Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

HDR is more awesome.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 2, 2019

It is by definition impossible to improve on perfection, so LEGO and Warner Brothers haven't really tried. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, sequel to the perfectly realized and executed The LEGO Movie, tells a more straightforward story of action, adventure, and zany humor that tries to wrench in a similar "human" theme that gave the original so much dramatic weight against the narrative's silliness. The result is a perfectly fun and agreeable movie that works well enough as a similarly constructed sequel but does not match the original for creativeness on both sides of the brick. The picture merely attempts -- often succeeds, sometimes fails -- to recreate the essentials without working too hard to take the material and the magic to another level.

Aliens have attacked Bricksburg. They have destroyed everything shiny, leaving the world a colorless, barren wasteland. Its been that way for five years, and the surviving denizens have re-dubbed it “Apocalypseburg.” The people have been toughened and hardened, everyone except for Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), at least, who still believes that “everything is awesome” and maintains a cheery attitude in the middle of chaos and dread. His girlfriend Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) thinks he needs to grow up, ditch the song, and accept reality. But when the aliens interrupt Emmet's sales pitch for a better, brighter future with her, the couple, and some of their closest friends, are forced into a retreat. Wyldstyle and several others, including Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), are kidnapped and whisked away into outer space -- to the Systar System, to be exact -- where they meet Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish) who is keen on marrying Apocalypseburg's leader. Emmet pursues in his spaceship and along his journey meets Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt) who is curiously more than willing to help save Emmet's friends. All the while, the threat of "Armamageddon" hangs over the LEGO universe.

The film is at its best in its opening act, playing in the literal sandbox of a decayed world with strong, obvious vibes of Mad Max propelling the look and feel. The film folds in a number of nice touches that hearken back to the original -- such as a scene featuring Mrs. Scratchen-Post herding her post-apocalyptic cats (including one named "Scarfield") -- that re-establish the world, as broken and upside down as it may be, and pit the ever-optimistic Emmet, who is still jiving to Everything Is Awesome, against the dead and depressed environment around him. But as the film transitions to its second act, with several of the characters taken against their will and Emmet joining forces with the mysterious Rex to get them back, the film becomes a collection of moments rather than a neatly assembled cohesive story, scenes stitched together with narrative connection but dragged out in an effort to cram as much "stuff" into the movie as possible. It's a delicate balance the first movie nailed. It flowed from one set piece to the next (Bricksburg, the Old West, Cloud Cuckoo Land, and so on) with panache and purpose, finding the film's beating heart and reinforcing its purpose with the surprise reveal. There is no such luxury for this film to fall back on. The truth of the world is established, and try as this film might to once again capture the human spirit in the real world scenes, it cannot.

The film is certainly entertaining despite the various difficulties it encounters and challenges it cannot overcome. It's appropriately colorful, the new music is catchy (though the film does smartly fall back on variations of Everything Is Awesome), and the characters are fun. The film thrives on weird and excess, which the film -- and its predecessor -- offers in droves. The worlds are colorful and glittery (even if there's not enough Unikitty). It's...fine. It really is. It checks off all the checkboxes with appropriate aplomb, from creative visuals to enthusiastic voice acting. It's just that gosh-darn story that gets in the way, a story lacking the scope, creativity, vision, and zest that defined the original. To its credit, the film doesn't try to be the original, or to reinvent it. It seems perfectly happy just rehashing bits and pieces to lesser result, offering more of a simple delight rather than a compelling experience.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

The HDR colors are the big winner on this disc. The adds to depth and brilliance are obvious right at the studio logo that appears above a full-screen blue LEGO plate background, a much more prominently deep and boldly saturated blue which appears comparatively flat and dull on the Blu-ray. Look at a big light-up "you're welcome" sign at the 15:15 mark. On the Blu-ray, the lights on the letters appear diffuse, softly spreading from the source and almost blurring the image. On the UHD, the light is more evenly distributed while still appearing brighter and more colorful without the diffusion (the scene is also a good example of improved black level depth, both in terms of darker backgrounds and black LEGO pieces). The improvements to color and the better handling of luminance are vital in a movie as tonally diverse as this. Whether bright color sources within darker frames or just a barrage of joyfully exuberant shades parading through the screen, the adds to pop and punch and saturation and depth and realism are a great help to better enjoying the movie. Warner Brothers' HDR coloring certainly brings out the best, remaining faithful to the movie's palette while adding greatly improved contrast and punch, though at times at the expense of a slightly darker overall image.

Textural increases are a little more subtle but no less critical. Obviously, with the textures the way they are in this movie, many of the most obvious improvements will be seen in relative close-up. The silvery vertical and horizontal stripes on Emmet's orange vest reveal a more tactical, rough-looking depth on the UHD. They actually look a little raised on the UHD versus appearing flat on the Blu-ray. Likewise, little seams and imperfections on the various mini figures and the brick-built worlds only benefit under the increased scrutiny of the 2160p resolution, even as the image has been upscaled from a 2K digital intermediate. Overall shot clarity is improved throughout and what relatively minor source and encode shortcomings that appear in the Blu-ray are handled with more finesse here. This is a very good UHD. While improvements to detailing are not significant, the boosts to the color palette are. This is easily the best way to watch the movie at home.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack which plays at a lower volume at calibrated reference level than seems ideal. At this setting, it sounds shallow and uninteresting, but a kick upwards of a few decibels really brings out the track's best. It's a beast of bass, offering several examples of exemplary low end push, particularly in a couple of moments when Emmet jumps and comes back down with a Superman-type punch to the ground that sends an impressively huge low end pulse through the stage. Bass compliments most of the movie's most intense action scenes, and the various other speakers carry plenty of discrete movement that sonically organizes on-screen chaos and gives highly enjoyable sound field shape to zips and zooms, particularly during the climactic action. The overhead channels lack discrete activity but do serve as critical spacial fills that agreeably add atmosphere to the presentation. Light ambient effects are well positioned, clear, and helpful in defining scenes of less intensity. Music offers much the same posture as the action. It's loud, deep, intense, and crystal clear. Every Pop-infused beat presents beautifully with dominant front side prioritization but seamless and perfectly balanced surround usage as well. Dialogue is clear, center focused, and always stands above any surrounding effects. Crank it up a bit and enjoy.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part's UHD release contains all of its supplemental content on the bundled Blu-ray disc, which is listed below. The UHD disc carries over the commentary but has no other features. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Everything is Awesome Sing-Along (1080p, 1:52:26): The movie follows an introduction to the karaoke-style presentation. This also includes additional features like animated dialogue, pop-up trivia, a game of seek and find, a Unikitty cameo character count, and more. This supplement is only accessible under the "Play" menu option.
• They Come in Pieces: Assembling The LEGO Movie 2 (1080p, 8:49): Looking back on the original, crafting a sequel, this film's themes, new characters, voice acting, production design, digital animation, and more.
• Emmet's Holiday Party: A LEGO Movie Short (1080p, 2:43): Emmet plans a holiday party in Apocalypseburg to help brighten the place up.
• Outtakes and Deleted Scenes (1080p, 12:22 total runtime): Included are Crosswalk; Welcome to the Systar System; Rex Signs a Check, Autographs a Pic, & Plays Tic Tac Toe; On the Rexcelsior; Guards Animated; Superman's Crystal; Mayhem Saves Lucy; Lucy Saves Mayhem; The Video; and Justice League. Most of the scenes are presented in earlier stages of the animation process.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:29): "Super Cool" (Official Lyric Version). By Beck featuring Robyn & The Lonely Island.
• Audio Commentary: With Directors Mike Mitchell, Writers/Producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and Animation Director Trish Gum. The track covers all of the expected areas of concern, including story, voicing, production design, technical details, and more.
• Promotional Materials (1080p): Included are In 2019 Be Whatever You Wanna Be (0:43), Me and My Minifig (3:00), Please Silence Your Cell Phones (0:55), LEGO Sets in Action (2:17), and LEGO Designers (3:30).

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Whereas the first LEGO Movie felt novel in concept, sharp in delivery, and sincere in its secondary human story, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part seems more content to just rework the same angles. Where the original played with an obvious zeal for the material and heart for its themes, the sequel feels more manufactured, built to capitalize on the branding and characters rather than to tell an essential story. It's perfectly serviceable entertainment, fun in the moment, and does have some cool ideas and catchy songs in its arsenal, but it's destined to be a footnote in the shadow of its colossally legendary predecessor. Warner Brothers' UHD delivers an excellent video image, particularly considering the significant adds to color depth and brilliance. Atmos audio is tremendous once the volume gets an upward adjustment, and a decent but fairly generic collection of extras are included. Recommended.