Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted

source: Muppets Most Wanted

I did not see the 2011 film. My most recent viewing of a Muppet film was Muppet Treasure Island, which, despite all the '90s-esque flaws that plague it, is still one of my three favorite movies of all time, the other ones also being from Disney. When I went into Muppets Most Wanted, I was expecting the kind of humor from the old Muppet Show that this movie is in continuity with; you know, the clever satire and wit that made the Muppet Show into a program that every celebrity from Twiggie to Vincent Price wanted to be on. Instead, this movie is one slap in the face after another to me as a Muppet fan and they took every opportunity to do so. Problem 1: the celebrities. All of the celebrities felt awkward and mis-cast, and were clearly there to cram in as many big names as possible in order to sell more movie tickets. Christoff Waltz played himself, Lady Gaga played herself (seriously, why do people keep putting her in movies if she LITERALLY never does anything?), Danny Trejo played a REALLY head-scratching version of himself that amounted to one very obscure joke about how he was once an inmate in real life, and a million other celebrities whose names I don't know but whose faces I recognize played throwaway cameos. Ricky Gervais seemed out of place as the bad guy, as he never really had any charisma or actual charm about him to make anyone think that he was clean. Tina Fey's character was equally head-scratching and awkward, especially with her crush on Kermit. Yeah, that happens and it's not NEARLY as funny as it is with Miss Piggy, or at all. The one celebrity role that worked was Ty Burrell as Jean Pierre Napolean. His scenes with Sam the Eagle are what stopped me from leaving the theater early. Problem 2: the music. All of the songs in this movie followed Justin Bieber's "Baby" formula of saying the song title over and over again in a desperate attempt to be catchy. They're bland, they're uninspired, and they're not funny. Again, however, the one exception is Ty Burrell and Sam's number when they're interrogating the Muppets. THAT was funny. Problem 3: the villains. Ricky Gervais, as I said before, was supposed to be the silver-tongued charmer that is every single evil talent manager in cinema. He… Wasn't. Constantine was equally weak, being a clichéd "greatest thief/criminal in history" kind of guy with a quickly worn-out running gag about C4. And what was their evil plan? To put the Muppets on tour and pay out lots of money to get people to come to the show and write good reviews so they could rob museums and get lots of money which apparently they already have. Wah? Problem 4, and this is my biggest complaint: WHERE THE F**K ARE THE MUPPETS?! Walter from the last movie is there, as is Kermit the Frog, but the rest have been replaced by brain-dead lookalikes who apparently can't tell the difference between the friend they've known for over 30 years (since this is in continuity with The Muppet Show) and an obviously fake doppelganger who acts and sounds nothing like said friend. The trailers made me think that Constantine was a master of disguise who imitates Kermit perfectly, but instead the filmmakers resorted to that tired cliché of an obvious fake who everyone believes is the real deal, a cliché that quickly wears out its welcome if overused. Most of the humor from the Muppets was really, REALLY childish and really, REALLY dumb, including poop jokes. That's right, they put poop jokes in a Muppet film. But, AGAIN, the exceptions were the scenes with Sam the Eagle, Ty Burrell, and Ty Burrell's car. Seriously, why couldn't the movie have been about them? In fact, make a spin-off for them, Hollywood. Those two deserve to be compensated for agreeing to be in this stinker. And make use of that Tim Curry Muppet you made for Muppet Treasure Island. He's a celebrity. Kind of.

I hate to give the Muppets anything less than a 10, I really do. I'm an enormous Muppets fan, but this movie disappointed on a couple counts. First, they started using CGI - A lot. The charm of the Muppets is that... well, they are puppets. That somehow got lost in translation in this movie when some scenes included full bodies of dancing and walking Muppets. In the past movies, Muppets were shown full-bodied only as stop-action; but the CGI thing just takes the fun and mystery out of it. Another negative is over-saturation of the Muppets. They are everywhere now, from car commercials to my lunch at Subway. Disney is milking the franchise to death, sadly, so the movie doesn't have that special pop. All that said, the movie starts with a bang. It's a hilarious transition from the last film, though the absence of Jason Segal is quickly noticed. A cameo may have done justice there. Overall, the movie is fun; though the writing didn't get a lot of laugh- out-loud moments like their other films. The evil Kermit concept was well executed and the human actors were excellent in their roles. A few good songs, but nothing I'd commit to memory to sing on a road trip. It's worth a watch for every Muppet fan, and overall a strong 7 out of 10.

At the beginning of Muppets Most Wanted a song a dance number warns us as in all sequels this film will not be as good as the last. They were correct it was a OK film but most of the lightning quick one liners are missing in fact the first half of the movie was dull and slow moving. There were a few bright spots like my Hero Gonzo the Great new routing "The Running of the Bulls Indoors" Animal doing like a 4 hour drum solo. The villain of the film is Constantine "The Worlds Most Dangerous Frog" and a Twin for Kermit with a mole on his right cheek and Russian accent. Someone at the wedding scene is looking for a Usher and finds Usher the performer. The writers and producers missed what could have been a chance for a Awesome line. Tina Fey and Sarah Palin impersonator plays Nayda a Russian Siberian Gulag Warden and there was more than one chance where she could have said something along the lines of "I can walk onto the steps of my Gulag and see Alaska" but no they blew that chance. This film although disappointing to a long time Muppet Fan is one all Muppet Fans should go see. Non Muppet Fans may even enjoy it more because there are no running gags and jokes that make these Muppets films so much fun

I have been a die hard Muppet fan since infancy (and I have the photos to prove it), so I was excited to see this film. I left in a mix of emotions: disappointment, annoyance, and just plain sadness. I was so let down by this picture. It has none of the charm one comes to expect from the Muppets, and I chalk it up to poor writing. In the previous film ("The Muppets"), you can tell by the writing that Jason Segal knew who he was writing for and captured the charm. I have to wonder, as the co-writer from he aforementioned film also co-wrote "Muppets Most Wanted," if the less than stellar gags (Fart shoes? Really?) were the ideas of the co-writer. Muppets have an almost high-brow humor, the original show was on prime time for adults! Even Henson's kid shows did not contain cheap humor like what we saw in Muppets Most Wanted. Now, before I go into full-on rant mode, I will list what I did enjoy from the movie: -The team of Sam Eagle and Ty Burrell. You can tell they had fun together, and they stole every scene they were in. -Josh Groban being the maximum security prisoner. I thought I had recognized that voice, and the idea of him being a maximum security sort is just funny, no matter how you look at it. -The Opening Number ("We're Making a Sequel") I liked the homage to "The Great Muppet Caper"'s "We're Making a Movie." The only other song I enjoyed was the "I Hope I Get It" number. -Whenever Walter was on screen. He still had the charm and sparkle I expected from the Muppets. Sorry Walter, but even your spark is going out. -Tom Hiddleston as the Great Escapo. That's really it. My mother and I did not recognize many of the cameos, so that was lost. The characters felt like they were reading words on a page, as a friend so aptly put it, and the Muppeteers did not sound as though their hearts were in it. There was way too much Constantine. Kermit is the glue that holds the group together, and to have them not even be that suspicious was not convincing. I wanted the feeling I got from the earlier projects, and even from the earlier Films from after Jim Henson's passing ("Muppet Christmas Carol," specifically) or "The Muppets." It didn't deliver. I would compare this to "Muppet Wizard of Oz" or "Letters to Santa." Come on, Muppets, you need your mojo back. Maybe Disney will get enough money from this picture to at least release seasons 4 and 5 of "The Muppet Show." Show the new generation what our favorite puppets are supposed to be like. That's good television, right there. He best episodes are in those seasons!

There has been a quality to the Muppets since they were created around the 70's. Who would have thought there was chemistry between a frog and a Pig? And there's one of the greatest romances in history, a relationship full of friction and angst, with a man who won't commit and a very pushy girl, with an amazing and feisty personality. In their latest entry, Kermit is involved in international intrigue, as he's thrown into a Siberian jail and the most dangerous frog in history replaces him, as the company goes on an International tour with more than comical and musical performances. There are ulterior motives for this sneaky amphibian and his second in command, a delightful Ricky Gervais. Things get loonier with two competing authority figures more concerned with vanity than solving the crimes. Here is a battle of the egos that will have you roaring with laughter. Ty Furrell is a talented funny man, showing timing to rival The Three Stooges and mimicking some of the great funny men of the past. In addition to some of the terrific silly bits between all the usual members of the troop, we put the spotlight on Miss Piggy, who is a bit brasher than usual and Animal, trying to make everyone realize there's something wrong with Kermit. Along the way, we are treated to some terrific musical numbers, with more clever than usual lyrics, which are also brimming with the charming appeal of those old musical numbers when it was fun to hum the melodies and sing along. The staging is also quite good, and we keep hoping the numbers get bigger, with more singing, dancing, and some more terrific choreography. The opening and closing musical numbers certainly match some of the 1930's best; this coupled with Burgess' colorful photography is quite a treat. Hope the audience discover this terrific little movie and enjoy a treat rarely seen nowadays. Something that is not quite a sequel, a remake, but a film that is part of a tradition that has earned a place in our hearts and our funny bone.

I think it may also be possible that audiences are not able to effectively articulate their complaints about "CG use". Often any digital manipulation including compositing will be termed "CG". Full-body Muppets composited in post production are not a new realm for the Muppets, however Muppets Most Wanted marks the first time they have been used this extensively and for scenes involving such a significant range of articulation not typically seen from Muppets in any non-composited scenes. I'd argue that part of what makes the Muppets so endearing are their inherent limitations. In spite of significant efforts from a lot of talented people, many of the composited scenes, in particular the "stunt action" sequences come off as a betrayal to those endearing Muppet qualities. The Muppets have more subtly and effectively incorporated compositing effects, however the compositing work in this film was more often sub par, and not just for these full-body Muppet effects. The quality of compositing work was TV movie caliber, not of a 2014 Hollywood blockbuster. I found the compositing work in the final number so terrible that it distracted from all the good things going on there. Movie making technology is continually improving, and puppetry in cinema should certainly embrace those advancements, but perhaps with more subtle incorporation. I believe anything that distracts the viewer from the character and they story negates the effect. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should".

The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his sidekick Number Two. The last film put the Muppet's back on the the map, director/writer James Bobin and writer Nicholas Stoller corrects Bobin's own previous instalments niggles, gone is the focus on a new Muppet character and less focus on (real) human actors, here there's more Muppets, more songs, comedy and action. Packed with one-liners gags and with the obligatory cross section of famous cameos including Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Frank Langella and Ray Liotta to name a few there's all you'd expect from a Muppets musical comedy caper. This offering even excels it predecessor and brings the Muppet's even more to life with some CGI (footwork) but without taking away any of the puppet characteristics of the Muppets we've grown to love along side the human leads Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey who are on fine form. This is another proper big budget outing set in the 'real' world and not cheap TV movie nor is it based on a classic story. Most Wanted is a fine return to form and sits well with the classic Muppet capers. Highly recommended.

Oh dear! This is definitely the Muppets worst movie yet. I have been a fan of the Muppets ever since I was a child so I was excited to hear that they were releasing The Muppets. The first movie of this new 'series' was cheesy and so predictable that ever a 3 year old child would know what's going to happen next. Most Wanted adds 'an all star cast' and ever so cringe worthy songs into the mix. Parents if you are looking for a movie to entertain your children this is not it. I think it is time that the Muppets rest in peace... well unless Disney come up with a much better story which will entertain children and adults. If you love the Muppets no matter what then this might be for you.