It finally opened here last week so I've had a chance to see it a couple of times. I really enjoyed it a lot. I think it was MUCH better in basically every way than the last movie (indeed I would say it's certainly in the top 4 best Muppet movies, and possibly the top 3 -- there are a lot of things I love about MTM but also a lot I don't). Amazing work from Rudman and Vogel, I think they're the champions here. I mean, Eric Jacobson is ASTOUNDING as Piggy but that's not news. I'm not 100% sold on his Sam and I think his Fozzie occasionally fluctuates, but wow, on the whole the guy does such an amazing job with Frank's characters, it's almost frightening.
Some random thoughts:
I'm not really fond of plots that spend too much time separating the primary protagonist from the rest of the main characters, but the Gulag stuff was fun.
I do wish that some of the Muppets had been smarter, and that Piggy had cottoned on sooner and played a larger role in Constantine's downfall. And speaking of Constantine, I don't know if I ever need to see him again, but I think he was a fantastic villain and I really enjoyed the performance.
A lot of the cameos went over my head -- I hardly knew who any of them were. I agree that Celine Dion was out of place and shouldn't have been permitted to undermine Piggy's big song.
As with the last film, there are cuts to songs that are absolutely unforgivable. I LOVE the Swedish Chef bit in Interrogation Song, and in the truncated movie version of I'll Get You What You Want, the cockatoos and kangaroos seem to come out of nowhere very abruptly.
Ty Burrell and Sam made such a great team. I'd love to see them instated as the new Gonzo and Rizzo for the next few movies.
I'm really glad that when they wanted a "classic" Muppet song to lean on, they picked one from MTM rather than continuing to flog Rainbow Connection or a similar song that has suffered from overexposure. That finale hits me hard.
So happy to see so much material for Scooter and Rowlf (another character who gets short changed by song cuts). And Link! Bobby freakin' Benson?! This movie, man.
Walter wasn't too intrusive. I like him fine, but I'm really glad he wasn't the primary focus this time around.
I hope the future brings us more Johnny Fiama. I'd like to see heavier roles for Pepe too.