In 2014, Phil Lord and Chris Miller did something extraordinary – they took perhaps the most absurd premise in contemporary cinema, namely focusing an entire feature-length film on the popular construction toy Lego, and made one of the finest animated films of the current generation. The Lego Movie was a bona fide cultural phenomenon, and it instantly found its ways into the artistic zeitgeist, a perfect exemplification of passion being the ultimate key to success for any work, with even the most ridiculous of stories being capable of brilliance when dedication is given. Lord and Miller instantly found their way into the canon of great filmmakers (not to mention their work on this past year’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a turning point for both animation and superhero films). This year, we return to the now-iconic world introduced to us five years ago, and while it is made very clear that everything is indeed still awesome, everything is also a tad predictable and perhaps slightly less magical this time around – not to say that The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part isn’t a tremendously fun film, and a faithful sequel to its groundbreaking predecessor, it is just missing a certain quality that gave the original its spark. It may not break new ground, but it certainly does remain pleasant, diverting and often extremely amusing cinema that is as impactful as it is well-made.

Five years since the events of the previous film, we return to find the world of Lego reduced to the state of a post-apocalyptic society, where the main motive of everyone is to simply survive by any means necessary – with the exception of Emmet (Chris Pratt), the chipper, lovable protagonist from the previous film who still remains as upbeat and optimistic as before, constantly repeating the mass-produced adage of “everything is awesome!”, much to the chagrin of his friend and possible love interest, Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), who has adopted an even more hardened, brooding persona in the hopes of surviving in the rough wasteland that they have been reduced to after the invasion of unwelcome visitors from Planet Duplo. A chance encounter by some mysterious visitors take some of the inhabitants to a mysterious realm ruled by the strange Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), who wishes to marry Batman (Will Arnett), with her motives being called into question by Lucy, who seems to have enough experience with these kinds of stories to understand that the queen’s quirky and generous exterior likely hides something more sinister – and when Emmet gets lost and encounters a new friend, he also starts to see that perhaps what he thought to be true may be false information and that perhaps everything may not be as awesome as he thinks it is.

There were many qualities of The Lego Movie that made it such a success – one of them being the cast. Everyone in the film was perfectly selected, chosen both for their talents as performers (even through only their vocals), but also because of how they are able to embody these characters. Chris Pratt is an endearing and charming individual (or at least on screen he is), and reprising his role as Emmet allows him to continue to play off his everyman persona. In this film, Pratt also takes on a second role, playing the character of Rex Dangervest, a renegade rebel who is everything Emmet aspires to be. Elizabeth Banks is also terrific as usual and finds a gravitas in a character that is far more reserved than others. Will Arnett proves himself to be amongst the finest interpreters of the Batman character, and while his work here is considerably smaller than what we’ve seen in the past, he more than justifies the creation of The Lego Batman Movie, which served to be a wonderful spin-off from this universe, with Arnett’s performance being terrific. A new addition to the cast is Tiffany Haddish as Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi, and not only does this contribute to Haddish’s very deserving takeover of contemporary Hollywood, it gives her some really entertaining moments, such as the performance of the song “Not Evil”, which is a highlight of the film. Nick Offerman, Allison Brie and Charlie Day are suitably great in supporting roles, and it is still quite astonishing that such pedigree of talent took the risk to lend their involvement to the original film, a risk that certainly paid off and gave them some of their best work to date (as well as a substantial amount of acclaim, considering the cross-generational appeal these films have). When it comes to a cast like this, it is important that everyone is given something to do, as not to waste a talented performer just for the sake of a marketing credit. The Lego Movie 2 gives everyone involved their own moments to thrive, and on this account, this film is quite successful.

Another reason the original was so beloved was because it appeals to everyone – there was a blend of jokes aimed at different demographics, which made The Lego Movie the pinnacle of family entertainment – the sequel only ups the ante by delivering a variety of jokes that will delight everyone, and even more impressively, it never once feels forced or unnecessarily shoehorned into the film – there are many moments in The Lego Movie 2 that are filled with juvenile humour that only the most childish of us would find funny, as well as some terrific high-brow humour (“I think I finally get Radiohead!”) that make this a worthwhile endeavour for everyone. It also manages to have remarkable self-awareness, and while it certainly doesn’t deconstruct cinematic conventions in the same way some other films in the past have, the meta nature of The Lego Movie 2 does lend it some interesting credibility, with the filmmakers choosing to comment not only on cinematic conventions, but also on social expectations, finding parallels between the real world and this imaginary world, correlating them with deft ease and remarkable restraint as not to be gaudy, but to also satisfy the more cerebral underpinnings of this film. Perhaps part of the surprise from the original has been lost here, as we are fully aware of the twist that made the original so compelling, but just because this film is slightly predictable doesn’t diminish its immense heart, nor does it take away from the moments of sheer brilliance lurking throughout this film.

Finally, the real power in The Lego Movie lies in how it plays upon the most primal quality of our nature, that of childish silliness. The Lego Movie 2 provides us with the same heartful, entertaining absurdity that made the original a masterpiece, and while it does make some scathing commentary, it avoids taking itself too seriously, and while the narrative may not be as tightly-written as the previous, and many of the surprises are more predictable here than they were before, it just works because this is a film not made for the sake of making money, nor for the marketing that comes with these companies loading their films with their commodities in a way that sells them to audiences, but purely for the sake of having a good time. The Lego Movie 2 is a film built entirely out of the intention to give audiences an entertaining, diverting experience that may be very surreal and offbeat, but it ultimately rewarding because of how much of a uniting experience it is – for children it is a delightful and endearing story, and for adults, we find our inner child being brought out. In my showing, it was very clear that it wasn’t the children that were enjoying this film the most, but rather the parents that had been coerced into seeing the film (or perhaps it was the parents that had the hand in dragging their youngsters to the cinema to see it?). In essence, I’m sure we all want to feel young again, and The Lego Movie 2 offers us that very brief but lingering sensation of childish innocence and the reckless abandon from our youth that we miss dreadfully.

For these reasons alone, The Lego Movie 2 is a film that deserves its praise, because while it may not live up to the impossibly high standards of its forerunner, it has a great heart and a brilliant dedication to the story, an unwavering compassion in how it treats both its characters and its audience, giving them a worthwhile sequel that has its minor flaws, but certainly compensates for them with dazzling storytelling, dizzying filmmaking and some exceptional vocal performances from its capable cast, all of which are quite good here, most of them reprising their roles from the previous films and bringing the same level of giddy energy to their performances here – its a wonderful feeling when it becomes clear the cast is having just as fun making a film as we are watching it. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part may falter from the original in some ways, and it may be unfair to compare them, but considering how this film is built directly from the first, we can’t help but look at this through a more critical lens. It is a film that does manage to work on its own, with some marvellous moments of quaint introspection and its own approach to certain conventions, but ultimately, it is another addition to a cinematic universe that is defined by its gorgeous style, incredible dedication and most of all, its love for its unique and subversive brilliance that is infused with pure, unadulterated love. That makes all the difference and is precisely why, despite its slight flaws,  The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is a good film. Or dare we say it…awesome?