I liked the movie quite a bit. If anything, it's my second favorite of the four (behind "Rainbow Rocks"), but I have to admit that there are a lot of things that really annoy me about this movie.
First off, this movie has very little
subtlety. In the climax to "Rainbow Rocks", Sunset's acceptance and arc is completed when she shines in the climax. The lines "
you're never gonna bring me down, you're never gonna break this part of me" from her vocal part in the "Song Battle" refer to her defeating the Sirens, but symbolically represent how Sunset may be the outsider, but that's okay. She has her friends, and she's going to be herself no matter what.
In this movie, everything about the "Twilight/Midnight Sparkle" conflict is talked about to death. Yes, you could argue that her standing up to Gloriosa at the end is symbolic for her using her powers for good rather than evil, and accepting her magic, but at least 4/5 of the dialogue Twilight has that isn't flirting with Timber is literally just about this conflict. After a while, it simply gets boring, and by the climax (which oddly mirrors the climax of the first Equestria Girls, considering the weird "dream" nature of it and the transformation), it became ridiculously over-explained and not that satisfying. Yes, this is a kids show, but as I stated, "Rainbow Rocks" was able to do an excellent arc without needing to spell everything out and have a rather overblown climax.
The thing about Sunset in the first movie is that, while her problems are a huge part of her character, there are other focuses and different interests she has. Twilight has Timber Spruce, and that's about it.
The other thing that annoyed me is that Pinkie Pie and Rarity aren't really the best characterized here. If anything, they are a little flanderized, and the most they contribute in the plot is the "encouraging" words they give Sci-Twi at the end. Don't get me wrong, Pinkie still has funny jokes and Rarity has her own charm, but these aren't the most flattering portrayals.
If I had to nitpick a tiny bit more, I'd say that Gloriosa was a tiny bit obvious as the villain (as I found her to be rather odd throughout the whole movie, although I had no idea what exactly her plan would be), and that Timber isn't a great character, even if he is an improvement over Flash. Funny enough, actually, Flash doesn't bother me too much in the movies after the first Equestria Girls.
Probably due to the lack of focus.
Anyway, this movie may stand as the funniest in the series. I'm not entirely sure if it was funnier than "Rainbow Rocks", but I did think Pinkie had a fair share of good lines, and that Sunset/Spike stood out a lot. In fact, I'd say that Sunset was the best part of this movie.
For some reason, Sunset has became instantly watchable; "Friendship Games" didn't give her that much to do until the end, but ever since "Rainbow Rocks", she has started to seep into my list of personal favorite MLP characters. While she didn't have much of an arc here, and "Rainbow Rocks" is her stronger performance, Sunset's scenes typically carried the most intrigue and comedy for me.
The songs stood out to me a lot. "Midnight in Me" does suffer a bit when the rest of the movie goes onto over-explain Twilight's arc, but "Embrace the Magic" was lovely. Sunset is just so good in this movie!
Celestia and Luna felt a little out-of-place and not that important, but Timber Spruce was an improvement over Flash, and Gloriosa at least had solid, interesting motivations. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash also make decent performances. Oh, and Spike easily is the runner-up for best character after Sunset. Spike's portrayals in Equestria Girls have been surprisingly great!
In total, I liked the movie a lot. It was fun, and while certainly flawed, I look forward to watching it again soon.
