Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Muppets Most WantedNicholas Stoller and James Bobin's smart screenplay that allows each and every character to factor in and flaunt their talent as the space and range provided to them is quite enough but unfortunately isn't as humorous as the they think which is a downer since it is an essential ingredient on such features. James Bobin's work is appreciative in here while executing the musical sequences but fails to do so on other side of it as the audience never catches up to the intensity of the stakes that are projected in here. Ricky Gervais, Ty Burell and Tina Fey are supporting the Muppets in a decent way although they aren't given the material to their potential. Muppets Most Wanted has a twisted and gripping screenplay with enough throwbacks for the fanboys but unfortunately lacks execution and better editing.

Totally lacks the originality of the original Muppets Movies that our family grew up with. I own all of the first six movies plus more than one season of The Muppet Show, a few TV specials and other Jim Henson films. "Together Again" is apparently their new theme song as it is used as the movie finale for the third time? I still wish I could get a real copy of the John Denver Muppet Christmas Special. I "cling" to the old VHS tape of it that still plays! Yes, many good "humans" in the movie. Tina Fey is terrific. Many singers including Celine, Lady G., Josh, and Tony Bennett . Many cameos in the film, but you and the kids may not recognize them all. Hardly anything else original to speak off which means it plays like a cliché-sequel. A "rip-off" of "The Great Muppet Caper", "The Muppet Show" and "The Man in the Iron Mask". Good grief! I thought Miss Piggy and Kermit got married when The Muppets took Manhattan? Enjoyable of course, but hardly collectible. I have other favorite Muppet films that I like much more.

After being successfully rebooted in 2011 in The Muppets they return in Muppets Most Wanted and end up in London (their spiritual home) as well as other European cities.The famous again Muppets have a new manager Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) and they embark on a world tour but the tour is a front as Badguy and his cohort Constantine (A Kermit lookalike who has replaced Kermit) rob historical venues across Europe. Tina Fey is fun as the prison guard in a Russian gulag where the real Kermit has been sent to.Ty Burrell is Interpol Inspector Napoleon, co investigating with CIA agent Sam the Eagle while at the same time poking fun at French stereotypes.There are many cameos some are blink and you miss them ranging from James McAvoy, Lady Gaga, Christoph Waltz, Frank Langella, Ray Liotta, Danny Trejo, Salma Hayek and Tom Hiddleston.The film is fun enough, a solid and enjoyable film with a good musical number (The Gulag Song) near the end of the film. Its not as good as The Muppets and borrows from earlier films such as The Great Muppet Caper. Then again the film acknowledges that sequels are not as good as the original film in its opening number. Jason Segel's absence is felt in this film and it also does feel a little bit flabby here and there.

I'm a sucker for nostalgia so you'll be hard-pressed to get a negative word out of me about the Muppets. I was a fan of the 2011 Jason Segal movie and news that the Muppets were returning for another movie where the human presence was toned down to allow more time with the characters I love guaranteed I would be seeing MUPPETS MOST WANTED. Is it a perfect movie? No. I'm not going into the experience for a mind-blowing, award-winning film. I'm going in for felt puppets I've loved since childhood getting into funny scenarios with loads of unnecessary (and occasionally head-scratching) cameos. The movie feels as if it takes some cues from THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER (1981) but I haven't seen that movie probably more than twenty years so I couldn't say for certain. It begins at the exact moment when THE MUPPETS ended when the Muppets realize the cameras are still rolling. What could that mean? A sequel, of course! This time, the Muppets are going on tour across Europe under the guidance of their new tour manager, Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). Meanwhile, there is a prison break in a Siberian gulag where the world's most famous criminal, Constantine…a near perfect doppelganger of Kermit the Frog…has escaped. In what comes as a surprise to no one but the Muppets, Badguy is manipulating the Muppets. Phase One: replace Kermit with Constantine, sending Kermit to the gulag in his place. Phase Two: use the Muppets' tour to pull off the most daring heist in criminal history.If you're a fan of the Muppets, then there's nothing really to read here. You'll probably see this movie, if you haven't already. The Muppets themselves never really fail to entertain. Even at their worst, the Muppet movies have some sort of redemption factor from their collection of beloved characters. I love the addition of Constantine. He's a fun new baddie with a vaguely Eastern European accent who, despite a complete inability to mimic Kermit in any way, infiltrates the Muppets with ease because he's willing to let them do whatever they want. There's a small thread through the film about self-control, where Kermit makes the Muppets adhere to strict schedules and routines whereas Constantine lets them run wild (literally, in some cases….I'm looking at you, Gonzo, with your indoor running of the bulls). The plot is simple, as one would expect, and only really serves to move the characters from set piece to set piece. What really makes a Muppet movie are two things: the music and the cameos. The last Muppet movie from 2011 was fun but, looking back on it now almost four years later, the music has completely faded from my memory. MUPPETS MOST WANTED actually does have some memorable musical numbers and every single one of them was fun enough that I never rolled my eyes or glanced at the time, waiting for it to end. Some highlights include the opening number "We're Doing a Sequel", a fun little meta number where they openly make fun of the fact that it could potentially be a cash grab that fails to live up to the success of the first, and "I'll Get You What You Want", Constantine's song to woo Ms. Piggy and gain her trust.Then there's the cameos. You can't have a Muppet film without Hollywood heavyweights popping their heads in for a quick wink to the audience. MUPPETS MOST WANTED has got more than it's share (more than enough for a handful of movies, honestly) of star power appearing, though many of them incredibly briefly. For starters, the film features some great comedy talents in actual starring roles. Ricky Gervais is always fun. He was just an obviously perfect choice to play the charming, fast-talking manipulator and he's got a great sense of fun about him that fits in a Muppets film. Ty Burrell is fun as Interpol inspector Jean Pierre Napoleon, co-leading the investigation with CIA agent Sam the Eagle while at the same time poking fun at pretty much every single French stereotype the movie could conjure. Rounding out the main cast is Tina Fey as Nadya, the gulag warden. Every moment Tina's on screen you can sense the jubilation in her at how excited she seems to be in a Muppets film. I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was a dream of hers. That's the main cast; the cameos are near endless. Christoph Waltz, Lady Gaga, Zach Galifianakis (returning as Hobo Joe, of course), James McAvoy, and on and on. It goes a little overboard. The best supporting bits are those of Kermit's fellow prisoners in the gulag. I won't ruin those because they're just so strange but I will say this: I'll never look at them quite the same again.There's really nothing more to say about MUPPETS MOST WANTED. As long as you know what to expect from a Muppets film, you'll find it here. I would go so far as to say it is funnier than the 2011 film and, again, it's nice to have the movie focus on the Muppets themselves and not the human characters. The whole Constantine/Kermit angle is a lot of fun and the music is surprisingly good. As a long-time Muppets fan, this one is an easy recommendation as it delivers everything you really want from it.