Misses the point of Monster Inc.

Rating: 7/10 (10 December 2017)

Since he was a little monster, Mike wanted to go to MU (Monsters University) in order to become a top scarer for his kind. His only problem was that he wasn't scary at all. Despite this "minor" issue, he's determined to work hard in order to achieve his dream, although his only hope apparently lies in winning the famous Scare Games. Together with a team a misfits and a self-centred enemy, he must do everything in his power to succeed or face expulsion.
It's a movie which bases its story way before the events from Monsters Inc, presenting the beginnings of Mike and Sully, how they got along in college, how they managed to overcome their condition and differences and ultimately become the best friends we saw in the first instalment. It's also funny as its predecessor, but unfortunately, it misses the idea of the first movie, one that made it really good. It lacks the thrill, the emotion and the soul. It feels unpolished, made to be a laugh, much more superficial I might say, fact which lowers the overall quality quite significant.
It focuses way too much on those games but doesn't manage to involve the viewer as well, to somehow make him care about what's happening, especially when considering that the two compete together although they are bitter rivals and are "helped" by the only fraternity that was left in the campus. And, not to say that the finale is more or less known, having seen the first one. It redeems itself a bit towards the end with a couple of twists but it simply falls into mediocrity, without anything to make it stand out.
Overall, it feels like a sequel (although it's a prequel) which was made just to profit from the name the first instalment made for itself, ditching key aspects which made it great, inexplicably choosing another path, ending up an average movie. You can watch it out of curiosity but don't expect the same quality, or you'll be disappointed.