The Angry Birds Movie 2

Voices of: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Peter Dinklage, Eugenio Derbez, Tiffany Haddish, Pete Davidson, Tony Hale, Lil Rey Howery, Nicki Minaj
Directed by: Thurop Van Orman, John Rice
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Action, Comedy
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The residents of Bird Island and Pig Island reluctantly team up to face a new threat from Eagle Island.

Review:

Tim: The first Angry Birds Movie was pretty disappointing, so I mostly watched this out of consistency, and for something to do with my four year-old son. I'm actually surprised that this movie wasn't as bad as the first one. It was a little hard to believe, because I didn't love this movie. However, it's not a bad film. This movie kept the characters and the world established in the first movie, and it did fewer things that didn't work. That's really the account for the improved rating. It's not like this movie did something better than the original, other than it cut down on jokes and sequences that didn't work. That's one way to improve the quality of a film.

This film benefits from the fact that it didn't need to spend time introducing the characters. They were already established in the first movie, so we can get right to the action. The story was decent, having the birds and the pigs (enemies in the first movie) team up to battle a new menace to their islands. This created some worthwhile entertainment, as it's always fun to see people who don't like each other try and work together. It also made this movie feel distinct from the first film, as well as feeling like a continuation of the story.

The movie was decently humorous, although it actually might be slightly less funny than the first movie. There were fewer memorable, laugh-out-loud moments here. On the plus side, there were fewer jokes that completely didn't work. This movie smoothed out some of those extremes, which lifted the entire film (and consequently, prevented this from potentially being a good movie. It's a trade-off). The story was decent and it was fairly entertaining for viewers of all ages.

I also enjoyed the introduction of Silver, voiced by Rachel Bloom. She's a great character- an intelligent, strong female who can hold her own against anyone. That was sorely missing from the first movie and this movie benefits greatly from her inclusion. That aspect made the movie better. The returning cast was good. Jason Sudeikis does good voice as Red. Josh Gad is one of the best voice actors working today, so it's always good having him included. Bill Hader has a lot of talent and was solid here, as well. I thought Leslie Jones and Tiffany Haddish were both decent- their voices are quite distinct. I loved hearing Peter Dinklage, like always. As a whole, the voice cast worked.

It's funny, when The Angry Birds Movie 2 ended, I didn't immediately think, "Wow! That was better than the first movie!" My initial reaction was, "Both of these movies weren't good." It was only later, on reflection of both movies that I realized the sequel was superior. That's not incredibly rare, but it's uncommon enough that it should be highlighted and celebrated when it occurs. I still wish this was a good movie, but the trending in the right direction is definitely a win. Now, we probably won't get a chance to see where the films would go from here. The first movie made $107 million at the domestic box office. This one made $41 million. That's a massive drop and suggests this won't be a trilogy. I don't feel too bad about this. The first movie wasn't good, so it makes sense that people stayed away from the sequel. This one might be better, but it's not like it's a good movie. I'm fine with this being the last movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Angry Birds Movie