Muppets Most Wanted
Dir: James Bobin
2014
****
I enjoyed The Muppets: Most Wanted, it's the Muppets and I am a passionate fan after all. I am protective of them though, and it's tough for me to admit this but the new film isn't without its failings. How do I criticise one of the things I love most in this world? Well, I'm going to try... Firstly, the beginning sequence is brilliant, I still have the opening song in my head; "We're doing a sequel..." is a very knowing song, making light that the last film did very well so another film has been commissioned but also makes light of the fact that sequels aren't generally as good as the first. This would have been funnier had it not been true. I'm not sure the film ever gets as good as the great beginning sequence but it does have some wonderful touches. I think the biggest problem is that there are too many humans. Kermit and his evil lookalike Constantine get most screen time over the rest of the Muppets, the human actors get the rest leaving the rest of the Muppets, many of our favorites, with very little at all. They make light that they didn't include many old favorites from the first film and they make up for this with probably my favorite cameo of the film, the inclusion of Robin. This wasn't really good enough though, Pepe and Rizzo seem to be regarded as new characters and so are left out even though they've been around for 18 years (Pepe) and 30 years (Rizzo) and yet characters like 80's Robot, who isn't even a Muppet is still there since the last film. Gonzo had about ten lines throughout the whole show! I'm afraid that The Muppets are loosing their way again through no fault of their own. The day Disney bought them was a disaster. I'm sure this will sell a lot of merchandise for them but after the last film it should have been better. The Muppets are still wonderful though, this film is still very funny but only during the Muppet parts. We need more Muppets, why can't the producers get that through their heads? How do they think the Muppets gained so much success and popularity in the first place? I'm sure they're still thinking that Puppets on their own surely can't carry a film but they're so wrong, they've done it many times before. Like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew points out, this isn't actually the sequel, it is the seventh sequel to the original film. My criticism may sound harsh but that's only because The Muppets are the greatest thing in the world and their films are little pieces of genuine magic. They've got the performers, they've got the music, they just need Disney and the producers to understand them and to listen to the fans. Ricky Gervais, whom I dislike immensely, seems to be a big reason many are put off from this film. It's obvious that he has been chosen to be a part of this film because he is bankable rather than because he can add anything or even fits in (he doesn't). It's great but with focus it could and should be better!