Review of Rio 2 (2014) by Jesse O — 12 Aug 2014

The first Rio didn't really set the world on fire to the point that everyone was clamoring for a sequel, but here we are. Personally, while I thought the first Rio was a little kiddy, it was still a pretty fun little movie.

This one, on the other hand, didn't really do much for me. You can just sense them going through the motions as far as plot, character development, and voice acting. The songs, though, are actually pretty damn good all things considered, it's just got a very different flavor and style than what you'd normally see in a Disney movie.

I'd pick any of these songs over anything on Frozen every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I realize everybody loves Frozen, but the songs in that movie are stereotypically Disney to a fault. To me, it was a parody of a Disney move.

But I digress, if there's any reason this film gets two stars it is because of its songs and its animation. It's certainly very colorful and vibrant, but I feel it's almost that way because there was really nothing else the film offered, so they'd hope that you'd be distracted by the colorful visuals and just pretend the film was great.

Some people may have bought into that, but I didn't. Not because I'm better, or smarter, than them. I'm just not easily fooled. I realize that sounds condescending, but it wasn't intended as such.

To be honest, I'm really having a tough time remembering most of this movie even after a day of watching it. I watched The Raid 2 over a month ago and I remember more about that movie than I do about this one that I watched last night.

Perhaps because I thought the former was one of the greatest action films I've ever seen and this is just a pedestrian sequel to a fairly solid, but unimpressive, film. The story is eco-frendly, so the hippies in the audience will be happy.

Can't exactly complain about the film's message, but the way it goes about it is done in an incredibly predictable and tired fashion. There are some inspired bits, I thought the soccer scene was cool and the melodramatic love duet between Nigel and Gabi was pretty funny.

I don't think there are any more highlights in the film to be quite honest. I'm sure kids will be amused and that's ultimately what this film was intended for, kids' amusement. If you've followed my reviews, and why would you, then you know how I feel about this.

Kids can't go to movie theaters by themselves, they need adult supervision...hence why you make it so both the kid and the adult can enjoy the movie. Why is that so hard to figure out? Pixar, for the most part, certainly not on Cars 2, and The Muppets have figured this formula out.

I don't understand why it's so difficult. I suppose it's easier to amuse children, what with their age and underdeveloped minds, they're not looking for intelligent storytelling or interesting character development, they just want to laugh at the goofy shit that happens.

Easier to do that than it is to legitimately try to make a good movie that appeals to both audiences, however different they may be. I may not have enjoyed this movie, but it's practically an inoffensive little movie, it's not gonna cause you to pull your hair out, it's just dull and uninspired and it's obvious that this film is, creatively, dried up.

And there's plans for a third movie, which I am dreading. But this is a business, and this movie made money, so a sequel is to be expected. You should watch Wreck-it Ralph instead, this movie offers nothing interesting.