The Angry Birds Movie 2

The Angry Birds Movie 2 has played in theaters for three weeks now. I put off seeing it because of a hectic August. But it's September now, so here's a review.

The Birds and the Pigs are locked in a prank war. But then, Zeta (Leslie Jones) of nearby Eagle Island starts tossing giant ice balls at both their islands. The Pig King Leonard (Bill Hader) calls a truce with the Birds. Red (Jason Sudeikis) isn't convinced until Leonard shows up at his house. Red quickly organizes the mission to Eagle Island. They're joined by fellow Birds Chuck (Josh Gad), Bomb (Danny McBride) and Chuck's sister, Silver (Rachel Bloom). Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage), bravest Bird of all, wants to sit this one out. The Birds and Pigs on the mission have to work fast to stop Zeta from using a new superweapon to bombard their islands with ice-lava balls.

That's almost the whole movie.

Meanwhile, three lil Birds chase after three eggs that washed out to sea. Their subplot supplements the movie with its surprising humor. Their antics help save the day near the end. They also get a genuinely funny pre-credit scene.

The main plot goes strong for 99 minutes. Its character relationships, particularly Red and Silver, are surprisingly endearing. Bomb's plan to deal with a flock of eagle guards takes a surprising turn. Zeta's plan is so stupidly short-sighted it makes sense. There's quite a bit of black humor. A few gags went on too long, but there were more hits than misses.

There's plenty of creative wit to behold. The characters and scenery are still appealing. The frozen Eagle Island, in particular, is an impressive villain base. The final battle is fast-paced and coherent. The voice cast is great, particularly Jones as Zeta, Dinklage as Mighty Eagle and the voices of the lil birds. The soundtrack has some great selections, though they overshadow a good score by Heitor Pereira.

The Angry Birds Movie 2 is another step towards the great video game movie. Its story is straightforward and entertaining even with its subplot. You'll be surprised at what it's capable of. There's one major reason why you should see it now:

And that's because it has a short. Hair Love, by Matthew A. Cherry and Bruce W. Smith, has a father and daughter bond over hairstyling. There's a lot more than that, and it tells all in seven minutes. Be careful. It's pretty emotional.