THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

Five years ago - almost to the day, Warner Brothers released what turned out to be the surprisingly hilarious, extremely well made "The Lego Movie" that was easily one of the most imaginative films in years. It wound up being the fifth largest grossing film of the year and save for some voting assumptions and errors, one of the best films of the year. It would be a tough act to follow, but you knew that Hollywood would try anyway.

And...they did with a lackluster "The LEGO Batman Movie" and a truly stupid "The LEGO Ninjago Movie" that no one understood nor attended. But neither of those had the involvement of the original writers - Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The good news is, they returned as writers, though they did not direct it. That task was handed over to Mike Mitchell ("Shrek Forever After", "Trolls").

The result is a film that maintains its awesome timing and humor but slightly lags behind the original's imagination. After the original finished with the reality that the LEGO universe was in the basement of a real family home, this one opens with the real family. It adds continuity and makes for a smooth transition.

The reality is that mom (Maya Rudolph) is making siblings Finn and Bianca (Jadon Sand and Brooklynn Prince) share play space in the basement - brother has to share his toys with sis. In the LEGO world - namely the town of Bricksville - this creates havoc as they are invaded by Duplo blocks. Everything that was awesome is now being destroyed faster than it can be rebuilt.

Moreover the ruler, Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) sets her sight on a few key players in Bricksville and kidnaps them. Suddenly Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) and Batman (Will Arnett) have been snatched off to the alternate universe an it's up to Emmet (Chris Pratt) to save the day. Fist by building a funky looking spaceship and zooming off. When he gets to the other universe - Systar System - he finds that Batman and Superman (Channing Tatum) are powerless because Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi has her eyes set on marrying Batman and domesticated the men. OUCH! So like a girl!

Tossed into the story are enough pop culture items like songs and shows that will hit the spot for both young and old, just like the original. Just like the original, LEGO even borrows from other familiar toys whether or not it was with permission of not. The visuals are eye-popping, the pacing is fabulous and the humor is almost as nonstop as "The Lego Movie".

Mitchell's take benefits greatly from the terrific voice stylings of Haddish, Arnett, Pratt and Charlie Day. Stephanie Beatriz's flip flopping Mayhem characters and Alison Brie's Unikitty/Ultrakitty are both spot on.

"The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" doesn't fall too far off the original and keeps this ongoing toy commercial easily worth the price of a ticket. -- GRADE B+ -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON