Saturday, April 5, 2014

Movie Review: "Muppets Most Wanted" (2014)

Movie"Muppets Most Wanted"
Director: James Bobin
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes
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After achieving success with their final show, The Muppets are approached by a talent agent named Dominick Badguy (Ricky Gervais), who convinces them that they should embark upon a world tour while they are still a hot ticket. Though Kermit has his doubts, he reluctantly agrees since the rest of the gang is so happy to be doing the show again. It turns out Dominick has ulterior motives and is actually working for Constantine, the world's most dangerous frog, who has recently escaped from a Russian Gulag prison. Constantine also happens to look a lot like Kermit, and in order to infiltrate The Muppets crew, he ambushes Kermit and switches places with him, forcing Kermit to take his place in the Gulag. The tour path Dominick has plotted for The Muppets includes venues which are always suspiciously close to museums. As part of their plan, Constantine and Dominick plan to rob these museums, which will eventually lead them to their ultimate caper: stealing the crown jewels of England and pinning it all on The Muppets.  

Starting where "The Muppets" left off, this movie immediately starts letting the audience know that the studio has demanded a sequel, based off the success of its predecessor. This movie features many catchy songs, but none as infectious as the previous movie. It does introduce several great new characters like Dominick Badguy, played brilliantly by Ricky Gervais, and Constantine the frog, who is actually a pretty good source of comedy throughout the film. His poor mimicking of Kermit is hilarious. We are also introduced to Nadya, played by Tina Fey, who is a hard-nosed Gulag warden with a soft spot for (and obsession with) Kermit. Ty Burrell plays Jean Pierre Napoleon, an over-the-top French stereotype. He does quite a bit of mocking of traditional European customs, but brings a lot of smiles in his own right. As with most Muppets films, there are tons and tons of cameos, some quite surprising this time around. Many of the cameos are from actors who are typically in much more violent, R-rated movies, so perhaps this gives their kids a chance to see a movie they are in????

I think what this movie lacks is that heartwarming essence that the previous film had in spades. This movie still made us smile and laugh the entire time, but it was missing something to make it a favorite of ours. If you are a fan of The Muppets, you won't be disappointed. As always this movie features humor that can be enjoyed by both kids AND their parents.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 8/10
IMDB's Rating: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 79%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

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