Muppets Most Wanted (2014) goes on a trip and doesn't really go anywhere

When the Muppets came back with the big movie that won music awards and had Amy Adams in it, I had a hell of a lot of hope. They were my touchstone from childhood that over the years kinda became that thing I used to like. When Jason Segel and the crew came back, they filled it with heart and joy that I remembered from before Henson left us. Then those creative people left and we got the corporate mandated Muppets Most Wanted.

    It's just after the first movie and everyone wants to know what to do next. Ricky Gervais steps up and says they should go on a European tour. Then he helps an evil frog replace Kermit and the two of them stage heists in every city on the tour while Kermit lives his life in a Siberian prison with Tina Fey.

    The whole thing just kinda washes by with a few okay musical numbers for the fans and a dozen or so good jokes among a lot of shrugs. The plot, never something that really mattered in a Muppet venture, seems too important to the jokes. It's like someone kept walking on set and saying "but what's it about?" Muppet movies aren't about anything. They are controlled chaos bouncing from one scene to another. This movie fails because it feels smug and confident that we will watch anything rather than having fun.

    That being said, the scene in the train with Fozzie and Kermit screaming is hilarious.