Who would’ve thought that The Angry Birds Movie 2, a film based off of a mobile game, would provide some adequate laughs and greater character work than your average Illumination film? I sure didn’t. The Angry Birds Movie 2 continues the journey of the bird named Red (Jason Sudeikis) and his pals, as they embark on a journey with the pigs against a new and dangerous threat. This wholly unnecessary sequel succeeds in providing entertainment value where many others fail, such as The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) – another sequel that released this year that had me feeling entirely unenthused to even write about.
So what really makes The Angry Birds Movie 2 a worthwhile investment? Well, simply, its comedy. Recent animated films of the past 5 years have banked almost entirely on “cuteness” to sell – a tactic that was perhaps truly spurred on by the arrival of Despicable Me (2010). While Angry Birds absolutely uses this tactic, it also places its bets on genuine comedy – throwing around both slapstick and adult humor to keep both the kids and adults engaged. This film even has a theme too, being that teamwork is what will always prevail; yeah it’s not the most original, but it does the job – especially when the lead character is a grouchy bird that wants to take everything solo.
Does the voice cast provide powerful beats of emotion akin to Toy Story? Absolutely not. Does the story have a wacky interweaving plot like Spider-Verse? Absolutely not. Angry Birds 2 is simple in premise, takes careful aim for its target, and manages to get its fair share of strikes. It’s not a film that will be remembered by audiences, but audiences should at least remember that is a genuine video-game movie, despite being relatively distant from its source material; but then again, what video-game movie isn’t? It’s important to remember how few genuine film adaptations from video games have actually succeeded critically, the answer is very few.
Coming off a small budget, one cannot expect The Angry Birds Movie 2 to match the animation quality of a beloved Pixar/Disney classic. The animation is certainly not bad, in fact, I would consider it quite impressive for a $65 million budget, but it does lack in its level of detail. The film has a good balance of contrast between colours that keep the film feeling upbeat and vibrant.
The Angry Birds Movie 2 does what it can to build upon the world it has already established by introducing the audience to Eagle Island, which keeps the movie a little more interesting by allowing the characters to interact with the environment. This movie also aims to use every possible song it can by using a mixture of pop music and popular classics every five minutes.
If you have kids or if you’re just the type of person who enjoys silly kid’s films to put on in the background, Angry Birds 2 provides entertainment for both kids and adults. And that’s all that can really be expected from a kids film, right? It flies higher than its predecessor – allowing for both kids and adults to glide through its 96-minute runtime, but cannot escape the irreparable fact that its story is so simplistic that it fails to invigorate much enthusiasm from anyone looking for wit or substance.
5.2/10
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