Muppets Most Wanted

Endearing self-deprecation is one of the key weapons in the Muppets' arsenal of charm: they're always putting themselves down a little (apart from Miss Piggy, that is). So perhaps we, as an audience, are meant to demur when they sing about how this film is a sequel and therefore not quite as good as the last one - but alas it's true. There's a goodly quantity of amusing gags but fewer belly laughs this time round, and a lot more star cameos, as if to distract attention away from the unravelling plot. When Kermit gets mistaken for mastermind Russian criminal Constantine, he's sent to a gulag overseen by a hammy Tina Fey. Meanwhile, his dastardly doppelganger goes on a European tour with the rest of the gang, which provides the perfect cover for Constantine and sidekick Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) to carry out a heist. One duff instalment won't kill this relaunched franchise, but it's also unlikely to prove quite as much of a favourite with instinctively discriminating kids.