Sing 2 Is a Lot More of the Same

Universal

Illumination’s Sing (2016) was a jukebox musical that felt both bare-bones and overstuffed. It was bare in that it stripped the let’s-put-on-a-show musical formula down to its basic essentials. It was also overstuffed in that there were so many characters singing so many songs that there was hardly a moment to get to know or care about any of the plucky performers. Sing 2 doesn’t fare much better.

This sequel just feels like more of the same with little improvement. There’s a bigger goal for the showrunner Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) as he tries to sell a bigger show to a bigger venue now that his theater is safe and sound. There’s enough music crammed into the soundtrack to make you believe you’ve left your radio or Spotify on a pop station if you’re watching the movie in the background. There are even more characters added into the mix, ballooning the cast to such an ensemble that we can’t possibly explore any of their personalities.

That’s a real shame considering there are some interesting stories that end up being reduced to watered-down mini arcs. Buster’s desire to rise up in the entertainment world is an insecurity that I wish had some exploration beyond him trying to best the greedy and violent media-mogul wolf Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale). At the same time, Buster’s show requires the talents of retired rock lion Clay Calloway (Bono), who’s stricken with grief over the loss of his wife. That’d be enough of a story right there but, wait! There’s more!

The plucky pig Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) has got to get over her fear of heights if she hopes to have the lead role in Buster’s sci-fi rock opera. The intimidated gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton) isn’t sure he can learn elaborate fight choreography in a timely manner with a strict instructor. The shy elephant Meena (Tori Kelly) feels uncomfortable singing for a love scene and needs to find some special guy to be her muse. Buster also has to deal with Jimmy’s spoiled daughter Porsha (Halsey) wanting the lead role despite being a terrible actor (but, of course, a strong singer). There’s hardly any arc at all for pig dancer Gunter (Nick Kroll), porcupine guitarist Ash (Scarlett Johansson), or elderly iguana assistant Miss Crawly (Garth Jennings).

The only part of the film that made me snicker was a scene of Crawly driving fast while charmingly singing along to System of a Down. It’s a a rare moment of fun juxtaposition and going against expectations—every other song feels par for the course. How much surprise is there in Taron Egerton working his pipes when he’s proven as much in the first movie and his astounding performance in the Elton John biopic Rocketman? Or in Bono singing a U2 song? All of these numbers, lavish as they may be, come off so predictable in their pop.

The best that can be said of Sing 2 is that animation feels grander than before. The sets for the rock opera, which is an amazing idea, are quite the sight. Everything from the wire work of the spaceships to the outlandish costumes to the creative use of lighting via hundreds of tiny creatures is pretty clever. It’s enough to make you want to see more of that musical rather than the less interesting behind-the-scenes conflict. This is perhaps due to it being a simpler story of finding someone lost and exploring planets of various emotions. Squint and you could easily see it as a Green Lantern musical.

The jukebox soundtrack feels not only standard but relentlessly tiring. Song after song pummels the viewer, either being sung by the characters or just placed in the background. Rarely do they carry much weight, placed more for notoriety than clever staging. One sequence must’ve blown through about six different pop songs in the course of one minute, which further adds to the exhaustion. Probably the best use of the soundtrack is Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” for the opening number in an Alice in Wonderland musical. But as with everything in this picture, it ends before it ever gets great.

Sing 2 does little with its reprise and feels like the same tune played louder and longer. The humor rarely lands with any cleverness, and the musical format does little to impress. Though the script sets simple goals for the characters so there’s not as much wasted potential,there are just too many of them, and the arcs are further reduced by the predominance of lyrics over dialogue. The inspiring catchphrase of the film is that there’s nowhere to go but up when you’ve already hit the bottom. But Sing 2 goes nowhere.