2019 | rated PG | Directed by Mike Mitchell | 1 hr 47 mins | Spoilers for The Lego Movie |

Given that for a sequel to 2014’s dynamite “The Lego Movie” would have to practically reinvent cinema to be better than the original, especially given it’s Five Characters in Search of an Exit ending that would be impossible to replicate,  “Second Part” is still a very funny and gloriously entertaining sugar rush of a movie. While dropping the first film into the Deep Movie Analysis Chamber would only yield more layers to it’s cleverness,  doing the same to 2 will probably only get tangled up in how convoluted, rehashy and predictable the story is, lacking the usual tight pace, more grounded character focus & irreverent satire usually punctuating a Phil Lord and Chris Miller screenplay. But even working at half speed a Lord and Miller script is still funnier and catchier than most studio comedies – and while it does take an act to get revved up, “Lego 2” eventually hits escape velocity on a growing pile of it’s own self-referential world-breaking weirdness, lifted by the very smart decision to turn the whole meta affair into a full-blown Disney-style musical. Voice performances are also great: Will Arnett’s Batman again gets free laughs, Chris Pratt does a killer Kurt Russell impression of an impression and Tiffany Haddish’s surprise singing voice carries 2 of the best musical numbers. It’s a vibrant, poppy, feel-good piece with a rough, slap-happy quality, that makes up what it lacks in originality with high energy execution that infectiously entertains. It’s a blast.