Blu-Ray Review – Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet

Blu-ray Reviews, Film, Reviews, Top Story

The beauty of Wreck it Ralph was that it was an ode to video gaming over the past 30 years. Seeing gaming from the 8 bit era through the ultra-violent “Call of Duty” clones that mark the modern era of gaming, Ralph was an ode to the joys of the rise of the video game era of entertainment.

Ralph Breaks the Internet is more of a screed about the dangers of social media with a gaming twist than anything else.

It’s years after the events of the original and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) has a dilemma: her game’s controller is broken and a new one is expensive and online. Ralph (John C Reilly) goes online to find the money to get it and winds up becoming a viral media sensation with a series of Vine style videos. Social media fame is with its costs, of course, and Ralph has to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Sequels rarely live up to their originals and this is no different. The original had an interesting take, of the villain of a video game finding a path to redemption, steeped in the nostalgia that drove Ready Player One. The sequel is more preachy and less interesting; it’s not a blazing hot take to discuss the evils of social media anymore.

Ralph Breaks the Internet exists because there was a financial need for a sequel, not a creative one, and the film reflects it. There aren’t many “the internet is wacky” moments left and the film is designed for someone who’s never been online before to mine humor.

This is comedy around the par of The Emoji Movie, nothing more, except for the film’s best scenes involving Disney Princesses and Vanellope. It’s a bit of meta humor that murders it… it’s such an exceptional piece that one wonders what the film could be if the rest of it had such great comedy chops.

Wreck I Ralph is a modern classic stepped in nostalgia. It’s sequel… not so much.

Several extras that don’t add much back into the film are included.

Walt Disney Studios presents Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet. Directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston. Written by Phil Johnston and Pamela Ribon. Starring John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman. Run Time: 112 minutes Rated PG. Released on DVD: 2.25.19