Going to the Movies with Jeff & Drew: “The LEGO Batman Movie”
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
We have seen Batman. The LEGO Batman Movie is a spin-off story in the LEGO cinematic universe. Batman (Will Arnett) is forced to drop the lone vigilante thing, and try to work with others if he wants to save the city from the Joker’s (Zach Galifianakis) hostile takeover.
“The LEGO Batman Movie is just as colorful and chaotic as the first movie. It is just less about the creativity of the LEGO bricks and more about the flawed personality of the bragging, brooding superhero. The movie rewards longtime comic-book lovers with endless references to nearly ALL the Batman films and even the 1966 TV show. The movie hits that rare balance between poking fun at source material and celebrating it. There are even some jokes aimed at DC’s comic book rival, Marvel.” —Drew
“The references are not limited to the many Batman intellectual properties. There are references to The LEGO Movie itself, which opens up questions about how far this LEGO world will go, and if this film is considered a prequel to The LEGO Movie. There are also references to classic movie villains like King Kong, Creature from the Black Lagoon and gremlins, as well as more modern baddies like Voldemort, a Tyrannosaurus rex, and the biggest bad guys of all, Daleks. There really is something for everyone here.” —Jeff
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Will Arnett is born to play this snarky, arrogant Batman, and I can’t imagine anyone else in the role. Parents are going to enjoy this just as much as their kids. What truly makes this a great movie is the incredibly intelligent and quick-witted screenplay, not to mention the gorgeous animation. The one-liners come at you faster than a batarang; if you laugh too long, you might just miss some of them.” —Drew
“The laughs start from the black before the studio logos and don’t let up from there. This is the one downfall of the movie. When you come out of the gate that strong and try to keep that pace, there is nowhere to go but down. Through parts of the middle of the movie, things begin to feel long and the jokes lose their impact. It’s like running a marathon. The ending more than makes up for any shortcomings, but know there is little breathing room provided.” —Jeff
“The LEGO Batman Movie doesn’t abandon the superhero’s many iterations for its purposeful silliness. In fact, the movie embraces them, and even makes use of the franchise’s flip-flopping legacy to enunciate the one denominator that unites all Batmans: his pronounced, and sometimes mistakenly celebrated, loneliness.” —Drew
“Seeing as this is really a Batman movie wrapped in LEGO, it’s refreshing not to have to sit through yet another Batman origin story. This movie gets right into all the great bat action without having to watch Bruce Wayne’s parents get killed, again. This movie is also a bit darker than The LEGO Movie. This is to be expected, as the subject material is darker, but it doesn’t go so far as to be inappropriate for young audiences. I would still let my 3-year-old watch this movie without hesitation.” —Jeff
The LEGO Batman Movie is funny and witty, with huge laughs from beginning to end that will entertain everyone. This jam-packed film makes for a great family outing.
Rated: PG
Stars: Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes
3 out of 5
