When a Lego film was first mooted, it’s fair to say the concept was roundly pooh poohed. After all, for every successful Transformers flick, there are ten Battleships.

But The Lego Movie was a game changer; not only for the Danish plastic brick brand, but for toy manufacturers looking for a boost.

One of the least surprising announcements ever to be made then, was that of a sequel. But does it build on the success of the first, or demolish its legacy to the ground?

At the end of the first film, Emmet (Chris Pratt), Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) and the rest of the inhabitants of Bricksburg faced a new horror, that of the arrival of Duplo. This second part picks up directly where the first ended, with our tiny heroes facing a new, albeit completely cute-looking, enemy.

With the Duplo not responding to their pleas for peace, a war breaks out, causing the start of Apocalypseburg. Five years on, and the constant fighting has taken its toll on brickmanity. The brickscape now resembles Mad Max, with everyone now changed by the experience of war. Except Emmet, who still insists on being his chirpy, cheery self.

And just when it looks like things can’t get any worse, they do. An envoy from the Systar System arrives, claiming that their leader, Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (Tiffany Haddish) needs to marry the leader of this world, ends up taking a number of them – including Batman (Will Arnett) – back through the Stairgate.

Emmet, distraught that his friends have been taken, converts his house into a spaceship – as you do – and travels through space in a bid to rescue them.

There’s no doubt that the original film set a very high, sturdy bar. And although Lord and Miller don’t direct this time around, their stud marks are all over the script.

This sequel then, is more of the same; it’s visually stunning, with ten times more gags than the usual comedy release, with a disgustingly catchy soundtrack. And the all-round level of creativity is simply breathtaking at times.

But there is a brick-built but. The story is outrageously convoluted and complex, as it attempts to connect a universe or two. It’s not helped with its Toy Story-esque approach of also rooting it all in the real world. The result is likely to hurt the head, large or small, of any who watches. It’s also not helped by a running time that’s knocking on the door of the two hour mark, which will only further antagonise those with the tiniest of attention spans and bladders.

There’s still far more to enjoy than disappoint here, but this sequel has lost some of the simplicity of the first. It still manages to enthral and entertain, but as far as its busy story is concerned, it may have gone a brick, or two, too far.