The Lego Batman Movie (2017) Review

"Iron Man sucks!"
-Batman



After being defeated by Batman (Will Arnett) once again, the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) comes up with a new plan to assemble a team of super villains far more powerful than Batman has ever faced.  The threat is so strong that Batman will finally have to learn to work with others and how to let those he cares about into his life.


What Works:

The Lego Batman Movie has the same insane, creative energy that The Lego Movie had.  It's simply an extremely fun movie and watching all that insanity unfold makes it impossible not to smile.  This movie makes you feel like a kid again and it's a very fun experience.

The voice cast is once again stellar.  Will Arnett solidifies his place as the most entertaining Batman of all time.  Zach Galifianakis is wonderful as the Joker and his conflict with Batman is both hilarious and adorable.  Michael Cera is perfectly cast as Robin and he brings the perfect amount of playful innocence to the role.

The Joker's plan to bring in supervillains from other franchises is brilliant.  If you've ever wanted to see the Joker team up with King King, Voldemort, Sauron, Gremlins, the shark from Jaws, and Agent Smith, this is the movie for you.  It's a brilliant concept that wouldn't work in any other movie and I'm stoked they went in this direction.

I also really enjoyed the shots this movie takes at Suicide Squad, which came out about six months earlier.  Batman has a line, "What am I gonna do?  Get a bunch of criminals together to fight the other criminals?  That's a stupid idea!"  Killer Croc also shows up and does something of significance in the plot, unlike in Suicide Squad, which he draws attention to.  It's fun to watch DC take shots at their own properties.

Finally, while there aren't as many references to the fact that Legos are toys in this movie as there were in the original Lego Movie, there are a couple and I really appreciate them.  First we learn that Gotham City is built on a table and the Joker's plan is to break the table and cause Gotham City to fall.  Then, to save the day, all of the Lego characters build human towers by attaching their feet to another character's head.  That's something I did all the time when I played with Legos.  I built countless towers of Lego people and watching them do this to save Gotham City was very amusing.


What Sucks:

I do think the message about opening your heart to others and family was a bit much at times.  I really didn't need so many scenes where Robin, Alfred (Ralph Fiennes), and Barbara (Rosario Dawson) try to convince Batman to let them help.  It got a bit repetitive after awhile.  Cutting one or two of these would have helped the pacing.


Verdict:

Though not quite as amazing as The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie is a ton of fun, with hilarious moments, excellent references, a great plot, fantastic voice acting, and amazing energy.  A couple of the scenes about family get repetitive, but I really enjoyed this film and it has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great  

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