Muppets: Most Wanted

This review may contain spoilers!

This felt like something that belonged on Disney Channel and not the big screen. I would Muppets: Most Wanted a 4.5/10.

I have to say what I love about the Muppets franchise is that the use of puppetry, the heart and soul behind it has never been a weakness but instead a consistent strength. I have to admit that I love the Muppets sets, they have a charming low budget film quality to them that adds to the nostalgic feel of the modern day film.

Ty Burrell, who played Jean Pierre Napoleon, was the only good actor that didn't do voice work; he had a great relationship with one of the Muppet characters and he was fun and whimsical. Steve Whitmire, who voiced Kermit the Frog, had one of the most beloved characters of the film and he definitely was the heart of the film. Eric Jacobson, who voiced Sam Eagle, was a great deadpan comic playing nicely off of Ty Burrell carefree wit.

Matt Vogel, who voiced Constantine, was the star of this film. He brought out a great and enthralling villain, in fact this was classic caper villain and I enjoyed the care they made to make him a perfect thief. The number of gags aimed at the Muppets from him as well as the explosion gag was brilliant. He also had the only good song of the film so there's that.

Muppets Most Wanted ruined the charm of it's predecessor, essentially becoming what it promised not to be; a lame Hollywood sequel. Might I just add the pacing for this film was terrible, I couldn't wait to get out of the cinema. The costuming was incredibly generic for their characters and kind of tacky. The music and dance that I had come to expect so much of from the Muppets fell by the wayside this film, it all sounded pretty terrible. Essentially they chose the worst sequel concept in the caper/identity theft and then promptly went on to ruin any family element of the Muppets film and make it feel like some tacky kids movie.

Ricky Gervais, who played Dominic Badguy, was just awful, he couldn't sing or dance and he was just dry in a film that did not need dry humour. Tina Fey, who played Nadya, was neither here nor there as far as whether she was antagonist or protagonist, she also had a strange infatuation with Kermit that came from nowhere. Eric Jacobson, who voiced Miss Piggy, allowed such an amazing character to become a fairly two dimensional character in this film; all we ever really got was her relationship with Kermit in a really non-progressive side plot. Eric Jacobson, who voiced Fozzie Bear, made another all time favourite become a substandard plot device to affirm Walter's place as a new 'important' Muppet. Dave Goelz, who voiced the Great Gonzo, saw his character fall into the background completely. David Rudman, who voiced Scooter, had a more major role than I would have liked as he took away from better Muppets and did not appeal to me. Peter Linz, who voices Walter, was just a joke, he had an entire movie being the lead character and then got completely pushed to a very small side character role that pretended to be a major part.