Frozen 2 review – One week later is the sequel better than it’s predecessor?
Warning: This review will contain spoilers for Frozen 2 so read at your own risk. Thank you very much!
OK so I waited a whole week to review this movie because I wanted to see it at least twice to be sure I knew how I felt about it.
That alone should say a lot. I’ll say this: Frozen 2 is much more mature than it’s predecessor. I do strongly believe that adults or more mature audiences will find this movie to be better than Frozen.
Plot
Frozen 2 follows the adventures of Anna, Elsa, Sven, Kristoff and Olaf (of course) as they venture to an enchanted forest their parents had told them about as children in order to figure out why Elsa is hearing a voice constantly calling to her.
They find the enchanted forest and try to make peace with the four elements (Air, Fire, Water and Earth) in order to figure out the secrets of the past and stop the elements being angry and striking out.
Review – Elsa & Anna
I’ll start my review with things I liked a lot about the movie and maybe sprinkle a little criticism here and there where it’s deserved.
Some early reviews have commonly said that Anna and Elsa’s relationship is the key to this movie and how good it is. I’m sorry to say I disagree, I liked when the sisters were separated and enjoyed seeing them have to figure things out for themselves. I will admit to finding Anna’s obsession with always being there to “protect” Elsa quite annoying at times and a lot of the time she just comes off as clingy and massively overbearing.
Anyone who’s seen Frozen will know that this just isn’t really her. She was always loving and adored her sister but she was never clingy.
Elsa has been criticised as being “emo” but I didn’t get that at all. She seems distant and like she’s got something on her mind but not “emo.” The only “emo” moment I can think of is when Elsa finds out her parents died looking for an answer to why she had powers and blames herself for their deaths but that’s understandable. Plus she’s only upset for about a minute so it’s not really worth noting.
This is where I’ll get into my next criticism: the characterization.
The characters – were they always like that?
Now character progression is something I like and often encourage. For me, it pretty much makes or breaks a story. In Frozen, more with Elsa and Anna than anyone, the characters act so out of character it’s odd.
Nothing highlights this more than when the sisters aren’t interacting with each other but with someone else or when they’re separated.
The most glaring example of this is Anna and her treatment of Kristoff. Remember when I said Anna’s super clingy in this movie? Yeah, that one thing. But the way she treats Kristoff is just plain bizarre at times.
Most of the time, she and Kristoff are fine and the cutest couple ever! But there are times when (the scene in the wagon is a good one) Anna seems, well, irrational as all hell. Yelling at Kristoff and reading things into what he says that clearly weren’t there. When he’s trying to describe things from the previous films that they’ve been through together. She continuously cuts him off mid sentence to proclaim he’s suddenly calling her “crazy” when… he never said that…
It’s so odd. It may seem like a tiny thing in the grand scheme of things but if you take into consideration the fact that Kristoff has very little screen time as it is. It’s often and it’s very confusing. It honestly seems to come out of nowhere and it makes Anna seem like two different characters at times.
Kristoff, do you exist?
Like I hinted at before. Kristoff is hardly utilized in this movie at all. He has a story arc but it’s hardly ever mentioned or explored besides making him the butt of the joke constantly, which gets irritating. Especially if you like Kristoff as a character.
He has one solo song and it’s OK but even that’s kinda played as a joke. The cinematography clearly mocking overly-dramatic 90s boyband power ballads.
Don’t get me wrong, it is very funny. But once again Kristoff’s story and character is played for laughs. It never gets any deeper or more complex than that and it’s kinda frustrating.
The ending, should they have been brave?
There is a moment in the movie near the end when the movie pretty much kills Elsa off and the only solution to save the day is to destroy Arendelle. This was a ballsy move, if Disney had stuck with it. Alas, they didn’t, Elsa comes back from the dead and stops the flood that would destroy the kingdom.
The best thing I can say about the ending is that the sisters are finally separated. Which I honestly think is what’s best for both of them. Some may disagree but I think it ended alright. It kinda felt as if Disney really wanted to take the risk and then got scared last minute but it still kinda works and it’s not too much of an issue.
Final thoughts
Really, I genuinely think Frozen 2 is better than Frozen. It’s not without it’s problems but I can honestly say that Frozen would probably have much lower reviews if “Let it Go” weren’t a thing.
In the end, it’s much more balanced than Frozen. What it gets wrong it gets glaringly wrong but the things it does well. It does masterfully!
When I watched it, both times, I instantly thought “I wonder what they’ll do for Frozen 3.” Now for me, that’s a good sign.
The fact that I’m not only OK with a third installment, even with the way Frozen 2 ended, but am actively looking forward to it shows me that I instinctively loved this movie. Even without pulling it apart and analysing every little moment, it still made me hyped for another.
BRING ON FROZEN 3!
