I thoroughly enjoyed the first Lego Movie and really wanted to see this one. Although honestly speaking it was mostly because I knew that Will Arnett would take his Batman to really ridiculous territory.
Here’s my roundup of Chris McKay’s (Robot Chicken) The LEGO Batman Movie (2017).
Please note that there may be spoilers. Read at your own risk.
THE STORY:
Batman (Will Arnett – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2014)) is back in Gotham City fighting crimes and enjoying his self-imposed solitude. Aside from his butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes – Hercules (2014)), Bruce Wayne finds that he doesn’t need anyone else. When he accidentally adopts cheerful orphan Dick Grayson (Michael Cera – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)) during a gala that announces Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson – Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) as the city’s new Commissioner, his life gets a whole lot more complicated. Add to the fact that his nemesis the Joker (Zach Galifianakis – Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) is being all clingy, Batman finds his patience severely tested by all of the human interaction he’s forced to suddenly endure.
THE GOOD:
- That lengthy montage that lists down all of Batman’s enemies was really cool and that whole “worth a Google” quip from the Joker was just too cheeky to be annoying.
Even the reaaaallly obscure ones were mentioned. - I liked that they acknowledged all of the previous Batman incarnations, even the TV show from the sixties. It’s difficult to sell the idea that all of the previous Batman stories existed in this particular universe but because the filmmakers took the time to really dig into the character, it works. Despite the multiple story lines, the Batman in this film is still the same Batman who has the same insecurities, traits and weaknesses.
- It was just too meta, you know? Ralph Fiennes was playing Alfred but one of the villains in the story was Voldemort so technically some Voldemort vs. Voldemort action was going on.
- There were a LOT of nerd references. From the Batman villains to Voldemort to Sauron to the frakkin’ Daleks, there were nods to all nerd fandom to keep them happy.
- It was actually a pretty decent Bat Girl origin story. I didn’t think that they’d manage to slip that one in but the whole thing was incorporated quite smoothly into the story.
THE BAD:
- It wasn’t as funny as the first Lego movie, unfortunately. The jokes weren’t as fast-paced and not as clever as the ones that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller threw at the audience four years ago.
- I’m not sure if this was a good Robin incarnation. While the Batman character was spot-on, the Robin character was a bit meh for me. Maybe they wanted Batman to have all of the angst in the movie, but this version of Dick Grayson didn’t fit the character in my head.
THE UGLY:
None.
All in all, McKay’s The LEGO Batman Movie was a fun movie to watch. While the story was simple, I could easily see it being the plot of a real-life installment to the Batman series. The characters of Batman and the Joker were so thoroughly researched that it feels very much like a tribute movie than an installment. Performances of the voice actors were excellent and I particularly enjoyed Fienne’s snooty take to the Alfred character. It might not be as funny as the first movie, but the filmmakers’ love for the Batman/Bruce Wayne character shines through enough to give the movie a lot of heart.
THE VERDICT: 7.5/10
*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.
