The First Discourseman
Lego Movie 2 does not kill the man. He is already dead. It flogs the corpse and holds him up high, for the world to see.
Protagonist is Emmet, exceptional only in his mediocrity. He is the quintessential ‘nice guy’. Both first and second movie follow a similar arc: Emmet’s bland personality is first considered a flaw by others, then is considered virtuous. The first movie focuses on Emmet as archetypal Lego man. He is so unmemorable to others that no one notices his disappearance. He defeats the evil stasis of Lord Business with the chaotic energy of kindness. He is ‘the special’- but then the takeaway is that ‘everyone is special’.
The second movie begins in the entropic, post-apocalyptic wasteland he has helped to create. Now the emphasis shifts to Emmet’s indefatigable kindness. He is incapable of dark thoughts and pliable to the demands of others. Even his girlfriend- who is more of an alpha than him- says he needs to toughen up.
When she is kidnapped right in front of him (because he is weak), he embarks on a quest to save her. On his journey he meets Rex Dangervest, who is (spoiler alert!) Emmet’s Chad alter-ego. Rex has pet dinosaurs, stubble and a bad-ass attitude to life. Most importantly he is future Emmet- an Emmet who toughened up.
Lego Movie 2 pits the saccharine, mind-numbing happiness of Queen Wa’Nabi’s kingdom against the gritty masculinity of Rex Dangervest. So far so good. There is one point, when Emmet and Rex are escaping the brainwashed antagonists, all singing the mawkish theme song (‘The Catchy Song’), when Rex warns Emmet not to listen “if you want your noodle to stay al-dente”. The movie does not even hide what each side stands for.
Queen Wa’Nabi plans to marry Lego Batman, uniting two warring realms in the universe. Rex wishes to sabotage these efforts at global peace. He would rather exist in military state than in irenic wasteland. The superficial positivity of Wa’Nabi’s kingdom is all the worse for being genuine; Rex would sooner fight to the death than live under her rule. He is Ubermensch, capable of harnessing visceral feelings to assert his will over the world. For this he is considered dangerous and toxic by society. He has no place in a world of monochrome ‘nice’-ness.
Final showdown is between Rex and Emmet. Emmet does not want to be like Rex; he does not like the toughened version of himself. Rex is not perfect- he is cynical and wishes to disenchant others, which is a beta move. However in many ways he is the last stand of man. Rex is archetypal male, which Lego Movie 2 consciously acknowledges. Then, at the end of the film, he slowly fades away (Back to the Future style) into non-existence, in much the same way as modernity has dismembered the male body. The protagonists did not need a manly man to save the day- masculinity was the source of the trouble. Free from Rex Dangervest, they enjoy an emasculated, serotonin-fuelled existence, where ‘everything is awesome’.
Lego Movie 2 is modern fable, obnoxiously self-aware in what it does. As I say, it does not single-handedly kill the man, but it signals to others carrion: ripe for scavenging.
The Four Discoursemen 