The most notable thing about Muppets Most Wanted is that is isn't the total disaster it probably could have been, given its status as a follow-up to what was arguably the greatest Muppets movie yet. Director James Bobin (who helmed the original, too) attempts to acknowledge the fact that the movie isn't going to be quite as good as the first installment by deploying a catchy song to inform readers of this notion from the very beginning, and it's hard not to admire his intentions; Muppets Most Wanted lacks the zing of the the 2011 flick, but it's good enough. The biggest problem, of course, is that the movie doesn't really seem to know what to do with itself - whereas the original had a simple but solid plot to build its songs and gags around, Muppets Most Wanted spends a lot of time flailing in and amongst an overly complicated story. The film is helped by comedian Ricky Gervais, who - as a life-long fan of Jim Henson's fuzzy friends - clearly relishes every moment he spends on screen with them. For every joke that hits, however, two miss. Which is to say, for a sequel, it's an admirable attempt, but we wanted better.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
