Frozen II

A distressingly unnecessary (and fairly tedious) sequel, Frozen II follows franchise heroes Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa (Idina Menzel), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad), and Sven as they set out to discover the source of Elsa’s powers in an effort at saving their kingdom. It’s clear almost immediately that Frozen II‘s most obvious problem is its absence of a compelling storyline, as screenwriter Jennifer Lee delivers a narrative that remains inscrutable and unapproachable virtually from start to finish – with the all-over-the-map bent of the movie’s plot, in addition to resulting in a disastrous lack of momentum, preventing the viewer from truly embracing the material or sympathizing with the thinly-drawn characters’ exploits. The episodic structure, naturally, paves the way for a hopelessly erratic midsection that’s often more miss than hit, and although there are a small handful of compelling sequences (eg the crew encounters a river strewn with enormous rock gods), Frozen II‘s disjointed atmosphere ensures that its expectedly larger-than-life finale is unable to pack the exciting (and emotional) punch that filmmakers Lee and Chris Buck have obviously intended – which ultimately does secure the picture’s place as a woefully misguided followup that never quite justifies its very existence.

** out of ****