The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) Review

"How could I ruin your life?  I wasn't even there."
-Lord Garmadon



The city of Ninjago is constantly under attack from Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), an evil warlord who lives on a nearby island and is determined to conquer the city.  The only thing standing in his way is the Secret Ninja Force, led by Garmadon's brother, Master Wu (Jackie Chan).  The son of Garmadon, Lloyd (Dave Franco), who is hated by the city, is a member of the Secret Ninja Force, and when Garmadon launches a powerful attack on Ninjago, only Lloyd has the ability to stop his father.


What Works:

The Lego Ninjago Movie has a lot of the same energy the other Lego movies have.  This is another really fun film that allowed the creative energy to flow.  Like the other movies, you get sucked into the world and just want to go play with Legos when it's over.

The voice cast is, once again, stellar.  Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, and Jackie Chan all do a great job and are really funny.  Theroux's Garmadon is my favorite villain of the first three Lego films and is the best part of the movie.  Kumail Nanjiani plays a cowardly ninja and Zach Woods plays a robotic ninja.  Both of them are excellent and add some really funny moments to the film.

There are also some really emotional moments in this movie.  At its core, The Lego Ninjago Movie is about the damaged relationship between a father and son and how they work to repair it.  Near the end of the film, Lloyd gives a really emotional speech to his father and it's actually pretty powerful.  Throughout the movie, you feel really bad for Lloyd, but the movie keeps things light, however, at the end they hit you with some feels and it's well done.

Finally, I love the incorporation of the live-action cat, Meowthra, into the story.  It's a lot of fun to watch a real cat destroying a Lego city.  It's both adorable and hysterical.  


What Sucks:

Unlike the first two films, not all of the cast was utilized well.  The fire ninja, the earth ninja, and the water ninja were given basically nothing to do and were pretty interchangeable in terms of personality.  None of them stood out in any way and when you have such talented performances as Fred Armisen, Michael Peña, and Abbi Jacobson, but completely waste them, it's a bummer.

The 3rd act could have used some more action.  The emotional stuff between Lloyd and Garmadon is all great, but the action leading up to that is very brief.  It could have been a lot more fun than what we ultimately got.


Verdict:

The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn't get as much praise as the first two Lego movies and it is the weakest of the three, but it's still a really good movie.  The voice cast does a great job, the comedy is solid, there are some really well done emotional moments, and the fun, creative energy is there.  A few of the characters are completely wasted and the 3rd act could have gone on for longer, but this movie is very underrated and has absolutely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good

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