'Sing 2' subs in music for plot or emotional depth

Having proven a hit in the local New Moon Theatre, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is looking to bigger dreams. He and his determined ragtag team of performers – Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), Ash (Scarlett Johansson), Meena (Tori Kelly) and Gunther (Nick Kroll) – head out to the entertainment capital of Redshore City,. They convince media mogul Jimmy Crystal (Bobby Cannavale) to let them put on a show. But they’re not only struggling with Jimmy’s daughter Porsha (Halsey); they also have to convince rock legend Clay Calloway (Bono) to join them on stage, having promised Jimmy he’d be there.

Let’s be honest, the first ‘Sing’ movie was just fine, bouncing off the success of such music cover-oriented shows as ‘Glee’ and ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’. Illumination Entertainment has proven a fair contender in the animation film industry, with properties including ‘Despicable Me’, ‘Minions’ and ‘The Secret Life of Pets’. But in spite of its all-star cast, the sequel to ‘Sing’ proves they’re just a bit stuck with what to do with this franchise, the plot consistently stalling and its characters never more than surface level.

One can’t deny the singing talents of the cast. But the film seems to answer its own question of “Can small-time success translate to the bigger leagues?” with a grumbly “No.” The film lacks anything gripping and while there is sweetness in small moments like a bus montage, which reflects on the power of music to bring people together, most of the film is trying to be bigger than its predecessors, while never doing better.

‘Sing 2’ is too chockablock with music (one didn’t think a thing was possible – but this feature proves it is) as whenever the characters aren’t singing, contemporary pop songs like “Higher Love” and “Bad Guy” blare through scenes. It feels like the music is subbing in for plot, as are the big scale, flashy backdrops which feel much like they’re ripped off from blueprints of Disney’s ‘Zootopia’.

Also why does Bono put on this weird, gravelly voice for his character? The existence of U2 in the ‘Sing’ multiverse is more distracting than amusing.

There is the odd humourous scene, but even the “conflicts” our ‘Sing 2’ characters face feel forced and type-driven. In the end, it is a nicey nice, well-intentioned movie. But there’s little depth and it’s really just one for the kids.