FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Sean Lamberger A suitably bright, cheerful revival of the old Muppet franchise, stuffed with cameos and furry puppets, old and new. I really loved this upon my first watch, five or six years ago, but much of the shine has worn off since then. It does manage to modernize the show without losing its spirit, no small task in and of itself, but the ceaseless, overwhelming optimism is lathered thick and I didn't find the soundtrack quite so charming on a second pass. Amy Adams and Jason Segel are the worst offenders here, acceptable enough as small-town sweethearts but disturbingly happy and overacted, prone to drop everything for a song like they're in the process of succumbing to a massive Glee overdose.My boys didn't care for the musical numbers either, but all three of us enjoyed the big, seat-of-their-pants stage production that closes the show. That felt like the most successful interpretation of the old material anyway, a fast-paced variety show that's just as comically chaotic behind the scenes as it is before the audience. Fresh in the sense that they don't make clean, wholesome, feel-good programming like this any more, but it doesn't have a lot of shelf life. One viewing is more than enough.

freemantle_uk 2011's The Muppets was a sequel, reboot and a loving homage from its writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller. They end up making a delightfully funny film that adults and children, fans and non-fans can enjoy. The Muppets follows two brothers, human Gary, muppet Walter (Peter Linz) and Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) go to Los Angeles to for Gary and Mary's anniversary and see the Muppets studios. However the studio is about to be sold to a evil oil baron (Chris Cooper) and it is up to Gary, Walter and Kermit to find the other muppets and do a telethon to raise the $10 Million to buy the studio back.The Muppets has seemingly the most clichéd plot possible that is where the film genius steps comes in, subversion this storyline with a self-awareness and twisting the conventions. It was a delightful, toe-tapping experience, having some big song and dance numbers (which are brilliants twisted at the end) and some of the best jokes are when the characters breaking the fourth wall like travel by map and the characters saying they will finish their recruitment drive by having a montage. This is humour that's clean enough for kids, smart enough for adults.Jason Segel and his co-writer Nicholas Stoller clearly loved the characters and director James Bobin made it into a bright, upbeat family film.

Bonnie O'Connor It had nearly been a decade since the Muppets' last film and I truly believed the Muppets were as dead as most of their original actors. What was the point of keeping them going? It was as though the world moved on without them. However, in 2011 I saw a poster of the upcoming film and slammed my head. "Please no," I thought, "you're going to ruin them with jokes done all wrong!" Amazingly enough I was 100% wrong! This movie not only kept true to the Muppets' original characteristics, but it also resurrected them from the dead! The story is the Muppets are scattered and Walter (who for some reason looks like a Muppet rather than human) and his brother get them all back together to save the theater.I loved every second of this movie! The jokes were perfect, the acting was great, the story was flawless, the songs were memorable, and the voice actors were just like the original voice actors, though Gonzo was the only one with his actual voice actor (welcome back),. I was tempted to sing along with them, even when they had the lyrics at the bottom of the screen. There's so many ways this movie could have failed, but this movie had already been aware of those chances and skipped them or made fun of them. For instance one thing they do is kidnap Jack Black to be their guest star. How many ways could that go wrong? However, not only does Jack keep dirty jokes toned down, but seeing him tied (literally) in with characters from the 1970's is a pathway for the Muppets to adapt to the present. With all the dated comedy that goes on that has died away, it is amazing to see how Jim Henson's comedy can easily adapt to our time and be fresh. Personally, what I loved best was the audience. While in theaters I looked back and saw people who were old and young sitting altogether. The elderly were coming to see something they had grown up with and the children were watching something interesting. They were all laughing together, talking about it, and on my way out I heard two teenage girls singing "Manama". I felt like the movie had unified the young and old generation together. It was the most precious moment I will never forget from any movie.

Howlin Wolf I was sorely disappointed by this film, and so far, haven't seen the sequel...Too much time spent on the human characters, and introducing a new Muppet? Sacrilege! It takes far too long to get them all together again, and when they are found, it speeds over all the back-story to focus on the humans again! I understand that they needed to re- establish the gang for a new audience, but it's like taking the legacy apart, and putting it back together again, only not very well...A lot of the humour seemed juvenile and simplistic, not with the subversive, satirical edge that "The Muppet Show" mastered... You were watching adult material presented in a package that kids could also enjoy... Now, with the update, it felt more like it was pitched directly at kid-level...I have similar reservations to those of Frank Oz... and if Frank Oz declines to be involved, then you know there's something amiss!