Muppets Most Wanted Movie Review

The sequels are never as good. Well, usually. But does Muppets Most Wanted prove this point?

Muppets Most Wanted is the sequel to 2011's Muppets movie which saw the franchise make a fantastic return. That movie is one I seriously enjoyed, and has one of my favourite musical numbers ever put to film in it with the "Man or a Muppet" song. Jason Segel did a great job with that movie and really reinvigorated the franchise. Muppets Most Wanted is the direct sequel to that movie, but sees a new cast of actors and writers involved.

The film opens with a song which makes fun of the concept of sequels and how they're never as good. Really, the song is very ironic because this movie is not as good as its predecessor. The film sees number 1 criminal mastermind Constantine escape from a prison in deep Siberia, who just so happens to look identical to Kermit with the exception of a mole on his right cheek. Constantine then replaces Kermit within the Muppets seeing Kermit take his spot in the Siberian prison. Then, Constantine and sidekick Dominic (played by Ricky Gervais) use the Muppet's world tour to heist valuable items from galleries all across Europe.

While all of the actors who are in the movie, including all the Muppets, are good and entertaining to watch, the film still has an incomplete and slightly unsatisfying aura to it. The movie offers up various jokes that will leave you chuckling quietly in your seat, but nothing that leaves you dying with laughter. It is funny but not as funny as the first one.

The movie offers up various musical numbers as you would expect. The songs are written well and are incredibly catchy, offering up some entertainment. Yet they still lack the drive, creativity and originality that the songs had in the 2011 Muppets film.

But the film is still enjoyable. If you take your children to see it then the Muppets will keep them entertained. Will it keep you entertained though? I think it will, but not as much as maybe you thought it would.

The film really is all about the Muppets because most of the entertainment comes from the various characters we've come to know and love over the years. While the plot may not be the most significant detail of the film, I still liked it because it had a few pop culture references here and there and played on genre conventions and film clichés successfully.

The balance between Muppet and Human however is slightly skewed. I would have preferred to have had more Muppet and less human, simply because they offered me more entertainment. Ricky Gervais. Ty Burrell and Tina Fey were all entertaining (even if Burrell and Fey's accents were a little over the top and goofy)  but Kermit and co. were more so.

Also the cameos within the movie I think could have been written in more cleverly and done with more subtlety. For example, Christophe Waltz does a Waltz, and is even announced quiet clearly to be doing so. Subtlety people, it's a good thing!

The movie is enjoyable and will pass the time well, so see it if you want:


Rating - B-


1 sentence summary - Enjoyable, yet not as funny or clever as the first one!


Thanks for reading,
Matt