlessly continuing the story with all the original characters in play mode. Only the little folk of Bricksburg are facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space.
While they look cute and innocent, these duplicitous extra terrestrials are on a mission to wreck everything in Bricksburg. Think of a cute ‘UniKitty’ transforming into a military fighter with glitter-wrapped hairballs as weapons.
Nonetheless, our heroes ensue with a battle to restore harmony: enter Emmet, Lucy, Batman and friends, who are forced to charter unexplored worlds only to find everything there is musical.
There’s a certain theme of ‘girl power’ going on in The Lego Movie 2 as Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) stands strong against the ruling Queen (Tiffany Haddish) who hijacks the gang. Meanwhile Emmet (Chris Pratt) has his courage tested by his future self ‘Rex’: a hardened Kurt Russell outlaw type who mentors Emmet in being more “tough” (and one of the more entertaining characters).
The incredibly constructed visuals with meta-clever pop cultural references are what really make the film work.
The imaginative CGI in the Lego universe is outstanding, synching well with much of the bright pop music in the soundtrack. There are plenty of pop cultural references throughout the film, too, including a reenactment from The Matrix and a John ‘Die Hard‘ McLean character haphazardly crawling through a roof vent. In fact, The Lego Movie 2 is packed with cameos of famous characters, both obvious and not so, the Justice League being one of the more blatant. There’s even a scene featuring several famous time machines including Doctor Who‘s TARDIS, Back To The Future‘s DeLorean, and even the phone booth from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
As a sequel, this movie is equally as fun as the first, and should appeal to adults and kids alike. The incredibly constructed visuals with meta-clever pop cultural references are what really make the film work. Without these, the story would fall flat, a little like Lego itself would.
Annette McCubbin and Madison McCubbin
‘The Lego Movie 2’ is in cinemas now.
CREAM MAGAZINE 
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