Film review: ‘Lego Movie 2’

“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” arrives at a much different point in history than the original “Lego Movie.” Remember 2014, when it was a lark that Will Farrell’s screaming, rage-fueled character was named President Business?

Now the idyllic Bricksburg of the original film has devolved into the grittier Apocalypseburg, a desertified wasteland which looks like “Mad Max” outback with a dash of “The Planet of the Apes.” Mirroring the changes of the last five years, the first film was about the possibility of class solidarity overcoming exploitative capitalist structures; the second is about living in a post-industrial wasteland caused by irreversible climate change.

The harsher living conditions have not, however, dented the chipper veneer of Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt). He still believes that everything is awesome, even in the face of increasing exasperation from his more gifted partner Lucy (Elizabeth Banks). She wants Emmet to grow up and embrace the adult world - quite a grave threat to level in this era of kiddie cinema.

But even Emmet is forced into a temporary frown when General Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), an envoy from the distant Systar planetary system, swoops into Apocalypseburg and kidnaps Lucy and the other members of the resistance: Unikitty (Alison Brie), MetalBeard (Nick Offerman), Benny (Charlie Day) and Batman (Will Arnett).

The captives are presented to Systar’s ruler Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), who shares some of the saucy charm of Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.” She’s a shape-shifting temptress who very suspiciously sings a ditty called “Not Evil.” (You can’t criticize the “Lego” films for unclear song titles - the sequel includes both a remix of “Everything Is Awesome” and the inevitable counter-protest tune “Everything’s Not Awesome.”)

Queen Wa’Nabi’s charms have already cowed superheroes like Superman (Channing Tatum) and Green Lantern (Jonah Hill), who are glitter dusted and under her spell.

In order to go save Lucy and co. it’s clear that our hero is going to need some help. If Emmet’s character is more like Pratt’s lovable dope Andy from “Parks and Recreation,” his new buddy Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt), a velociraptor-taming spaceship captain, is an amalgamation of the actor’s best known starring roles in action blockbusters. Rex asks bluffly, “You mind if I save your life?” and Emmet gushes, “Not at all!”

Back on Systar, Queen Wa’Nabi decides that Batman ought to be her husband. Happily, their self-absorbed patter is some of the strongest stuff in the picture - his superpower is fearlessly bad puns (e.g. “I’m a ‘bat-chelor’”) and she preys on his insecurity until he’s vomiting glitter like the rest.

While not as sharp as the first film, “Lego 2” boasts several droll moments, as when Emmet is vacillating between potential plans and Rex insists, “Pick any one and act like you’re sure - that’s leadership.”

Director Mike Mitchell gives more screen time to the live action children, Finn (Jadon Sand) and his sister Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), whose tempestuous relationship makes for narrative chaos in the Systar system. A more existential threat comes from their mother (Maya Rudolph), who threatens to get rid of every single Lego after stepping on a stray block with her bare foot.

Oddly, as the climax approaches, a character paraphrases a Biblical passage, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” When Finn and Bianca’s Mom threatens to pack up all the toys and end this crossover advertisement for several other Warner Bros. properties, we smile wryly and recall that this is Hollywood - the children must keep playing.