Abominable

RATING: B+

Dreamworks Animation has seriously fallen apart in recent years. Bizarrely enough, some of their sequels have been their best features, while the original films have been alarmingly below average -- both for them and for the computer-animated genre in general. Whilst getting good installments in the Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon series, we've also been given fodder such as Home, Trolls, and the dumpster fire that was The Boss Baby. This is their first original feature since the latter (also Captain Underpants--yeah, that was a thing).

This one takes place out in China, where a girl named Yi (Chloe Bennet from Agents of SHIELD) discovers a yeti out on her apartment roof. As it turns out, this yeti has escaped from a businessman's compound--and the guy (Eddie Izzard) wants him back. Thus begins a story of what starts out initially as How to Train Your Yeti, but then turns into a plot similar to Home as Yi and her two friends help get the yeti back to his home.

Despite the comparison to Home, this movie is way better. In fact, this is the best Dreamworks Animation non-sequel/spin-off in a long time (since Rise of the Guardians and Megamind). It's far more accessible than the likes of Home or Boss Baby, which felt way too kid-oriented. Yeah, this one's kid-oriented too--but it doesn't feel dumbed down, or feel only accessible to five-year-olds. This one actually has some proper heart to it, and the humor is actually funny and not cringe-worthy (unless you hate slapstick). Not to mention that a lot of the animation is gorgeous.

The characters in this are actually generally likable, and the yeti in question does endear himself fairly quick. And while the plot doesn't really break much new ground, they do pull a little bit of an "unexpected villain" twist on us. Even the soundtrack is fairly good--and that includes the occasional pop numbers they throw in, normally one of the cringe-worthy aspects of modern movies that is actually used decently here (not to mention Coldplay's "Fix You" being thrown in a good spot). So many of the problems that have plagued other Dreamworks movies in recent years or even just other computer-animated films in general are virtually nonexistent here.

Probably the biggest issue here is the yeti's magical powers that he turns out to have -- and the lack of explanation regarding them. Maybe there's some mythology regarding yetis that I'm missing out on, but it wouldn't have hurt them to explain it anyway. The problem is the insane variance these powers have. He can control the weather, but can also create a leaf whirlwind or make a dandelion turn into a makeshift hang glider... or make blueberries spontaneously grow from nothing to dangerous sizes. As you can see, sometimes some of these powers showcased are absurd. And the fact that they don't bother to explain any of it can be frustrating.

What's also notable is how sentient the non-speaking yeti quickly becomes--at first, when he sees humans, he's of course like "What is this?" and doesn't understand them. But by the halfway point of the movie, he seems to understand much of what his new human friends say. Without much explanation as to how he picked up on their language so quickly.

Aside from the occasionally frustrating plot conveniences of the yeti, there's not much to dislike here. Some might wish the plot was more original, but the movie plays the formula just fine. And even if this movie doesn't reach the category of outstanding, it doesn't give you much reason to not like it either. Abominable is an unexpected return to form for Dreamworks. Unfortunately, with sequels on the way like Trolls World Tour and Boss Baby 2, it's unlikely to last.

Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw

RATING: C

Remember when this series was about car racing? I'm not even sure Universal does anymore. We've seen this series evolve from street racing to the most ridiculous, over-the-top action franchise in existence that's been finding crazy ways to use cars or other automobiles in normal action scenes, even when it's totally impractical, as well as utilizing impossible stunts. They've gotten by due to some star power that's only increased over time, and the bits of the action that actually are entertaining. And now... we get the first spin-off in the series. Because Universal is desperate to hop on the "cinematic universe" train, and the "Dark Universe" failed after just one movie.

The concept of this movie isn't inherently bad. It wants to take the best thing of the last F&F movie--the frenemy-ship between The Rock and Jason Statham's characters--and make a buddy cop movie out of it. Not the worst idea, because they're both good action stars (who are unfortunately usually stuck in below-average movies) and they have good chemistry.

The problem is, it takes the high-tech espionage of the last 2-3 movies and ramps it up to eleven, taking the franchise straight into sci-fi territory of all things. Maybe they decided to embrace the fact that these movies are scarcely grounded in reality?

Well anyway, Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw are called in to help stop Idris Elba, who's playing a bio-warfare terrorist--who is also a human-machine hybrid. Yes, seriously. He's bulletproof, and he has some kind of computer network in his brain that allows him to anticipate fight moves before they arrive. He even calls himself "black Superman." So now, despite being completely outmatched, Hobbs and Shaw must somehow defeat this guy with the help of Deckard's sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby)--who we've never met or heard of before because... reasons.

This movie rides a fine line between being silly popcorn action and being all too over-the-top to enjoy. There's definitely some fun action here--a car/motorcycle chase midway through is a standout. And a lot of the fisticuffs scenes are enjoyable as well. The partial problem is the sci-fi plot that doesn't feel like it belongs in this kind of movie. It doesn't help that there's vague allusions to a prior series villain being involved behind the scenes here, which only serves to make the franchise further convoluted.

But the bigger problem is a lot of the ridiculous writing and dialogue. Because that's often just as over-the-top, if not more. There are a lot of forced attempts at humor that fall flat on their faces. There are some funny moments, but several of them aren't directly from the dialogue (a hilarious retinal scan scene comes to mind). There's also the inclusion of Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart; the former's presence here is just annoying, and it feels like David Leitch is trying too hard to cash in on Deadpool there. Hart is okay, but it doesn't really feel like he needs to be here--essentially a pointless cameo.

Besides the occasionally good action and the isolated humorous moments, what does work is the acting--even if a lot of the lines they're saying are ridiculous. Surprisingly, The Rock doesn't seem as invested as usual this time. But Statham is definitely enjoying himself, as is Idris Elba. Vanessa Kirby--who you might recognize from Mission: Impossible 6--is also a great female lead, continuing to show her ability with facial expressions. Eiza Gonzalez also makes the most of her limited screentime. Some will enjoy Helen Mirren in her few minutes of time as well, although it feels like she's mostly there for the paycheck.

Hobbs and Shaw does unfortunately fall short of its potential. Granted, that ceiling wasn't high to begin with, but with a leading duo like this with decent chemistry, it certainly could've been better. But it's brought down by ridiculous writing. And not to mention the direction of the plot, which I imagine isn't a good sign for the franchise. Guess the Fast & Furious franchise going to space is inevitable at this point. Anyway, if you want your fix of The Rock and Statham together, you should probably just stick with Fate of the Furious--that movie's more enjoyable anyway (as far as that goes for a F&F movie, that is).

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

RATING: B

When we last left Star Wars (not including spin-offs), the franchise had been kind of thrown into a state of flux thanks to the outrageous division between fans over The Last Jedi... to the point where I'm hard-pressed to think of anything non-politics related that has had as much heated debate recently. Some fans (myself included) loved it for trying to do something new with the series, as opposed to The Force Awakens (which I mostly enjoyed as well, for the record). Other fans hated it for seemingly betraying the spirit of prior movies. And still others... actually did love/hate it for political-related reasons. Ugh.

The result was that the SW writers became utterly terrified of angering the fanboys again. Hence part of why JJ Abrams was brought back on. It became clear pretty quick that Episode IX was not going to be in the spirit of TLJ. And it even looked possible that there might be retcons. Or even that this one might avoid its predecessor's existence altogether. Which one can't just do; whether one likes it or not, the movie exists and is part of the canon. You can't just pretend it didn't happen.

But now the end of the "Skywalker Saga" is here. If The Force Awakens felt all too derivative of prior works and The Last Jedi shot in a dramatically different direction, then The Rise of Skywalker tries to hit a happy medium. Essentially, it is more similar to TFA in tone. But it does not ignore TLJ, and even builds impressively off some of the things it brought to the table--while also backing off from other parts. In the case of the former, the Force bond between Rey and Kylo is expanded upon to actually pretty awesome results. In the case of the latter, the only thing that is basically totally retconned is Rose (reduced to side role)... which is hardly upsetting to me even as a TLJ fan. (Although there is also a joke about not throwing a lightsaber away like a toy.)

Also importantly, Rise of Skywalker doesn't feel like too much of a retread. There's not another Death Star. The movie doesn't end with Palpatine electrocuting Rey and her begging Kylo for help, and then him saving her by throwing Palpatine down a reactor shaft again. Yes, Palpatine is back (though in what precise capacity I won't say). Yes, there are certain moments that do feel familiar. Yes, there are certain story elements that are similar to Return of the Jedi. But such elements are gone about differently; as such, there's still a degree of an element of surprise, even if not a large one. And there's nothing as insultingly familiar as Starkiller Base, and all that entailed. 

Yes, there are problems. There's a lot that they try to cram into here; perhaps that's the fault of Last Jedi for not ending with a clear sequel hook, given that both sides were pretty decimated by the end of that one. One major plot development early on (you can probably guess which one) is alarmingly hand-waved. It's ultimately done for the sake of trying to bring all three trilogies together, so I guess I can't gripe too much. But it's at times like this where it becomes alarmingly clear that they did not have a proper outline for this movie ready back in 2015 or even 2017.

What's also noteworthy is just how much the movie blatantly tries to pander to the fans--to get certain reactions out of them, and how much it seems to have borrowed from fan forums. Some of that works fine as well. But there are a few points, namely the ending shot, that feel so blatantly pandering that it ends up feeling forced and inauthentic.

The same is to be said for a couple of points that feel like they're trying to emulate Avengers: Endgame, this year's other big mega-franchise-saga conclusion; one of them (a lite "on your left" moment) falls utterly flat due to a lack of emotional payoff. The other works fine enough, but this film is not Endgame, and they shouldn't have tried even for an instant to emulate it.

Still, a lot of this does really work. The story is wrapped up more or less neatly. The three main characters are finally paired together for most of the movie, and considering the lack of time for trio-character-development they've had together, they play off each other pretty well as characters. And if TLJ was lacking in a proper lightsaber battle, TROS makes up for that--not to mention plenty of other fun action scenes.

There's some good new actors/characters as well, such as Keri Russell's rogue type Zorri Bliss and Richard E. Grant's new First Order minion, plus an amusing droid-fixer alien. There's also some various cameos--expected and unexpected--that work quite well. Even if such things are also "pandering to the base," this is a healthier version given that it also works towards bringing the franchise full circle. And as previously described, despite the obvious level of by-the-seat-of-pants writing, some of the plot devices from other movies are built upon or pay off pretty well. (Not *all* of them, mind you. But what they do build upon, they mostly do well with.)

The Rise of Skywalker may not be the spectacular finish that many are likely to hope for. It is a little shaky at times on its way to the finish line, but it does get there and doesn't leave too much disappointment behind in the process. And given that the last movie basically broke the Star Wars fandom and made the writers utterly terrified of angering a ton of people again... the fact that this movie is remotely satisfying is a small miracle. And maybe, just maybe, that is enough this time.

I don't know that I'll look back on the sequel trilogy with as much general fondness as the original trilogy, but I know that I won't have any big issue with revisiting all three movies... even if there are some things that ultimately hold it back from being what it could've been.

Toy Story 4

RATING: C+

Here's yet another movie from 2019 that I would be perfectly okay with if it just didn't exist. I mean, Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the trilogy. As such, the idea of going back to the well one more time is horrifying on principle. What could they even do? The story is over. There's nothing important left to say in this franchise.

Really, if the Lion King remake didn't come out in the same year, the idea of a Toy Story 4 would be a good contender for the worst movie idea of 2019.

Anyway, here we are again. Probably because money. Hopefully this time for sure being the last time. This new movie's plot is kick-started into gear by Woody and company's new owner Bonnie actually creating a new toy of sorts in Forky -- a spork with pipecleaners and sticks for limbs, and fake eyes attached to it. And it comes to life somehow. One of the toys' first reactions is this from Trixie the triceratops: "I have a question. Actually, I have ALL of the questions!" Indeed, Trixie. Indeed. And that question is one that the movie blatantly has no interest in answering.

But we'll discuss that more shortly. Forky's just one part of this hodgepodge of stuff. Shortly after Forky's creation, Bonnie's family goes on a road trip--and she takes the toys with her. A new adventure ensues when Forky keeps trying to throw himself away because he sees himself as trash, and Woody keeps trying to save him--resulting in a series of events that involves being reunited with Bo Peep (who was missing from the third movie, in case you forgot), and meeting a bunch of new toys--some from one of those scam "win a prize toy" stands at a carnival, others from an antique store.

There is a *lot* to unpack in this movie. Let's start with Forky, since he seems to be the most popular thing about this movie. The idea surrounding him is pretty inventive, and as Woody tries to explain to him his purpose, it does open up some pretty interesting philosophical discussion about what it means to be a toy, "why am I alive," et cetera. Unfortunately, much of this is thrown out of the window after the first act. Regardless, he is still pretty amusing at times--even if the "trash" gag is overdone.

Let's go to Bo Peep's return next. This was one of the starting points for the writers during the making of this movie--which didn't help my already nonexistent enthusiasm about this movie. Bo Peep was never one of the memorable things about the first two movies, and she wasn't really missed in the third movie. The kicker is her complete character transformation into more of an adventurous, almost-action girl. While it's certainly very jarring, it's a transition that ultimately works out fine (though her new view on life as a toy is a different can of worms). What's problematic is how in the opening flashback to Andy's younger days, Bo is bizarrely already more outspoken/a leader in the toy room. Look, if you want to change a character who had basically zero memorable qualities before in your new movie, that's fine. But don't alter how they acted in the movies prior.

But even that doesn't begin to get into the more bothersome side of this movie. This movie almost acts at times as a semi-deconstructing of its predecessors. And it starts almost at the very beginning, when Bonnie--who adored Woody when she found him in TS3--bizarrely ignores him in favor of literally everyone else. I don't feel like Andy gave Woody up to Bonnie so that he could sit literally in a closet.

That might seem picky, but there's more. These films have drilled into us in the past about how a toy's purpose--for them--is to be played with by a child. TS2 possibly delved into this concept the best. But here, Bo Peep suggests that there's more to life for a toy than being a child's plaything. And while part of that new purpose does involve the decently noble pursuit of getting more neglected toys families... well, without giving away spoilers, the film as a result ends up flying in the face of its predecessors. It's like they were trying so hard to present new ground for a toy that they lost sight of the mythos of their own franchise in the process. And thus, while the ending of the third movie basically hit all the right notes (and did a lot of onion cutting as well), this one wants to do the same but instead hits mostly the wrong ones and leaves a sour taste behind.

And I hadn't even gotten into how--aside from Woody, Buzz, and Bo Peep--all of the other original toys are sidelined for most of the movie. Even though Woody and Buzz have always been the centerpieces, the other toys have always played their roles too and been great supporting characters. It's frustrating to see both them and most of Bonnie's other toys that we met in the last movie given such little screen time. 

After all of that (and a little more!), it may seem amazing that there's anything positive to say about this movie. But if the ending hadn't gone in such a wrong direction, I could've probably overlooked a lot of the other issues. For one thing, this movie is pretty hilarious at times. A lot of that comes from the new characters. There's Key & Peele's Ducky and Bunny; and while not all of their gags are effective, there is one bit ("plush rush") that's actually a contender for most hilarious moment in the entire franchise--and that's saying something. And then there's Duke Kaboom, and given that he's voiced by Keanu Reeves, he's about as great as you'd expect. (There's even a Keanu "whoa" moment!)

And as previously stated, while there are a lot of questions to be asked regarding the existence of Forky, they can be overlooked because he's funny and it's still an interesting concept. And while I oddly don't have much to say about Gabby Gabby's character, Christina Hendricks does give a very good voice performance for her. And a lot of the other toys do still have a certain charm to them.

Toy Story 4 is fairly enjoyable at least because of its lightheartedness, which never feels forced. There are a lot of laughs to be had, which helps balance out the numerous problems somewhat. Still, it can't help but feel like an entirely unnecessary fourth chapter in this franchise that we didn't need. And the fact that towards its ending it ultimately goes against the general principles of life as a toy that have been established... well, it's hard to not be frustrated by that. More forgiving or casual viewers might overlook a lot of this. But I can't.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

RATING: C

I would've been totally fine with it if the Marvel Cinematic Universe had ended with Avengers: Endgame. But because there is money to be made, we're gonna keep going and milk this cash cow for all it's worth... until they inevitably screw up and make everyone hate them. Based on their success rate, that may not happen for a while, so we're still on this ride for the foreseeable future.

While there are some future MCU films that interest me--such as Thor traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy--another Spider-Man film isn't really one of them. While some folks have already gotten Marvel fatigue, I seem to only have Spider-Man fatigue. But then again, that cycle's been going on a lot longer. Three separate castings, plus that Spider-Verse thing.

This new installment takes place some time after Endgame. And quite frankly, the film dealing with some of the ramifications of Endgame is arguably the most interesting part of this. They even manage to work a darkly hilarious moment into all of that. But we're not going to spend too much time there, because this is a Spider-Man movie.

Peter Parker is about to go on a summer field trip vacation with his class to Europe, and he's hoping to use some of that time to confess his feelings to MJ (or rather, the girl who shares MJ's name from the comics). Unfortunately, there's someone else who's interested to which quickly makes for some cliched embarrassing moments. And which makes me annoyed pretty early on. But hey, their trip just so happens to coincide with the attack of the Elementals--monsters made up of earth, water, fire, and air--and the appearance of Mysterio to fight them. Wait, they're trying to convince us Mysterio is a good guy in this? They know that the majority of the audience either read the comics or is semi-familiar with the lore enough to know about one of the members of the Sinister Six, right? 

So to recap that last paragraph... this movie's plot is mostly shockingly uninteresting. The big draw here is supposed to be Mysterio and the twist surrounding him, but it doesn't work. For one thing, most people already know who he actually is. (Though they do give him a different origin story this time, which does prove to be interesting.) Another problem is that much of his plan hinges on a shockingly dumb decision by Peter. But Mysterio is just not one of the better Spider-Man villains to begin with. His big thing is large elaborate illusions and trapping people in them. And one of the signature scenes is supposed to be when Spidey gets trapped in one of those illusions, but instead it's just tiring.

What does work about this movie, then? Well, it is still pretty amusing at times. A lot of the performances are good; despite the problems with Mysterio, Jake Gyllenhaal plays him well. Samuel L. Jackson is also good, per the usual. Both the character of MJ and Zendaya's performance seem better this time as well. And some of the action is good; the scene with the fire elemental is probably the standout. The final act is okay, if unremarkable.

Actually, that "unremarkable" word might apply to this whole movie. Aside from the issues with Mysterio, little about this movie is downright bad. But little about it particularly stands out either--aside from the two credits scenes, of all things. And it's just hard to get invested in this. Because as a Spider-Man movie, it's just another Spider-Man movie and a pretty forgettable one at that. As an MCU movie, it seems fairly pointless. On both counts, it doesn't really offer much new or interesting to justify its existence.

At the end of the day, this is the worst MCU movie thus far. It's an unfortunate way to kick off the post-Endgame era. But then again, Marvel doesn't seem to be in a huge hurry to kick off the next story arc; the next movie (Black Widow) is a prequel. So I guess until they get the new storyline going (probably with The Eternals), this MCU installment and the next one are just going to be riding the coattails of their predecessors.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

RATING: C-

The argument could be made that the X-Men franchise should've ended with "Logan." It makes sense; after all, the entire series has mostly been a character arc for Wolverine (aside from First Class and Apocalypse--and even then, he had cameos in those). That movie concluded his story, and given that there didn't seem to be plans to go back to the older X-Men cast again after Days of Future Past--or to properly explain what happened before then in the new timeline--this series had basically run its course anyway.

Still, Fox was pressing forward with the younger X-Men anyway. And their next step? Retrying the Dark Phoenix saga, which X-Men: The Last Stand didn't handle the best. And while it sounds like at one time this movie was more close to getting it right... it got screwed both by meddling from Fox higher-ups and also by fate. Because then Disney bought Fox. And it became pretty clear quickly that Dark Phoenix would've been cancelled if it hadn't already been too far along in production to stop (and Marvel eventually did confirm this version of the X-Men series was ending).

So essentially what we get here is a lame duck entry movie--which is a kind of bizarre thing. This is a movie that once upon a time may have had a reason to exist--but now it has no reason, because this series was declared over before it even came out. And Dark Phoenix wasn't even supposed to be the end, and it shows.

But the fact remains that this movie isn't that good even on its own terms. While we don't have the extra subplots of a mutant cure to contend with this time, the Phoenix story is in essence still the same; and while Jean's backstory is done differently, things otherwise aren't really done any better. The Phoenix power is still held back a bit much here--until the very end, when we finally do see the proper extent of it... for about three minutes. And then the movie's over, basically. So I guess in a sense, they did get marginally closer to doing the Phoenix story right this time. But the problem is that this movie still is not good. And while The Last Stand had its share of problems, it was still at least generally enjoyable.

Part of it's the writing. There are some poor bits of dialogue here, but some characters just seem to be written differently. Mystique is suddenly telling Professor X "you're wrong" again... a lot. And Professor X's actions in meddling with Jean's mind to prevent disaster prior to this movie are ridiculously vilified. It's understandable as to why other characters wouldn't be happy about his actions, but it gets taken to insane levels here. And it doesn't make much sense, because Professor X's actions here arguably make *more* sense than in The Last Stand--and yet the fact that he's "completely wrong" here is a huge plot point and is barely up for debate somehow.

But another big problem is the villain. This can also be blamed in part on the troubled production; originally Jessica Chastain was going to be playing Lilandra, then a Skrull leader (then I guess they found out Captain Marvel was using them), and then for a while even she didn't know who she was playing. But they settled on Vuk and the D'Bari aliens -- which are basically discount Skrulls. I liked Chastain in Interstellar, but she plays Vuk way too monotonously here. Not to mention the fact that she starts off trying to manipulate Jean/Phoenix--by spouting empowering-related cliches repeatedly, most of which don't make much sense either in context. And while the D'Bari turns out to be a powerful bunch, they're also very forgettable and don't do much to stand out. 

It's a shame the way the movie turns out, because it's not like it's without good moments. It actually starts off pretty promisingly with an opening action scene that takes in space that is actually really well done and makes use of each mutant's ability. After that... not much else that's particularly interesting, aside from the ending train scene, which does feature some cool moments--such as younger Nightcrawler getting to shine. Quicksilver doesn't really get much to do after the opening this time, unfortunately.

What's also of note is the music. Hans Zimmer does it this time, and despite the movie being arguably the weakest entry and certainly the most meaningless in the series, he ends up giving this movie the franchise's best soundtrack ever. If only it hadn't practically gone to waste on a movie that no one really cared about.

The acting is also worth discussing; despite the prolific cast, it's pretty hit-or-miss. Some actors/actresses seem to be phoning it in; a lot of that probably comes from the reshoots, at which point everyone knew that this was a lame duck entry. What's surprising is seeing James McAvoy phoning it in. As a matter of fact, Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult are two of the only ones who look like they are taking this fully seriously (and Sophie Turner herself).

Dark Phoenix isn't quite as awful as it's been made out to be. But it's still definitely a mess, and probably the worst X-Men entry (though Origins: Wolverine isn't far off). And it's quite a shame things had to end this way. It doesn't make me feel better that this franchise will later be rebooted with new castings all over again by Marvel--if anything, it makes me feel worse. While this film might not be the biggest waste of time, it's still difficult to recommend to anyone due to its meaninglessness. My advice is to just pretend this franchise ended with Logan. Or Days of Future Past, if that works better for you.

The Secret Life of Pets 2

RATING: C

The first Secret Life of Pets movie was a fun enough movie, even if it was heavily derivative of other computer animated movies. Still, it had a likable enough premise centering around what our pets do when we're not around. Regardless of what you thought of the movie, it made a lot of money... so therefore a sequel was inevitable.

This movie basically takes three subplots and eventually awkwardly strings them together for the climactic act. For one, Max and Duke's owner Katie gets married and has a kid, thus introducing another new element into their lives; and then they take a trip to a farm, where Max meets a new dog named Rooster (Harrison Ford), and Max will have to learn to stop being so fearful... because apparently he is. Maybe I've forgotten it from the last movie, but I don't remember him being almost like Marlin from Finding Nemo in terms of being scared of the real world; instead, he more resembled Woody from Toy Story in that he only feared being replaced. (Man, these folks just can't stop ripping off Pixar, can they?) 

Elsewhere, Gidget the tiny dog has to rescue Max's favorite chew toy from a house chock-full of cats... and this is where those scenes of "learning how to become a cat" from the trailers come in. And in our third subplot, Snowball the bunny fancies himself as some kind of superhero now. Yup, that's a thing. And as previously stated, all three of these subplots will be driven together somehow in the final act. It's an odd case of attempting too much, but at the same time not really doing anything remarkable.

The bottom line is this sequel is not as good as its predecessor, which is unlikely to be a surprise. Neither of the two movies are overly remarkable, but this one is more oddly written because of the way the "plot" is structured. And while Gidget's subplot is generally fun and amusing (as is Jenny Slate's voice acting for her), both Max and Snowball take a step back in this one. As previously stated, Max's character seems to be a little different in this one. And while it was to be expected that Snowball would be different in this one, the direction it goes is just the wrong kind of silly. Save for when he fights an evil circus monkey near the end, though--that part's fun. Harrison Ford's Rooster is decent enough as a mentor, but feels oddly underused--he's not there for the final act, anyway.

Still, for all the faults this movie has, there is a little fun to be had. There are still a handful of hilarious moments surrounding the pets, such as when Chloe the cat tries to wake up her owner. These guys seem to have a grip on the way animals behave that is realistic enough for the setting they're trying to create, but still with a little embellishment for a cartoon. In both movies, we do see the kind of behavior that we'd expect from some dogs and cats--and what they might say if they could talk.

What you think about this movie will probably depend on what you thought of the first one. If you disliked the first one for being a silly cartoon being derivative of better cartoons, give this a wide berth. If you enjoyed the first for what it was, maybe give this a go but with tempered expectations. Animal lovers are really the audience that is likely to get the most out of this--so long as they're not cynical cinema viewers as well. Ultimately for this viewer it's a passable but also forgettable 90 minutes. Hopefully this will be the last we hear from this franchise, because Illumination in general has proven that they are not good at sequels.