My goodness...my goodness. Where do I even begin to write a review? I left the movie feeling shocked at how GOOD this was. I sitll have goosebumps thinking about it.
While I felt the 2011 film felt all over the map, overly sappy, wayyy too liberal with the 4th wall stuff, and cringed every time Segal mugged for the camera...oh and the worst part: it looked more like an ABC two hour special than a real film....this thing from beginning to end felt like a Muppet FILM. the cinematography is amazing, the voices/puppeteering is top notch(Fozzie/Piggy/Animal and Scooter felt like indistinguishable from Hunt), the songs were actually charming and felt like the classics, the chemistry of the muppets felt so real. While the film is mostly centered on Constantine, Piggy, Tina Fey, Ty Berrel and Eagle, I felt Fozzie really shined. And I liked the limited but key role Walter played. But Muppets Most Wanted from opening to ending felt like the classic original films...something I felt the 2011 definitely did not.
Here's the things that I really really loved especially
- all the Sesame Street references(Constantine mistakenly calling the Muppet show a show about numbers, sharing, etc and his watching of Kermit on Sesame...why couldnt they just have a Sesame cameo?)
- Rizzo protesting the lack of screen time he and Robin got in the last film(genius! He should have also protested lack of merchandise and lack of Season 4/5 dvds!)
- We FINALLY get to see the answer to one of the biggest questions of the last 35 years: What would Kermit and Piggy's kids look like? Havent seen Muppet Babies puppets in awhile
- Speaking of babies...holy goodness, who knew Bobby Benson and the Baby Band would have such a key pivotal role?
- the cinematography. My god, the cinematography. The scenes on the train especially, or when the muppets are introduced to Dominick
- seeing the muppets in the REAL WORLD. And despite some meta references, like the original films this FELT like the real world. Unlike the 2011 one and that out of place 1950s fake Truman show town Segal and Adams were from
- the darker tone. Gone is the sappy vibe of 2011, and it finally felt like a serious film
Unlike that horrible misplaced and tacky ninja scene in 2011, there felt like real danger in this one
- Kermit's temper tirades are back...in several key scenes!!!
- because of the amazing cinematography, the amazing craftsmanship of the puppet builds, especially the rebuilds, looked exquisite. Seeing so many obscure muppets from TMS was jawdropping
- felt like we saw a LOT more Muppets this time around, and especially in random background roles
- the music. Again felt in the spirit of the original one
- Seventh Seal and Silence of the Lambs references!
- Jerry Nelson!
- Lots of Link!
- Lots of the Mutations!
- Carl and Behemoth!
- Return of that weird yellow alien creature in the disco montage!
- Scooter sounds 100% like Scooter again
- Gonzo looks somewhat back to normal, as does Fozzie.
- No scene ruined by human actor oversaturation(and hardly any Disney channel tween show actors)
Probably a lot I'm missing, need to see it again. And unlike the 2011 one, this is one I feel I could see over and over and enjoy different things each time.
Yes, they spend a lot of time on the gulag...and yes, Constantine is in most the film, but I also understand the contrast of why it is. I also love that we get to see a lot of different live iterations of the Muppet Show production.
My only complaint is that I wish they would have brought back the movie parody commercials...how amazing would a Muppet spoof of a Wes Anderson trailer be?
There needs to be a new Muppet calendar and more Muppet merch, but thats a side issue.
My only 5 complaints:
- No Sesame cameos. This would have made it 100% like the originals
- a little too much time in the gulag, but again I understood this
- not enough rowlf/rowlf speaking scenes
- not enough pepe
- needed jim henson hour and muppets tonight era muppets
So yeah, not many actual complaints. NO IDEA what some critics are smoking by saying this fall short of the 2011 one. to me it blows that one away