 | Watch Muppets Most Wanted (2014) online Run time: 107 min Rating: 6.6 Genres: Adventure | Comedy | Crime Stars: Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey |
| Storyline Flush with their revival's success, Kermit the Frog and his friends are approached by Dominic Badguy to go on a world tour. Unknown to them, this is all part of the sinister plan of Constantine, the world's most evil frog, to become the greatest thief of all time. After making sure that Kermit is jailed as himself, Constantine impersonates him to use the Muppets' tour as cover for his scheme. While Sam the Eagle and Inspector Jean Pierre Napoleon investigate, the Muppets find their boss seems strangely changed even as Kermit desperately attempts to escape to stop the impostor. Only when Walter, Fozzie and Animal realize the truth is there a chance to prevent Constantine from pulling off the crime of the century. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com) | |
| Plot Keywords: frog, the muppets, world tour, muppet, jewel heist | |
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| Box Office Budget: $50,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend: $17,005,126 (USA) (21 March 2014) Gross: $51,178,893 (USA) (11 July 2014) | |
Having read a few strangely critical reviews, I felt compelled to add my own for balance. I am not going to compare this to this Muppet movie or that. I already see too many people doing that.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up with the original Muppet Show and seeing every movie and many TV specials, I have seen this bunch put together movies and shows with varying success.
The return to the big screen a few years ago was very welcome, and very well done. With this movie, I think they topped that and quite a few others! To me, as a lifelong fan, this easily ranks near the top of the best Muppet movies made.
Once I heard the opening number to the movie, I knew I was in for a treat. Every song in this movie was pure Muppet. Jim Henson always had a way of celebrating the best we all have to offer with a twinkle in his eye and a joke or two along the way. That spirit lives on in this movie. Whether it's doo wop, cheesy 70s music, or just a fun musical number, they cover a lot of ground.
The plot, as you may already be aware, involves some creative switcharoo, which is played off very well. This leads to a number of interesting scenes on both sides.
The movie is paced very well, and does a good job of switching back and forth between story lines. Just as you become reinvested in one, you're switched back to the other. You will most likely see your favorite Muppet at some point, although only a handful have significant parts. I always enjoy the familiar faces in the background scenes.
The human/Muppet ratio was back where it should be. Any proper Muppet movie should always star the muppets, with humans being "around". This delivered that perfectly, but also picked the perfect co-stars. Ty Burrell is fantastic, and his time with Sam the Eagle is wonderful, and something I had been looking forward to. Of course Tina Fey is great as well. She's Tina Fey!
There is a lot of well done will they or won't they at the end. You'll have to see for yourself if they do or if they don't!
And finally, while the matinée I went to wasn't hugely attended, there were a number of kids in the audience, and they all seemed to like the movie very much, even clapping at the end.
I personally enjoyed this movie quite a bit. I laughed A LOT. It's fun. It's silly. It's somewhat absurd at times, and that's what the Muppets are all about. And of course, they remind you how great it is to stick together with your friends and family. And any movie that can get the seal of approval from kids that includes clapping must be doing something right!
In the opening musical number of the Film they admitted it wouldn't be as good as the first Film....
ReplyDeleteWith a very basic plot and loads of cameos the film could have been good, but instead it was far too long to hold my family's attention. Ricky Gervais wasn't believable as a proper baddie in the true over-the-top-obvious Muppet fashion and his performance together with the length of the film (at almost 2 hours) made for an uncomfortable time...some families actually left the cinema before the end. The few laughs were few and far between...so in conclusion unless you are as besotted with the Muppets as Tina Fey's character was I'd save your money for something else.
I'm a Muppets fan and really enjoyed the 2011 film, but I am very, very disappointed with Muppets Most Wanted. This film is just an endless string of clichés. Very rarely is it genuinely witty or surprising. The script wrings all of the effect possible out of heist film tropes, caricatures of non-Americans (stuff that probably would have been HILARIOUS if this was 1964) and of course, the Muppet cast wearing their well-worn roles.
ReplyDeleteEasier for me to summarize are the good points. Ty Burrell was born to play a French Interpol detective in a Muppets film. Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords works great as a young-Topol-lookalike Russian. And there are a few random gags here and there that hit home. Oh, and two or maybe three of the songs are either weird or catchy enough to be enjoyable.
But that's it. The plot is nothing great. The dialog lacks wit. Most of the songs are simply dialog set to autopilot melodies. The premise feels like it belongs in a decade of the past. "Kermit identity crisis" and "Muppets heist-related film" have already sort of been done in The Muppets Take Manhattan and The Great Muppet Caper, respectively. Not exact equivalents, but close enough to make Muppets Most Wanted seem like a lesser retread. I'm glad that the Muppets franchise has been re- energized, but like Star Trek, I have a hard time feeling like it's worth it unless they develop better stories for future installments.