Muppets Most Wanted Review

Muppets Most Wanted Review

Director: James Bobin

Cast Headliners: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Walter,  Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrel, Tina Fey

Original Release Date: March 21, 2013

(by the way....50th post!!)

Everything was great; everything was grand, when Muppets 2011 was in our hands.  The gang of lovable puppets is back with another, nother , nother movie in The Muppets Most Wanted.  This acts as both a sequel to that film due to it being made by Disney, and the return of Walter. But it is also a spiritual successor of some sorts of the film The Great Muppet Caper from 1981 due to its European locales and crime-based plot shenanigans.  What follows is a decent if slightly repetitive adventure.

The movie starts with the Muppets gang of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and the like all wanting to make a sequel to their last movie. Muppets 2011 was so great because of its musical nature, made by Flight of the Conchord’s Brett Mckenzie, but whereas there it felt really natural here the songs are not quite as catchy or fitting.  Only 1 or 2 songs are memorable, this “We’re Doing a Sequel” song being one highlight.   But there is still a mostly cheery tone. In what might be a big joke in itself, some actual surprising twists are introduced.

Sadly Jason Segel is gone, as he was one of the best parts of the last film. In his stead, the primary human actor is the character of Dominc Badguy(heheh) played by Ricky Gervais.  He serves as assistant to the “dark Kermit” character of Constantine, a frog and wanted criminal.  The two’s usage of the Muppets gang on their European world comedy tour is pretty good, and they are definitely better as comedic villains than Chris Cooper was in the last film.  Another prominent character is inspector Jean Pierre Napoleon played by Ty Burrel, who has some the funniest lines of the movie with the lovable Sam, the American Eagle.  Tina Fey is also very funny as a Siberian security guard where Kermit is sent after being framed.  These are joined by some other brief cameo appearances in classic Muppet tradition which I won’t reveal although they are nothing mind boggling.

There are a lot of goofy laughs and moments, but sometimes the writing isn’t very strong. After the clever wit seen in past films, I expected a bit more.  The whole Kermit-escape-from-alcatraz angle is pretty fun but seeing as how he’s gone for 2/3 the movie gives one a odd feeling. It’s a Muppets movie with the main star missing , and in place is this Constantine. Just as his ruse of running the show is entertaining to crowds but is off, so too does the movie feel a bit like that. A fan of the Muppets will find value in this, but it’s not the best ever by far. However, it is still a silly, pretty musical time and if it seems worth watching it basically is.  7.65 out of 10