SING 2: An Underwhelming Encore

2016’s Sing felt like Illumination Entertainment was trying to cut the middle-man out of the jukebox musical. It took the classic let’s-put-on-a-show plot and ran with it more for the musical numbers than compelling characters. Every scene where it feels like there was something worth exploring with the down-on-your-luck ensemble always felt shoved aside for another pop-culture melody.

To say Sing 2 is an improvement to this concept is not exactly the most glowing of praise. Sure, there are bigger stakes, bigger sequences, and some genuine tenderness to this tale of a plucky troupe shooting for the stars. At the same time, however, the film also doubles down on the jukebox numbers to an aggressive and absurd degree, watering down some rather interesting character dynamics.

A Bigger Show

The film returns where we last left theater producer Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey). His little theater of talented singers continues to thrive with sold-out shows. Unfortunately, his crew doesn’t seem to be bound for bigger things. At least that’s the impression Buster gets when talent scout Suki (Chelsea Peretti) informs him that his musical stylings could never land in the big city. So, of course, Buster packs up the gang and heads for the aforementioned city of grander theaters.

The ensemble adventures towards Redshore City, this world’s equal of Las Vegas. Buster arranges a crafty plan to get the attention of big-time show producer Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) to give his group a shot at the big leagues. It isn’t easy considering how critical the cynical dog Jimmy is of just about every audition presented him.

Only lies allow for Buster to get his show approved. The big fib he tells is that he can land the hermit rock talent of Clay Calloway (Bono) to come out of retirement. Why would Jimmy agree to Buster’s show if he didn’t have this info fully confirmed? Simple: Jimmy is also a murderous gangster who can just kill Buster if he’s not up to the task. So, yeah, bigger stakes this time than just losing a theater.

Too Many Arcs

While all of this is going down, every character finds themselves locked in their own issues that seem to always be pushed into different boxes. Rosita is playing the lead of the show but needs to get over her fear of heights for her big flying sequence. Johnny (Taron Egerton) needs to study fight choreography but can’t quite figure it out with a highly-scrutinizing choreographer. Meena (Tori Kelly) can’t quite muster the courage for a romantic duet, terrified of the moment where she needs to go in for the kiss.

This is a lot to juggle and the film can’t quite muster it all. It’s a problem that remains from the previous film where characters are reduced to simplistic and shortened arcs. It feels almost criminal that a character such as Meena feels reduced to the shadows with her role as much as she was in the first film. If you’ll recall, Sing featured her being so pushed to the side her story had her literally stating she’s shy to get across her stage fright. There’s not as much direct citation of her problems in Sing 2 but we also don’t get a whole lot of romance that is intended to help her conquer these fears.

A Whole Lot of Show

The best thing I can say about Sing 2 is that it appears far more lavish than the first film did. The animated sequences, armed with a theatrical budget that was certainly high both for this film and the internal musical, is quite a sight. The simplistic sci-fi narrative of musical planets representing emotions is incredibly well-staged for the size of such an epic. Even if the jukebox music doesn’t impress, the presentation is certainly pleasing to the eyes.

I also really dug the sharp look of the character designs. There’s certainly quite a bit of variety to how they are posed with their choices in costumes and appearance. I particularly dug how the players better-embraced characters they played for odes to Alice in Wonderland and campy sci-fi B-movies. There’s a certain playfulness to the look I just can’t deny.

The Jukebox Mundanity

In the same way that Sing 2 ups the amount of arcs, it also pushes more licensed music for a heftier soundtrack. It’s not even the performed music on the stage that punctuates the picture, considering Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy plays during a break-in sequence. There’s one particular scene where at least six different licensed pieces of music are blown through in less than two minutes. It becomes exhausting quickly.

You also have Bono present in this picture and he’s there to sing the one U2 song that everybody knows because of course the movie wants that. The impression comes more from how much Bono can still sing, although there’s a stark difference when listening to his gruffer and older voice. Wouldn’t it be more surprising if Bono sang something way different for the sake of variety?

Conclusion: Sing 2

Sing 2 adds more of everything, the good and the bad, making for a mildly more interesting sequel. It’s a far cry from the sloppy and unsatisfying character arcs of the first film, considering the bigger stakes and grander animation. That being said, it’s still a jukebox musical with predictable choices as well as characters who really have to fight for their stories tightly wedged into this crowded ensemble.

Did you see Sing 2? What did you think? Was it better or worse than the last movie? Let us know in the comments below.

Sing 2 was released in theaters on December 22, 2021.

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