I don’t think that enough people are aware of the Cineworld Unlimited scheme where for just £10 a month, members can access unlimited movies for the month. Consider the fact that single tickets for a screening at Cineworld start at £6 a visit, this would mean that you would only need to watch two films a month to get the value of your money back! The next great thing about this scheme is that if you refer someone else to sign up then you are both gifted a free month and if anyone is looking for a referral code to use then feel free to use mine which is RAF-41UF-82LQ-14EX-70BM. Image how great a month of free unlimited movies would feel especially with new Batman, Sonic and fantastic beast movies set for release soon it could not be a better time to sign up! On top of this, every so often Cineworld will send its unlimited members random perks such as preview screening, opportunities for free movie posters and free cinema snacks. Most recently I was sent a voucher for free popcorn and a drink to enjoy while watching the movie of my choosing which was Sing 2! I don’t know what it is about a group of singing animals putting on the biggest musical spectacle known for man (or animal) but it really does seem like a movie I should enjoy!
If you have not watched the first movie in this comedy, musical series it follows theatre owner and always positive Koala Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) who has fallen on hard times with his beloved venue and so in a last ditched effort to stay open hosts the worlds greatest singing competition. The second movie follows buster and friends as their sight move from a local theatre to the big time! After being snubbed by a local critic Buster decides to sneak into a talent audition in Redshore City in front of the very intimidating and successful talent scout Jimmy Crystal (voiced by Bobby Cannavale) and after some creative truths and improvisation manage to get support from the renowned scout. As the story progresses we learn that Jimmy will do anything in his power to protect his reputation and his biggest fear is being embarrassed on stage which drives him to act in some very severe ways. However one of the ‘creative truths’ is that Buster promotes is that he is close personal friends with the reclusive rock star, Clay Calloway (who is voiced by U2’s lead vocalist Bono) who has not been seen in 15 years.
The team’s dreams to create the biggest musical spectacle is headed by dedicated Buster Moon who does everything he can to show his team are destined for great things. The character reminded me of my old music teacher Mr John (who also directed the musical productions that I was a part of) who managed to take students and create the most wonderful productions. The almost villain in the story is Jimmy crystal whose physical stature and mannerism contrasted beautifully against Buster. I thought the portrayal of this evil artic wolf was very intense, especially considering that this movie is aimed at young children. Jimmy is shown as being an almost mob boss character who threatens to kill Buster when things start going wrong. As someone who has some experience in stage manager, I have had to deal with a lot of things while people are performing on stage but one thing I have never (and hope to never) had to deal with is attempted murder! During the big musical performance, Jimmy literally throws buster off of an extremely high platform where the latter is luckily rescued by an ongoing stage trick!
In this second film, we are re-introduced to the musically gifted gorilla Jimmy who is voiced by the incredible Taron Egerton. A little while ago Taron hosted an event with BAFTA (of which I am a part of which is why I was able to attend the BAFTA Cymru awards which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2019/10/15/bafta-cymru-awards-blog/) which I could not attend and was so obviously very disappointed! However, I hope to see him in his next role in a play on the west end. Jimmy is a character who struggles with choreography and so is introduced to the wonderfully eccentric Krause (voiced by Adam Buxton) who instantly clashed with Johnny which leads to him finding third party help for to work on his dance abilities. This is where we meet Nooshy who is voiced by Letitia Wright who helps our gorilla pick up the complex routines he is required to learn. Towards the end of the movie, Klaus takes it upon himself to suddenly swap roles with a dancer so that it could be him and Johnny on stage as a plot of making a fool out of dancing gorilla. The moment when Johnny finally picks up the routine and performs it in front of his intense coach was very moving and powerful to watch!
The fabulous pairing of Rosita and Gunter (voiced by Reese Witherspoon and Nick Kroll which is such a crazy duo) provided many of the camp moments in the show. Throughout the episode, Rosita develops an extreme fear of heights causing her to lose and regain her leading role. Through overcoming her fear she is able to literally save Buster Moon’s life after he is thrown from an extremely high platform during the big performance. Gunter however is shown as high energy and fabulous character who is the main provider of the grand ideas for the main show which was very entertaining to watch! I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Julia Davis as Linda Le Bon who is a talk show host and a hilarious but obvious parody of Wendy Williams!
Overall this is an extremely fun and energetic movie musical that is crammed full of classic movie cliches making it the perfect children’s film! There are the occasional reference for the more mature members of the audience which shows the the team behind this movie has thought carefully about who will be watching and provided something for everyone. I would rate this movie 4 out of 5 stars!
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