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EDITOR'S PICK
'Muppets
Most Wanted' charming film, wasted celebrities (IANS Movie Review)
Rating: ** and 1/2
At the very outset of this musical extravaganza you are warned, `We are
doing a sequel and everyone knows that sequels aren't quite good`. You
could either take this literally or with a pinch of salt.
Either way, the film is a mediocre fare, punctuated with run-of-the-mill gigs
and sparkles that are aimless and trying hard to please.
After the 2011-release `The Muppets`, it is impossible not to enjoy
the return of Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Animal et al. These characters
are charming and it is really a pleasure seeing the entire old gang reunited.
`Muppets Most Wanted` starts from where it left in the earlier
edition. Although they are more popular, Kermit and friends have no idea what
their next movie should be. So after quickly brainstorming and rejecting various
takes on old classics including, `Gonzo With The Wind`, they decide to
embark on a lavish world tour.
Soon, they naively and unsuspectingly sign up with a shady and smooth-talking
talent manager Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), pronounced `Bad-JEE` in
French and embark on the ill-rehearsed European tour, by train, little realising
that their act is a mere front for a series of heists engineered by Kermit
lookalike, the devious Constantine, who escapes from a heavily guarded remote
Siberian prison called Gulag.
Their first performance is in Berlin. Here the overtly cautious Kermit objects
to some of Domnic's outlandish ideas, such as renting out the largest theatre in
Berlin for their opening night performance. But the other Muppets increasingly
side with Dominic over their frog leader, who's already stressed out enough by
Miss Piggy's plan to use the tour as a setting for their wedding and honeymoon,
none of which Kermit has ever agreed upon.
What follows is a case of mistaken identity, with Kermit hauled off to the
remote Siberian prison, ruled by the spirited Broadway obsessed warden Nadya
(Tina Fey). Meanwhile, Konstantin gives the baffled Muppets a free rein over
their show in Madrid, Dublin and London, which ends in amusingly catastrophic
results.
The `my badge is bigger than yours` scene between buddy-cop Jean
Pierre Napolean (Ty Burrell) and Sam the Eagle is distinctly funny and it would
appeal to children.
Also Miss Piggy's flamingo-assisted `Macarena` rendition juxtaposed
with singer Celine Dion in a moment of crisis is a crisis by itself. The vocal
pairing of the two divas is comical.
What's more, apart from celebrities in cameos like Salma Hayek, Ray Liotta and
Celine Dion, who have some determined roles, the rest like James McAvoy, Tom
Hiddleston, Saoirse Ronan and Chloe Grace Moretz have blink-and-you-miss-it
appearances.
The soft fabric characters are loveable on their own and the humans are
passable, but together their chemistry is rather weak.
Director James Bobin, who has co-scripted the film, fails to infuse sincerity in
the narration.
Here the plot with the heist drama is outdated and unappealing. Moreover, loaded
with cinematic liberties, the entire experience seems a farce.
Overall, the film offers loads of mild chuckles and fails to knock viewers off
their feet.