After a couple of superb Muppet outings lampooning classic novels this is something of a change of pace given that it is an original Muppet movie which has the characters as themselves for a change. Sadly, whilst the last two movies, Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, were brilliant takes on said novels with excitement, emotion and hilarity all present and accounted for Muppets From Space seems very poor in comparison. Apart from an excellent first scene which introduces you to the Muppet house and all your favourite characters there's very little here to perk the interest.
While the story itself, explaining Gonzo's extraterrestrial roots, would seem like an excellent idea it's poorly handled and frankly boring. The major characters, Kermit, Miss Piggy etc are barely in it in comparison to the previous two movies and the film suffers from their absence. Even the songs, one of the strongest areas of Muppet films, are below par and very few in number, leaving large amounts of the film humour and fun free. Perhaps it's because this one wasn't filmed in Britain that did it? Or maybe not. Whatever the reason the next movie is going to have to be a big improvement if the series is to survive in the 21st century. |
