Angry Birds 2 Movie Review: A fun ride underlined by progressive thoughts  

Angry Birds 2 Movie Review: A fun ride underlined by progressive thoughts  

The kids film hardly has a dull moment and keeps throwing gags and progressive ideas at the audience
Rating:(3 / 5)

The first part of Angry Birds Movie, which came out three years ago, not only left me pleasantly surprised about how funny it was, but also made me feel that Red (Jason Sudeikis) is the ideal spirit 'bird' for those who don't quite fit in. He is a freak who doesn't fit in, gets bullied for his looks, fears relationships, and is perennially angry about society. This relatable character sketch of Red and the exceptional creativity behind the adaptation of the mobile game to a feature film kept me completely invested in the film. While the predecessor showed how people tend to mask their apprehensions and insecurities with anger, the sequel talks about the lesser-spoken topic in kids films: Saviour complex. 

Director: Thurop Van Orman

Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom, Peter Dinklage

Red who saved Bird Island in the first instalment becomes the Tony Stark of birds. They look up to him so much that they start naming schools, and energy drinks after him and teach bravery lessons to hatchlings by reciting his battle with the pigs.  As he starts to embrace this overflowing love and admiration, large icebergs begin to fall from the sky poising a new threat to both pig and bird islands. Now, Red has to start his 'saving the world' business all over again to safeguard his hero image. But things are tougher now as he has to join hands with rival pigs to take down the bigger enemy. 

Though the plot sounds eerily similar to a lot of films and is filled with the cliches one would find in a commercial entertainer--like a brother who's overprotective of his sister, two romantic subplots where nerd girls fall for freaks, a separated couple--the themes it touches upon like feminism kept me engaged. It was delightful to see the female characters in the film getting better writing and screenspace than they do in most Indian films. Be it Silver (Rachel Bloom), the superintelligent science student and sister of Chuck (Josh Gad), or the three cute hatchlings who take on a cobra, girls indeed save the day in Angry Birds 2

The film is a treat for the audience who relish pop culture, and the references here are just endless. Courtney, voiced by rapper Awkwafina mispronounces fiancee as Beyonce, the iconic Who Wants To Be a Billionaire theme pops up when a character answers a serious question,  the mean eagle guards break into Baby Shark song in a pub and wait for the 'Turn Down for What' and 'The final Countdown' tracks when the heroes walk in slow motion.

Angry Birds 2 hardly has a dull moment and keeps throwing gags and progressive ideas at the audience. They say the final idea a film leaves you with, defines the film. As I walked out of the theatre, I began to ponder about the times I thought success begets love. This film makes the thumping statement that heroes will always be revered as heroes, regardless of conventional success.
 

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