I dismissed this notion at first, because what else could they possibly do with an evil frog whose primary characteristic is that he looks just like the other frog? But he has so much personality, and Matt Vogel performs him so brilliantly, that I really wouldn’t mind if he popped up again somewhere down the road. Sorry, I mean vertigo.Ĭonstantine is just as much fun to watch as any of the good-guy Muppets, which has led some fans to speculate about whether he’ll stick around as part of the ensemble after this movie. He’s evil, but he’s overconfident, which leads to great gags like his mispronunciations of Kermit’s friends’ names, and his struggle with stage fright. This is the first time a Muppet movie has had a Muppet as the main villain, and he’s suitably sinister while also being hilarious. Hey, this Muppet movie has an actual plot!Īnd speaking of Constantine, that evil frog is one of the best things about the film. Which they do by replacing Kermit with his doppelganger Constantine while Dominic serves as the group’s tour manager, booking them into the venues that serve the scheme. Which requires them to infiltrate the Muppets. You could do an entire movie consisting of nothing but the Muppets doing songs and sketches inspired by different cultures, but the European tour concept also provides the movie’s bad guys with the means to accomplish their sneaky scheme, which involves stealing works of art from museums that just happen to be located next to theaters. For one thing, we get to see regional variations on The Muppet Show with acts like guest star Christoph Waltz waltzing with Sweetums in Germany, and Miss Piggy singing “Macarena” in Spain (There’s also that Spanish version of the theme song, which is muy divertido). It’s a simple idea, but it’s also kind of brilliant. For this one, returning writers Nick Stoller and James Bobin came up with the perfect concept to keep that going, with the Muppets going abroad for a European tour. The telethon to save the theater in The Muppets was a great device, because it allowed the characters to do Muppets Show-style variety sequences while also telling a story. But who cares, because it’s time for another movie! And in this movie, unlike the last one, there’s no time for the Muppets to stand around feeling sorry for themselves, because they have a whole big action-action-adventure-musical-comedy-caper to do. Yes, as Kermit and the gang tell us in the opening number, “It’s the Muppets again, with The Muppets… Again!” Except it’s not, because they changed the title of the movie after the song had been written and the musical number had been filmed. ![]() Here’s the answer: The purpose of Muppets Most Wanted is to be super-entertaining from start to finish, and it succeeds like crazy. And it worked! So what would be the raison d’être for the next Muppet movie? The last movie was carefully designed to reintroduce the characters to the world and persuade everyone that they’re still relevant in a heart-warming, uplifting way. That’s the same question we’ve been asking for 28 months. ![]() The Muppets take a minute to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, but then they ask themselves: What’s next? Within its first 15 seconds or so, Muppets Most Wanted addresses that concern in a striking but Muppet-appropriate way: The Muppets was just a movie! And now it’s over, as we see when the new film literally begins with the ending of the last one. But why would the Muppets ever break up? They’re a team! And anyway, what about all the productions that were made in the 1990s and 2000s? Were they trying to tell us Muppets Tonight and It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and Studio DC never happened? Well, it’s okay if Studio DC never happened. The story started with the Muppets having disbanded years ago, apparently soon after The Muppets Take Manhattan. One of the common complaints about 2011’s The Muppets was that the basic premise didn’t make sense. But if for some (lame) reason you haven’t seen the movie yet, maybe you should start with our not-very-spoilery review. You’ve probably seen it twice by now! So you don’t have to worry about reading this review, in which I don’t make any attempt to be vague or hide spoilers. Have you seen Muppets Most Wanted yet? Of course you have.
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