With the success of The Lego Movie, a new brand of family
comedy has been thrown into the universe. The film’s simple and somewhat
naively perceptive thread of social commentary, character-building, and
storytelling has really taken off, which I absolutely love because it’s a very
inclusive form of writing that appeals to a much wider audience than the
perceived ‘intended audience’. Continuing on this track is The Lego Batman Movie, the second Lego feature from Warner Bros.
and delivering more feels and more thrills than I expected.
Rather than telling
the story of a nobody who becomes a somebody, the film chronicles a Batman
adventure that explores a side of the Dark Knight that has sort of been hinted
at, but never really turned into a plot-driver. It must be great to be Batman
(Will Arnett) right? Well, not so much. Life as a vigilante superhero living in
a Bat Cave proves to be a bit lonely, but what makes is worse is that the death
of his parents has made Batman fearful of becoming part of a family again. But
when the Joker teams up with Lego’s greatest villains, he must put aside his
lone wolf mantra and become part of a team of if he’s going to save Gotham.
Where to begin with this movie… As I mentioned before, it’s back on track with
its script, having this wonderfully simple and surprisingly perceptive tone
that makes it feel like a child’s Lego role-play. The story is very sweet and
heart-warming, preaching the need for sociality and various relationships to
create a grounded human being. Batman’s character particularly is given a lot
of volume through the use of metafiction and social commentary. Tongue-in-cheek
humour sparkles as various references are made to the television and filmic
evolution of Batman spanning all the way back to the 1960s and it’s great
because on the one hand, it’s just clever and funny, and on the other hand it
actually works to create a lot of depth in the character, which then paves the
way for successful and heartfelt growth without having to resort to flashbacks
and long-winded chunks of exposition. The humour in this movie is seriously
good.
Truth be told, depth is brought to many of our favourite characters
through humour and sweet, child-like perception, particularly the Joker. I
absolutely loved that his whole thing was about respect, appreciation, and just
being recognised as an integral part of Batman’s life and the film gives him
this really sweet vulnerability that just makes you go ‘aawww’.
Then we have
the glorious Lego animation. I was very impressed with the first movie: the
textures and movements of natural things like lava, water, fire, and smoke
clouds was really cool and in this movie it gets taken to a new level. The
action sequences are brilliant, just as thrilling as any live action piece, but
with the added extra of it being Lego; thus not as violent and having a layer
of hilarity to it.
If you enjoyed The
Lego Movie in any way, shape, or form, my recommendation is that you go and
see this! Its sweet and simple storytelling make it nice and easy for everyone
without having to invest loads of brainpower and the meta and humorous social
commentary means that there’s a joke in it for everyone!
Starring: Will Arnett,
Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate,
Jason Mantzoukas, Conan O’Brien, Doug Benson, Billy Dee Williams, Eddie Izzard,
Seth Green, Jemaine Clement, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Adam Devine, Hector Elizondo,
Mariah Carey, and Siri
Rating: PG
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