Flash Movie Review: Rio 2
Walking into a room filled with strangers does not create anxiety for some people. It could be a business convention, workshop, classroom or a family event and it would not be a problem for a person. Years of teaching class has helped me overcome my instinctive fear of being thrown into a situation with a bunch of strangers. If there is no connection between me and the other people other than we are all in the same line of work, than I am comfortable. However, when I have gone as someone’s guest my first instinct is to hold back and be an observer. I am sure many of us have been in a situation where we were meeting our significant other’s family and though we were told they would not be judging us, deep inside we knew they would be. Sure you want to be on your best behavior and make a good impression, but the pressure can get to you. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in this type of situation, where I not only was careful with my verbiage, but was starving for fear someone would catch me with a piece of food dripping off my facial hair or stuck between my teeth before I could clean it up. There was no way I could not sympathize for Blu, voiced by Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me, 30 Minutes or Less), in this animated adventure sequel. Discovering they may not be the last of their kind; Blu and his wife Jewel, voiced by Anne Hathaway (Love & Other Drugs, Bride Wars), left the comfort of Rio de Janeiro and headed out to the deepest parts of the Amazon jungle in hopes of finding blue feathered friends. It would turn into an adventure that would bring a whole new meaning to the word family for Blu, Jewel and their kids. This sequel stayed pretty true to the original one. It would help to see the first one, but one could easily watch and follow this film without seeing the original movie. This comedy adventure’s main attraction was the big dance and song numbers. Each one was fun to watch and provided a huge palette of colorful figures crossing the screen. Musical artist Bruno Mars (Honeymoon in Vegas) had the perfect role playing Roberto, including a big solo performance. The story was the weak link, taking parts of the movie “Meet the Parents” as one of its story lines. I do not think children would care since there was a steady stream of jokes and comical characters. All of the cast from the first film were here including Nigel, voiced by Jemaine Clement (Dinner with Schmucks, Predicament), along with some new characters such as Andy Garcia (Rob the Mob, At Middleton) as Eduardo. This was an enjoyable fun film that did not stray from its winning formula established with the previous one. I believe everyone would feel comfortable being a guest at the showing of this enjoyable movie.
2 1/2 stars
Posted on April 14, 2014, in Fantasy/Sci-Fi and tagged 2 1/2 stars, adventure, amazon, andy garcia, animation, anne hathaway, bruno mars, comedy, jesse eisenberg, rio de janeiro. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
I just refuse to review animation, though love it if it’s geared to include an adult audience. I prefer animé.
I can understand; by chance have you seen Frozen? If so I would be curious to hear your thoughts on it. I believe there are a few animated films that received high ratings from me under the fantasy category. Thanks for coming by to leave your comments.
I know a lot of people like Frozen, but I watched about 10 minutes of it and discarded it. I prefer animation that has more of an edge to it.
I will keep that in mine when I seek out films to watch and review.
Thank you! 🙂
You are quite welcome.
Good review, Jordan. This movie just about managed to retain the same charming quality as its first installment. In the end, it’s like you described it, an enjoyable, fun film.
Hey thank you, I appreciate the kinds words and you taking the time to leave your comments.
My son loves this animation 🙂 besides of frozen
You have raised a son with a good eye and good taste. Thanks for coming by and telling me.
Thank you for your compliment. He has his own taste. And you are welcome 🙂