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Rio 2

Rio 2

Movie
Studio(s): 
Director(s): 
Genre: 
In Theatres: 
Apr 11, 2014
Grade:
D+
Running Time: 
1 Hour, 41 Minutes

Rio ended up being a surprise hit of 2011 with its captivating story and energetic soundtrack. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about its sequel. Rio 2 uses the same format of the first film, only instead of Rio de Janeiro as the backdrop it’s the Amazon rainforest. While there are new characters and new song and dance numbers, these birds are up to the same old tricks.

Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), Jewel (Anne Hathaway), and their three kids have been enjoying the domesticated life in Rio de Janeiro. Things like television, iPods, and pancakes are plentiful. While Blu has been accustomed to this his whole life, it’s relatively new for Jewel. After learning that they might not be the only Spix’s Macaws left in existence, however, they decide to take a trip to the Amazon rainforest to see for themselves. There they discover Jewel’s lost family and while she feels right at home, Blu is eager to get back to Rio where he feels they belong.

Rio 2 is a cross between Meet the Parents and FernGully. After finding out that Jewel’s flock is still alive, Blu feels the pressure to impress her overbearing father Eduardo (Andy Garcia). He’s an old fashioned kind of guy and doesn’t like Blu’s fondness for human things. It gets to the point that no matter what Blu does to try and appease him something always goes wrong. Not helping is the super suave and super annoying Roberto (Bruno Mars) who Eduardo tries to push onto Jewel.

Wrapped around all the family drama is the subplot of trying to save the rainforest from incoming loggers who are trying to bulldoze the entire place. Tulio and Linda return from the first film to try and protect the Amazon from them, but in the end it’s Blu and the rest of the animals that have to save the day. It’s all fairly predictable and not that entertaining.

Perhaps the biggest letdown is that the songs aren’t nearly as good as they were in the first film. Rio gave audiences a sense of what it was like to experience Rio. I never got that same feeling watching Rio 2. It just doesn’t have the same fun atmosphere. The colors are vibrant and dynamic as they were before, but that’s not enough to drive the film this time around.

Rio 2 just doesn’t have the same creativity and feel-good nature of Rio and as a result isn’t all that interesting. It’s a dull sequel that is simply going through the motions. 

Matt Rodriguez
Review by Matt Rodriguez
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