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How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 12 March 2014
This article is a review of MUPPETS MOST WANTED. |
“Fozzie, did you even watch our last film?” Kermit
Quoting yourself is surely a sign of vulgarity? Dear reader, please indulge. In my review of the previous instalment of the Muppets franchise (feel free to click here for a gander), one mentioned, “The cameos come thick and fast, especially at the end. I’m sure if there’ll be a sequel, the queue for celebrity appearances will be around the block.” Just over two years on from THE MUPPETS, its successor is packed to the rafters with the doyen(nes) of the film/television/music industries, so many as to make the climax of ANCHORMAN 2 appear paltry in comparison. That is the esteem the 2011 flick has now garnered, and rightly so. Big shoes then to fill…
Quoting yourself is surely a sign of vulgarity? Dear reader, please indulge. In my review of the previous instalment of the Muppets franchise (feel free to click here for a gander), one mentioned, “The cameos come thick and fast, especially at the end. I’m sure if there’ll be a sequel, the queue for celebrity appearances will be around the block.” Just over two years on from THE MUPPETS, its successor is packed to the rafters with the doyen(nes) of the film/television/music industries, so many as to make the climax of ANCHORMAN 2 appear paltry in comparison. That is the esteem the 2011 flick has now garnered, and rightly so. Big shoes then to fill…
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Commencing the moment THE MUPPETS concluded, outside the theatre in joyous song, MUPPETS MOST WANTED continues the meta leanings and self-awareness with a character singing, “Everyone knows the sequel is never quite as good.” Nice try managing expectations, disingenuousness or real modesty can’t dampen anticipation. And there is the reminder, for extra synergy, of the fact this is actually the seventh sequel to the first feature from 1979. Amid the history lesson, we get the Swedish Chef recreating Ingmar Bergman’s THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957). A satisfying inevitability! Then to Gulag 38B in Siberia, Russia, the world’s foremost criminal, Constantine (a doppelgänger for Kermit, bar a facial mole), escapes spectacularly. His second in command, Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), ensconces himself as the Muppets tour manager; in order to manipulate their itinerary, so the dastardly duo can pull off the most audacious jewellery heist of all time.
Focusing on getting the gang back together opened a plethora of possibilities for the follow-up. A European excursion manipulated by Gervais is not particularly high up on a list of creative narratives. MUPPETS MOST WANTED has a plethora of very funny jokes in search of a decent storyline. Because of the lacklustre caper element, and sub-Shakespearean comedy of errors when Kermit ends up in prison for Constantine’s crimes, and the latter takes over as the ostensible father figure of the ensemble, the end result is not as memorable as it should’ve been. The running commentary accompanying THE MUPPETS is absent at best, unfunny at worst. Smarts have noticeably dipped.
Love for the characters, some brilliant songs (especially ‘Stick with Me’, performed as Vaseline is smeared on the camera lens for extra sexiness), and satisfying gag rate, overwhelm the negatives to make for a fun couple of hours. (Watching Christoph Waltz waltz and Ray Liotta dance should be seen.) More inventiveness would’ve been welcome though.
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