Director: Carlos Saldanha
Writers: Carlos Saldanha, Don Rhymer, Jenny Bicks, Yoni Brenner and Carlos Kotkin
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andy Garcia, Anne Hathaway, Kristin Chenoweth, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez and Jemaine Clement
Studio: 20th Century Fox
“Rio 2″ opens with Blu having started a family. I guess enough time passed between the first movie and this one for Jewel to pop out three kids. But, I know nothing about how birds bone. More characters are back and there’s a lot of broad jokes. Honestly, I can’t be mad about the film as that was what has always been presented. Hell, I dare anyone watching the film to be upset that it was a carbon copy of the lackluster original.
Cartoon birds have a proud lineage. They thwart cats after properly identifying them and they guide dogs to aviation history. That being said, they can’t really carry a movie. I mean, you can build a narrative around them and force them to do things. But, it’s not like watching birds talk and carry on relationships can carry a movie. That’s when you get the musical numbers, cultural jokes and the push to turn the environment into a character.
Ultimately, it’s a movie for the slow-witted kids. If the characters started making references to the Macarena, the Lambada or any tired cultural references; I wouldn’t be surprised. So much of this movie is predicated on accepting the terrible clichés that have befallen other films. But, why can’t I bother to give this film a chance? Is it the repeat viewings of the original on FX or is it the sheer blandest of what is being offered forth? I don’t know, but I worry like Hell that the kid is going to love this stuff. I know that I loved dumb stuff too when I was younger, but I grew out of it. Oh well, here’s to the lack of taste in youth.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!