‘The LEGO Movie 2’ is about as awesome as a 2-hour toy ad can be

It’s a bit ironic how a movie that embraces unrestrained imagination could feel as though it tried so hard to stick to an instruction manual.

Admittedly, in the case of “The LEGO Movie 2,” that’s not necessarily a negative. After all, the pieces already fit so well together in the first film; why bother taking things apart and rebuilding brick by brick?

Picking up exactly where the last one ended, “The LEGO Movie 2” shines the spotlight once more on the remarkably unremarkable Emmet and his cylindrical-headed companions.

As expected, the plot of their latest adventure is so delightfully nonsensical and needlessly complicated that only a child could make heads or tails of it.

But when juxtaposed with the relationship between the siblings who breathe life into their minifigures, it becomes an engaging tale that imparts valuable lessons on love, generosity, and cooperation to the younger viewers in the audience.

The overall style, tone, and feel of the first installment are satisfactorily replicated here, complete with a catchy (if less memorable) new song that was probably intended to be this film’s answer to “Everything is Awesome.”

The film also delivers the same level of manic energy that can only come from the hyperactive hands of a hyper-imaginative kid: Houses transform into spaceships, double-decker couches sprout monster arms and legs, characters pelt one another with comically huge projectiles, and tanks get dismantled and rebuilt into wide-eyed, four-wheeled kittens in the blink of an eye.

Part cartoon and part toy catalogue, “The LEGO Movie 2” showcases many of the world-famous toyline’s assorted franchises and sublines, with the most glaring omission being a certain Marvelous bunch of characters tied up in licensing issues and busy trying to make things “snap” together in their own Cinematic Universe.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Philippines

Interestingly (and without going into specific spoilers), “The LEGO Movie 2” also handles the friendly rivalry between Batman and Superman in a manner far more entertaining than the entirety of the nigh-joyless “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” did.

In terms of humor, “The LEGO Movie 2” is kind of a mixed bag. While there are enough jokes and visual gags in this film to fill a LEGO bucket, they don’t always click. Besides, a significant chunk of the laughs here hinge on self-aware, self-referential humor. As a result, a few scenes end up being so cringe-inducing that watching them feels as painful as stepping on an errant eight-studded brick.

It's also worth noting that in two crucial sequences set in exactly the same location, "The LEGO Movie 2" seems to break a major unspoken rule within its universe; however, this feels less like a conscious decision and more like an accidental plot hole.

At worst—and at the risk of sounding jaded—"The LEGO Movie 2" is a 2-hour toy commercial that's almost as good as the first, but not quite.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Philippines

It's "Toy Story" with slightly less depth and more intellectual properties at its disposal. At best, "The LEGO Movie 2" combines life lessons, nostalgia, heart, and humor to build a colorful, fun-filled film for kids and kids at heart. Either way, “The LEGO Movie 2” is a pleasant and positive (if somewhat predictable) experience straight from the Warner Bros. assembly line, and there’s nothing really wrong with that.

Also, kudos to you if you can manage to walk out of this film without even entertaining the thought of buying a LEGO set “for the kids at home” (and not for yourself — yep, we totally believe you). — LA, GMA News