After the success of Muppets reboot The Muppets in 2011, Disney put a sequel into production almost immediately. The result? Muppets Most Wanted, a sort of caper flick that saw the gang traversing around Europe in an attempt to clear Kermit the Frog's name. Starring the likes of Ricky Gervais, Tiny Fey and Ty Burrell, it's about as competent a sequel as you could probably imagine - only slightly lesser than the first. The best thing about the flick, of course, is the way in which it proves that there's still life left in these iconic characters - there's never a sense that Kermit and friends are out of time or relics of a forgotten era. Quite the opposite, in fact: they feel entirely relevant and at home in 2014. There is plenty to love: Ricky Gervais provides great comic moments throughout, the movie is brilliantly self-aware (it opens with a song about the fact that sequels are always worse), not to mention a whole bunch of great and inspired set-pieces and memorable new characters. A shame it didn't make more money at the box office, then (just $80 million): on the back of this sequel, a third movie would have been entirely welcome.
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.
