Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez, Tiffany Haddish, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson, Zach Woods, Dove Cameron, Maya Rudolph, Jojo Siwa, Tony Hale, Lil Rel Howery , Nicki Minaj, Beck Bennett, Gaten Matarazzo, Brooklynn, Genesis Tennon, Alma Varsano, Faith Margaret Kidman-Urban, Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban, Colleen Ballinger.

The computer game adaptation for cinema is not likely to ever disappear back into the hyperbole from which it was hatched, the dragon which laid the egg to which film embraced as a way of bringing the gaming community back to the realm of the big screen, has become undoubtedly entrenched and pushed to encompass every possible story going.

Whilst there are games that deserve the adaption process, to bring two different genres together in front of an audience, there are some that you cannot but help understand have been tailored to suit a less than persuasive pursuit of intimidation, that they have succumbed to the role initially granted their existence in the first place, the podium of distraction in life frustratingly apparent.

In between the two states of computer game/film combination there stands the amusingly familiar, the ones that appeal despite the nature of their premise, and in that the return of the flightless birds and the green pigs, 2019 was shown to have its humorous side in Angry Birds 2.

For some there will always be the scratching of heads on how best to define such a film aside from its animation roots. This is down to the memory of the way that toys and arcade games of a previous generation were once in the same position, their popularity insisted that a television cartoon was created for the Saturday morning viewers, from Pac-Man to the Care Bears, the ease of transference was only hindered by its ability to make money, to fuel the excess of the age to which we have become impeded by as we struggle to find ways to contain the merchandise waste.

Perhaps trying to define computer adaptions for the cinema is encumbered in itself, rather we should just accept, like graphic novels, like cartoons turned live action, there is a place for everything in the world because the demand is there for it, and in Angry Birds 2 the fun and pathos that comes off the screen is there, it is not high minded, it refuses to be cultured, but it is good family fun which serves its own purpose.

With worthwhile performances from the ever-faithful Josh Gad, Bill Hader and Leslie Jones, Angry Birds 2 has its time and place, a more deserving adaption than might be first thought of.

Ian D. Hall