Rio 2

Director: Carlos Saldanha

Writers: Jenny Bicks, Carlos Saldanha, Yoni Brenner, Carlos Kotkin, Don Rhymer

Starring: (voices) Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Bruno Mars

Runtime: 101 minutes

Certification: U

Rating: 2⁄5

The original Rio (I’ve noticed the fact I seem to be using ‘the original’ or variations on that theme a lot of late – probably says something about just how many sequels have been coming out this year) was an entertaining-enough blast of colour and samba, propped up by decent vocal performances and a show stealing turn from _Flight of the Conchords_’ Jemaine Clement as evil cockatoo Nigel. The sequel seems to fairly quickly acknowledge its predecessor’s limitations, opting to completely ignore its title and abandon the city for the wilds of the Amazon (cue a cutesy imitation of the ol’ Indy-style ‘travel by map’ (thanks for that one, The Muppets)). A dramatic uprooting for the last remaining family of blue macaws on earth, which has the dramatic effect of simply moving the same old by-the-numbers family-friendly plotting to a different environment.

Yeah, _Rio 2 _doesn’t really add anything to the series. It’s not worse than the first one, by any means, but it doesn’t exactly offer many convincing reasons for its existence beyond financially-motivated studio decisions (much like the Ice Age films, I suppose). Most of the comedy is squarely aimed at children – not a bad thing, I hasten to point out, it’s just most big-bucks kids films these days tend to be fun for all the family (I mean, just look at _Toy Story _and How to Train Your Dragon and tell me they’re not fantastic films in their own right) – and while cast-wise there’s plenty of big names from the world of cinema and music (Bruno Mars joins the cast as a pretty-boy macaw and yes that was meant to be a parrot joke okay), the story doesn’t really allow any of them to actually let loose on their roles. It’s all very rote stuff, cramming an obvious eco-warrior message into the plot and then completely ignoring it in the finale (and besides, Noah did this environmentally-friendly stuff far, far better), mixed in with the occasional wacky hi-jinks.

It’s the hi-jinks that save the film, though, mostly thanks (yet again) to Nigel the cockatoo. Easily the funniest character, his scenes are consistently the highlight of the film (with his audition ‘sequence’ the stand-out, and the only scene to actually provoke audible laughter from anyone over the age of six in the cinema), and his drive for revenge providing some much-needed momentum to the plot.

The visuals are on a par with before (pretty, but nothing mind-blowing), although the change of background does allow for even more colour than before, and the music is still ultimately the heart of the film (albeit not its best point by miles), but the lacklustre script lets it all down. With the sheer number of writers attached to the project (two for story and characters, three more for the screenplay), it’s not hard to see why. _Rio 2 _tries to hit the right beats, and mostly succeeds in a mundane sort of way. Throw in some utterly pointless 3D, and there’s a strong whiff of studio cynicism in the air. Good enough for the kids to enjoy, and therefore armed with the strong possibility of making some money, it’s a sound calculation. If it does produce the almost inevitable sequel, I only hope it doesn’t go the route of the Ice Age series. Although I can’t see it going anywhere else.