Wait, is 'Angry Birds 2' actually good? Critics admit the sequel is bird-tastic fun
"The Angry Birds Movie 2" is not … terrible.
It might even be kind of good?
At least, that's what the critics are saying.
In the sequel, flightless birds continue to fling themselves to their destinations via slingshots and devious green pigs are still constantly pranking their bird neighbors from an island away. But then "Angry Birds 2" introduces the menacing Eagle Island, run by take-no-prisoners purple eagle Zeta (voiced by Leslie Jones), who orders her legion to begin hurling massive ice balls at her neighbors.
Jason Sudeikis returns to voice the short-fused Red, along with Josh Gad as speedy Chuck, Bill Hader as Leonard, king of the pigs, and Danny McBride as the volatile Bomb. But this time, along with newcomer Jones, you'll hear the voices of Rachel Bloom, Tiffany Haddish, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez and Awkwafina.
Here's what the critics are saying about "Angry Birds 2," which currently sits at comfortable 73% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
New York Times critic Bilge Ebiri seemed pleasantly bewildered by his experience.
"As soon as the group arrives on Eagle Island, 'Angry Birds 2' mostly tosses story, character and sense aside, and opts for a go-for-broke style of humor," he writes. "The hoops our heroes jump through become increasingly surreal and hilarious. Highlights include a bit involving an attempt to steal an eagle’s ID card at a urinal, and a breakdance battle that comes out of nowhere and is resolved in even stranger fashion."
The Washington Post called the sequel amusingly educational.
While allowing that “Angry Birds 2” is "not great cinema," the animated sequel still "goes above and beyond what is to be expected from such things," writes critic Pat Padua, noting the movie manages to teach "valuable lessons about teamwork and forgiveness," "boasts a plot and action based on the foundational principles of mathematics" and "encourages girls to study science."
The AV Club critic Katie Rife says at her screening, it was parents who laughed the loudest.
"'The Angry Birds Movie 2' is the very definition of empty-calorie cinema — bright and shiny and satisfying enough for a few fleeting moments until it’s balled up and thrown in the trash," she writes. "It’s also fast-paced, interesting to look at, and notably less irritating than the original, which is all you can really ask of a film like this one."
And Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang gives credit where it's due for a sequel that manages to fly higher the second time around.
“'The Angry Birds Movie 2,' with its manic but never frenetic barrage of puns, needle drops and romantic subplots, pays a few cinematic dividends that a touch-screen interface cannot," he writes. "Also, if memory serves, the games don’t include the best scene of urinal-adjacent action-comedy since 'Mission: Impossible — Fallout.' Maybe they should."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Angry Birds 2': Critics are actually digging the animated sequel