In Review: "Muppets Most Wanted"

In Review: "Muppets Most Wanted"

The hardest part of the Muppet revival is finding the right audience. My parents' generation grew up with these guys on TV every night. I grew up with second-rate TV shows like Baby Muppets and Muppets Tonight as well as amazing movies like Muppets Christmas Carol and Muppets Treasure Island. So for us, the Muppet revival is all about nostalgae. But what about the younger kids? They are used to optical spectaculars with maximum eye and ear candy. Instant satisfaction is what this generation has been criticized for, but it's true. The variety show is not a thing anymore. And that's exactly what the original Muppet show was. How can the Muppets compete with "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"? AND come up with something those loyal fans haven't seen before?

Plot

Hold on to your hats folks. This one's a whirlwind.

Right after the Muppets finish the first movie, they want to have another one so they call in the help of Dominic Badguy, who is really working with the evil Constantine, the world's most dangerous frog and Kermit's look-a-like, and wants to steal the crown jewels but has to get a map to get a key and a locket to get the jewels... *breath*... sooooo Constantine switches places with Kermit who gets put in a Serbian jail with Tina Fey while Constantine takes the Muppets on a world tour and steals the items he needs to get the jewels from museums and banks throughout the world.... meanwhile, Sam Eagle teams up with Ty Burrell who are trying to find out who keeps stealing this stuff.

You got that? Yeah, me neither.

Stars

This movie is packed with famous stars: Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Rickey Gervais, Tony Bennett, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Sean Combs, Tom Hiddleston, Ray Liotta, Salma Hayek, Jemaine Clement, Kenneth Collard, Rob Corddry, Mackenzie Crook, Zack Galifianakis, Toby Jones, Tom Hollander, Frank Langella, Ross Lynch, James McAvoy, Chloe Grace Moretz, Usher, Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci...the list goes on and on.

There was nothing wrong with all of these stars popping up and the main ones do a good job, but where are all my Muppets? Isn't that what the movie is called?

Message

Everyone needs family even if they are a mixture of pigs, chickens, frogs, birds, penguins, rats, scientists, and Gonzos, your family is always there for you when you need their help. Even if they mistake a world criminal for you, they do love you.

Overall

Muppets, you still need to work on establishing your audience. It was kind of funny that you made fun of your last movie and its lack of devotion to the original characters, but it's only funny once. Your next movie, if there will be one, should go back to your roots. Too bad if the little kids don't like you. That's not where your strength is any way. Play to the generations who remember you and will always love you even if you put out crappy material.

Also, the songs are not as spectacular as before. The last film harked back to the classics like "Rainbow Connection", and this film referenced "Together Again" but the rest of the songs were easily forgettable and huge time-wasters that didn't move the plot forward or let me laugh at any characters.

My rating for this film is because I can't hate the Muppets. It's just not in me, but I can shake my finger at them for a poor effort. (The first one was better)

2 out of 4 Kermits

(That does happen in this movie)