Review: MUPPETS MOST WANTED

MUPPETS MOST WANTED  (FAMILY-COMEDY/MUSICAL)
2.5 out of 4 stars
Directed by James Bobin
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Jemaine Clement, Ray Liotta, Danny Trejo
Featuring the Muppet performers: Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, Peter Linz
Rated PG for some mild action.
Verdict: An occasionally inspired but ultimately lackluster follow-up to the excellent 2011 revival of Jim Henson's classic Muppet characters, MUPPETS MOST WANTED lacks the warmly exuberant charm and strong sense of character in its predecessor.

If you saw the 2011 reboot THE MUPPETS, then you might know what I mean when I say that MUPPETS MOST WANTED feels more like a "Moopets" movie than a Muppets movie.  It is modestly entertaining in its own less-than-modest way, but it's also kind of creepy and violent; it looks like the Muppets, but isn't quite the Muppets.
MUPPETS MOST WANTED immediately follows THE MUPPETS, so immediately in fact, that stand-ins for non-returning actors Jason Segel and Amy Adams are required.  At the suggestion of Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), an international criminal posing as an international tour manager, the Muppets take their newly revived musical-comedy variety show on tour through Europe.  Unbeknownst to the Muppets however, Dominic is merely using them to provide a cover for a series major heists at the behest of his boss, the recently-escaped super-criminal and "World's Most Dangerous Frog" Constantine, who bears a striking resemblance to Kermit the Frog. 
There are some great moments of humor, such as when Constantine watches footage of Kermit from earlier Muppet films in order to mimic his voice or some inspired bits with human co-stars Ty Burrell as an outrageously European Interpol agent and Tina Fey as a Russian GULAG officer who falls for Kermit (one of the funniest bits is in reference to an Ingmar Bergman film that most of this film's audience are unlikely to recognize).  On the other hand, some of the jokes (?) are creepier than they are funny, as is Constantine most of the time.
Most problematic is the lacking sense of character identity that was so potent in THE MUPPETS whereas now iconic characters like Kermit and Miss Piggy feel a bit like an imitation.
Still, while as a Muppet movie it seems particularly weak, it's a decent family film on its own standards.