A SURPRISE hit in 2014, The Lego Movie launched a franchise that, less surprisingly, has grown a touch tired through over exposure in the years since. While The Lego Batman Movie delivered several laughs a minute for kids and adults alike, The Lego Ninjago Movie was less than awesome by some way. Hoping to revive the charm this week is The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.

Written by original Lego Movie wordsmiths Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Second Part picks up five years on from its predecessor and finds Bricksburg reduced to a post-apocalyptic wasteland in the wake of invasion from Duplo warriors. Things are so bad in the Lego city that it’s actually been renamed Apocalypseburg. Only relentless optimist Emmett (voiced, once again, by Chris Pratt) is able to see the bright side of his new life but even he is challenged when Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) kidnaps Batman, Lucy, Benny, Metalbeard and Unikitty. Building a rocket of his own, Emmett gives chase. But can he save his friends before it’s too late?

Beyond the bright and breezy bon vive of its animated antics, a great appeal of the first Lego Movie was its relationship with the real world. Will Ferrell returns - voice-only this time - as the father of young Finn (Jadon Sand), the boy whose imagination dictates the story being told. This time, Finn’s sister Bianca (The Florida Project’s Brooklyn Prince) has taken over, much to her older brother’s chagrin.

It’s a fun ride with occasional flashes of the inspiration that made the first film so special. In a neat twist, live action DC stars Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa and Margot Robbie lend their voices to Lego Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Harley Quinn. Other guest stars include Bruce Willis - as himself - and Noel Fielding - as ‘an attractive and non-threatening teen vampire’.

Also out this week, and chockablock with star power, is Kenneth Branagh’s new film All is True. Working with a script from Ben Elton, Branagh directs himself here in the role of William Shakespeare. Less comically minded than Elton’s televisual take on the Bard - Upstart Crow - All is True finds Shakespeare all at sea following the burning down of his beloved Globe theatre. Judi Dench plays a stoic Anne Hathaway, Will’s long-suffering wife, with Ian McKellen appearing as Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. A very gentle drama.