THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 / CERT: U / DIRECTOR: THUROP VAN ORMAN / SCREENPLAY: PETER ACKERMAN / STARRING: JASON SUDEIKIS, DANNY MCBRIDE, JOSH GAD, BILL HADER, LESLIE JONES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
For anyone who watched the 2016 original and found it surprisingly entertaining, you are in for more, fast paced laughs, but a more clichéd feel than the first instalment. There is still plenty to entertain the little ones though and, of course, a few jokes to keep the adults invested.
Red (Sudeikis) is now worshipped on Bird Island, after defeating the Pigs in the first film and is keeping a close eye on them, along with the returning Chuck (Gad) and Bomb (McBride). But before you can blink, Leonard (Hader), leader of the pigs has called a truce after newly discovered Eagle Island, has started throwing giant ice balls at both parties. So they must team up to defeat new villain Zeta (a flamboyant female eagle with attitude whose soul purpose is to sip cocktails in the sun, voiced by Jones). Where the first film made an effort to introduce elements of the game, from slingshots and trampolines, to showcasing the characters destructive capabilities, here we have a very generic Mission: Impossible-style plot, which could have featured any group of computer generated characters. As you come to expect from modern kids movies, we are only a few beats away from a song or dance number, considering the reaction of the children in the audience, this works, so who can argue!
Red gets a much needed love interest in physics whizz Silver (Rachel Bloom), who adds some fun science moments, and fills the strong female character quota, and we get the return of Peter Dinklage’s Mighty Eagle, who is featured in a enjoyable ‘90s nostalgia montage, in which he visits Flock Buster video, meets the film’s villain in a Birdvana T-shirt, all permeated by the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack; what better to appeal to the thirty-something parent. We also get a few good visual gags, an eagle reading ‘Crazy Rich Avians’ is a good nod to Awkwafina, who has a small part as a pig called Courtney. The film also enjoys a pig pun – Squeal Team Six, the name of Leonard’s elite squad, being a standout.
The Angry Birds Movie 2, throws a lot of jokes at the audience, whether that is toilet humor, riffing on social media or just classic slapstick, not all of it sticks but it keep things moving a long nicely, and you have to thank it for being entertaining. Naturally, it doesn’t contain any of the deep emotion that you have come to expect from the likes of Pixar or Laika, but it isn’t attempting to. So even though this sequel is a bit of a stretch, you could be taking the children to a lot worse, or you may be going as a fan of the game – we’re not judging!
Expected rating 5 out of 10
