Muppets Most Wanted

MUPPETS MOST WANTED

Director : James Bobin

Year : 2014

Genre : Comedy

Rating : ***1/2

 

The sequel to one of the most likable and charming movies of recent years, 'Muppets Most Wanted' is the long awaited successor to the 2011 brilliant 'The Muppets'. The eighth movie to star the world famous plush puppets, 'Muppets Most Wanted' is all once a silly slapstick comedy, a wry stab at popular culture and an entertaining heist thriller and each individual element is executed brilliantly and written with just as much heart and humour as any Muppets movie that has come before it. However, while it is certainly funny and has just much comedy and action as it's predecessors, 'Muppets Most Wanted' fails to recapture the magic and joy of it's original and at 113 minutes, it is waaaaay to long for a kids film. It's cultural references aren't particularly inspired and the innumerable cameos from some of the biggest names in Hollywood and the music industry do nothing to develop the narrative or continue the story.  That being said, I would be incredibly stupid to say that 'Muppets Most Wanted' isn't watching because it is funny. It's very funny. It just doesn't stand up against previous films such as 'Muppets Treasure Island', 'The Great Muppet Caper' or the vastly superior 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'. 

Continuing immediately after the events of 'The Muppets', Kermit and the gang are co - erced into partaking in a world tour by the conniving and sneaky Dominic Badguy (pronounced Badjee) played by Ricky Gervais who promises money and huge success. However, Badguy isn't as wholesome and innocent as he seems and it is soon revealed that he is the henchman of Constantine, the worlds most dangerous frog who plans to disguise himself as Kermit, infiltrate the Muppets and steal the crown jewels from The Tower Of London. After Kermit is framed and thrown into a Russian Gulag (run by Tina Fey), it is up to Fozzie Bear, Walter and Animal to rescue Kermit and expose Constantine for the villain he is.

As is the case with every Muppets movie, 'Muppets Most Wanted' is full of wall to wall laughs and I would be totally lying if I said that I didn't laugh from beginning to end. The Muppets themselves are just as funny as always (especially Swedish Chef, God I love that guy!), Ricky Gervais is hilarious as the stupidly blatant BadGuy and the Kermit - doppelganger Constantine is flat out brilliant. What 'Muppets Most Wanted' ultimately lacks is the heart that made the 2011 original such a touching and magical watch and I personally could have done with more moments of tranquility and emotion than the dozens of cameos that slow the movie right down (although seeing Christoph Waltz dancing with Sweetums is possibly the funniest thing I will see all year). There are a few rare moments when the movie reaches something resembling heart such as when Miss Piggy asks Kermit why he won't marry her but these moments are far and few between. If 'Muppets Most Wanted' had a bit more of this, then the film would stand up perfectly against it's 2011 predecessor. Having said that, the pure amount of humour contained within the running time is certainly worth the entry fee alone.