Am I slowly turning into a bitter old man? That’s the question that ran through my mind while watching The Muppets Most Wanted. I kind of liked the previous one, but wasn’t as big a fan as most other bloggers. This movie continues where the last one ended and sets up the story quickly.
What I didn’t like about that quick setup is the way it handles the previous movie. In that film the Muppets worked hard to gain back their popularity and this movie simply says: “all those people you saw in that movie coming to support the Muppets were just paid extras”. It is an extremely easy way to make the Muppets have a new adventure and starting from scratch, but it gives a clear message to the (young) viewer that it all isn’t real.
Of course these are just puppets, but movies are all about creating a believable world in which you can lose yourself and the way this movie trashes that annoyed me. The story could have easily be about them needing gain popularity in Europe after conquering America. Now the story is about them working together with Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). It doesn’t take long before Kermit is captured and brought to Siberia. He is replaced by a double. His plan is to steal the crown jewels of Great Britain and he is using the Muppets to travel around Europe to play at venues near musea where he can get clues on how to do it.
The biggest problem I had with this movie though is that, and this might sound strange, I thought there were way too little Muppets moments in it. After seeing the movie I had the feeling I had seen a lot of celebrity cameo’s (of which Danny Trejo and Usher were my favourite), but that there wasn’t enough interesting developments when it came to story.
It proves that having Muppets in a movie doesn’t make a real Muppets movie. The normal group dynamic wasn’t present and there wasn’t an issue they as a group tried to tackle. At the start of the movie the Muppets say that sequels to a successful movie are usually worse and this is the movie to prove that. I’d rather watch the original movie and won’t even mind being called a bitter old man.
You’re not a bitter old man (as far as I know), I found myself largely disappointed with this one.
Glad to hear that 😉
Yep, bitter old man.
It is something I’m able to live with 🙂
Ha, I’m actually with you! Except I don’t have the heart to see the movie . . . I just can’t get myself to do it. But I can see why you gave it such a low score. I disagree – you’re not bitter; just a realist, haha. Nice review!
Yeah, this was never seemed as compelling as the previous one, so I skipped in during its theatrical run. Shame my feeling about it came true.
Agreed. The first Muppet film was just so perfect. Right balance of human element and muppets and a really lovely story behind it. This one, I felt, just slipped to be a bit…cheap. Even the songs weren’t as catchy! I could hum Man or a Muppet at the drop of a hat.
Shame isn’t it. I thought that with the previous one they were getting back to the classic Muppet feeling, but this one isn’t even close to that.
Wow, a 4? Man, that’s harsh on the Muppets. I’m hoping to see this myself, soon, so I’ll be keen to compare notes!!!
Not as good as the first movie, but considering it’s the Muppets, it’s always a fun time. Nice review Nostra.
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