By Mark Saldana
Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars)
As someone who didn’t like the first Angry Birds Movie, I went into this screening not expecting much improvement. And though this sequel doesn’t have much of a story to offer, I found myself still rather amused and entertained. The Angry Birds movies are obviously shameless attempts at making money, but at least this sequel has plenty of funny humor that works in its favor. Now I figure most intelligent adults won’t want to see this cartoon of a movie, but should their children drag them to it, at least it isn’t a total waste of time or money.
Set after the events of the first film, Red (Jason Sudeikis) and his buddies Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride) continue their protection of their island from the continued attacks from the neighboring Piggy Island. When the Piggies get attacked from another nearby island by an unknown foe, Piggy leader King Leonard (Bill Hader) seeks out a truce with the birds. Skeptical of the piggy’s motives, Red initially refuses until the bird island gets attacked well. Forced to work together birds and piggies must venture off on a treacherous trek to the source of the atracks, a frozen Eagle island headed by a bitter and angry leader named Zeta (Leslie Jones).
Now I know how silly this all sounds, and I wish I could say that this movie has some intelligent messages for children, but the writing just doesn’t have that much of that. Written by Peter Ackerman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon Stewart, The Angry Birds Movie 2 is essentially a feature-length Looney Tunes cartoon full of great physical gags, slapstick, awesome musical cues, and genuinely funny lines. That is what thankfully kept me entertained and not completely bored out of my mind which is more than I can say about the first movie. Directed by Thurop Van Orman, the movie does have some vibrantly colorful animation and visuals.
Another bonus is the great voice cast, which pretty much is the only redeeming quality of the first movie. Returning for the sequel are Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, and Peter Dinklage. New to this franchise are actors Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, and Sterling K. Brown. All of whom perform well in their respective roles.
So while I don’t strongly recommend this movie, it isn’t actually a bad way for children and parents to bond and get entertained by something fun before the kids get deep into the school year. I still wouldn’t recommend spending full price to see it, but The Angry Birds Movie 2 should make for an enjoyable and satisfactory matinee before the hustle and bustle of school really begins