Jason Segel and Amy Adams held more sway than I thought. Muppets Most Wanted brings back Kermit/Piggy et al for a caper/heist film. While parts of the movie are amusing, Muppets Most Wanted lacks the heart of the 2011 film that brought the Muppets back on the screen. At least it has more explosions.
Picking up immediately after the first movie, the Muppets are invited to go on a World Tour by Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). Dominic plays 2nd fiddle to Constantine, the most dangerous frog/criminal in the world. Constantine breaks out of prison and frames Kermit to steal the Muppets and complete his master plan with Dominic’s help. Kermit is thrown into a Siberian Gulag under control of a harsh warden (Tina Fey).
Jokes land more lightly in Muppets Most Wanted than they do in the 2011 Muppets. Outside of the opening number (which is very clever), none of the songs deliver as great a punch as Man or Muppet from the first movie. Muppets Most Wanted also confuses funny accents for humor in all of their main characters. An accent can be funny sometimes, but without a character behind the funny voice, the laughs quickly dissipate. Only Ty Burrell’s Interpol agent overcomes his French accent, in part because of the relationship he has with the CIA agent and his running gag on French work ethic. Constantine and Fey’s prison warden have funny moments, but have nothing really to them.
As such, the story meanders from punchline to punchline with no real stakes due to the stick figure like characters. The 2011 Muppets at least had an anchor in saving the studio. The telethon incorporated key character moments like Walter’s whistling or Scooter’s direction to elevate the meaning of the studio, thus resulting in a very satisfying ending. In Muppets Most Wanted, the tour has no end goal and no worries. Kermit and Piggy have a brief fight, but are then separated for the entire film, eliminating the primary source of conflict and real stakes. Most of the other Muppets are relegated to the background when there is so much to use: nobody believes Animal, Walter and Fozzie’s loyalty is questioned, etc. However, Muppets Most Wanted pushes the adorable Muppets to the background in favor of its human leads, limiting the history and established character interactions that make Muppet movies great.
Credit goes to the puppeteers behind the Muppets for making Constantine and Kermit easily different characters; they have enough subtle differences to make it clear who is who when they confront each other. As for the humans, Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, and Ty Burrell are clearly having a lot of fun. Gervais is nicely oily, but not given much to do but be upset at not being taken seriously. Fey has a terrible accent and even less substance than Gervais. Ty Burrell has the most fun, and gets to use his zaniness to the most great effect. Cameo’s veer a little older in Muppets Most Wanted, with all of the great ones involving musicians.
Like its opening number, Muppets Most Wanted feels like studio mandated entertainment. Its trying a little too hard, forcing jokes too much, and propping up the humans over the Muppets too often. However, the Muppets at worst amusing, and hopefully the creative get it right next time. Maybe bring back Amy Adams.