Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

“Muppet Most Wanted” opens after 2011’s “The Muppets” ends as our beloved heroes bask in new found fame until they realize the still-present camera means one thing: Sequel. The Muppets have always played with the fourth wall and the jokes come fast. The opening song declares sequels as inferior and –- in an inspired bit -– surmises aloud that parent company Disney only green lit this because it’s still holding for “Toy Story 4.” The plot, though, is inferior, clever bits aside. Ricky Gervais plays an oily talent manager who fools the gang into a European tour that is a ruse to rob museums, masterminded by his frog boss, a Kermit look-alike with only a facial mole to set him apart. And a twerpy Russian accent. And no talent. Meanwhile, Kermit is sent to a Siberian prison run by Tina Fey, and housed by the likes of Ray Liotta and Danny Trejo, expert villains. There are many cameos. None must see. Director James Bobin goes for the spirit and madcap anything goes jokes of the older films, but the “Shawshank” and “Silence of the Lambs” winks ring awkward. That said, few entertainments balm one’s soul as well as the sight of Beeker. B