The LEGO Batman Movie (REVIEW)
Written By Jacob Chimilar
After the massive success of The LEGO Movie, and the portrayal of Batman in said film, we have been graced with Batman's own solo adventure. It's Batman vs his greatest enemies, and ones that really have nothing to do with Batman in the biggest crossover you could ever dream of. Not even the comics could touch the scale of this villainous outing. Now it's up to Batman to stop the all out carnage headed for Gotham City before it's too late.
This was a pretty darn fun time. It starts super strong poking fun at the dark and overly silly Batmen alike. Sprinkling in the past in nods that fans can appreciate in a fun way. Sure it's fan service but it isn't a crutch, instead it's a way to elevate the comedy. When it does appear, they often take a satiric approach to the references, in a "can you believe they did that?" kind of way. There were jokes kids could laugh at, jokes parents could laugh at and enough action adventure to keep kids from getting too ancy even if it did get repetitive.
Will Arnet and Michael Cera make a great Batman and Robin. In fact the whole cast is outstanding. Zach Galifinakis as The Joker was great and Ralph Fiennes as Alfred was a solid choice, and a bit funny he didn't get to play another character that shows up in the film. However I found the "Because I'm Batman" shtick wore me out by the end. Its really REALLY funny, for a while but not for the whole run time. The story was big and bombastic and much larger in scale than any live action film could be and that was a joy to see. It just relied on it too much for my taste. Ii didn't have as much down time as I would have liked and it was hard to connect with Batman as he deals with his family struggles because he is so goofy and full of himself. It sets things up well but we get so diverted by those family struggles that by the time we come back to them, so much zany action has happened its like "oh right, back to the heartfelt stuff" and it doesn't land.
The animation is very impressive, the locations and action sequences are gorgeous and exciting. It's a very well imagined world that works well in the gadgety world Batman lives in. It's slightly more of a mix of CG and real LEGO this time around I noticed as some things like fire and water aren't really LEGO sometimes. Not a huge deal just not quite as meticulous as The LEGO Movie. The music is suitably energetic and exciting helping things move along quickly with some snappy kinetic camera work that can feel a bit overkill as well. Things go by so fast at times it feels like there is no time for story, only action, and that too wears you down by the end.
Not as good as The LEGO movie but not too shabby on it's own. It's better than some other animated offerings that come out. The humor is excellent, I laughed quite a lot but the heart just felt out of place in this one. It's hard to root for the guy when all he talks about is his abs and how great they are. It's worth a watch for sure and having a bit of background knowledge going in from other Batman incarnations helps sell some of the better jokes in an overall enjoyable film.
