RIO 2 – The Review

I was supposed to review the first RIO two years ago but on the way to the Saturday morning press screening, my daughters and I were involved in a car accident which caused us to miss it. We caught up with the movie a couple of weeks later but I fell asleep and can’t remember a thing about it. I don’t fall asleep at movies often and never at ones I’m planning on reviewing (I fall asleep in church a lot – my wife’s always elbowing me in the ribs since I snore). Other films I’ve slept through include THE SCORE (w/ DeNiro), YOGI BEAR, WINTER’S BONE, and all eight Harry Potter movies. In 1992 I slept through most of MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART at the Shady Oak Theater in Clayton. When I awoke, all the other patrons had moved to seats as far away from me as possible. A couple of years ago, I slept through much of the Late Night Grindhouse midnight screening of PHANTASM which embarrassed my friends. These are things I was thinking about when I took a different route to the same theater to see the second RIO film. We arrived safely this time and I stayed awake, but while RIO 2 is better than being in a car crash, it’s not very good.

A standard issue kiddie timekiller, RIO 2 looks great, reaching the current high bar in terms of animation but suffers badly from a weak, laugh-free script. In this sequel from Blue Sky Studios, the makers of the Ice Age films (I saw those and don’t remember them either!) Blu the blue Macaw (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and his wife, Jewel (Anne Hathaway) who take a vacation along with their three children and some characters who may or may not be returning from the first film to the Amazon rainforest after seeing a TV report about a pack of fellow blue macaws that may be living there. Blu’s former owner, Linda (Leslie Mann), and her explorer husband, Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), are already there but have encountered evil land developers. Blu’s adventures include meeting Jewel’s former sweetheart Roberto (Bruno Mars), a smooth singer who brings out his jealous side and Eduardo (Andy Garcia – whose carton voice we’ve all been yearning for!) the most intimidating father-in-law since DeNiro spooked Greg Focker. Things get even worse when gnarly cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement) shows up for revenge, and bulldozers roll in to destroy their new habitat.

The screenplay for RIO 2 (by six writers!) contains a big obvious, environmental message about the the destruction of the rainforest and does so from the inhabitant’s viewpoint, but scenes of the blue heroes battling bulldozers intent on demolishing their paradise were done better in AVATAR. I liked Eisenberg’s nebbish quality but no vocals stood out. RIO 2 gives the audience a series of Busby Berkeley–style musical numbers featuring explosions of colored feathers and dancing that are supposed to be highlights but feel like filler. While lovely to look at, the songs are forgettable and fail to move the story forward. They’re shiny objects designed to capture the kid’s attention and to keep me awake. A low point is Jemaine Clement croaking a rap version of the ‘70s disco anthem ‘I Will Survive’ (and I thought until the final credits I was hearing Jeremy Irons’ voice – which made it even worse!) Following the success of THE LEGO MOVIE, FROZEN, DESPICABLE ME 2, or even MR PEABODY AND SHERMAN, it should be clear that children desire and welcome smart, creative entertainment but state of the art computer animation is not enough. RIO 2 leaves out the laughs, and that’s a deal-breaker. RIO 2 is an innocuous enough way to keep tots entertained for 90 minutes or so, but it’s a bore for grown-ups.

2 of 5 Stars