‘The Lego Batman’ is great fun for kids, fanboys with tons of inside jokes
Fans are eager to see how the Lego franchise will adapt more films after The Lego Movie won big with critics and audiences. The Lego Batman movie is first up with Will Arnett returning as the voice of the Caped Crusader.
Set in Gotham, Batman faces off against a full rogue gallery of villains with an emotionally distraught Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) who wants to feel special. The Batman persona is consuming Bruce Wayne’s life and Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) jokes about his reclusive lifestyle and then intervenes to hold him accountable for promising to adopt the young orphan, Dick Grayson (Michael Cera).
There are so many inside jokes, references to the 1960’s classic Batman show with Adam West and Burt Ward that I couldn’t even list my favorites with a couple of more screenings.
Rosario Dawson voices Barbara Gordon as the linchpin for a heavy-handed family centric plot as Bruce has to learn there’s more to life than being Batman.
Fans of The Lego Movie may be disappointed with the lack of “Lego” influence after the action sequence. I don’t think “Master Builder” comes up more than twice and the action just becomes a whirlwind of chaos without the great comedic elements from the earlier film.
Fun is the key and the focus. The kids will laugh out loud and want to see the film again. Fanboys will laugh at a completely different set of jokes and will also want to see the film again. Success and success.
Everyone else will enjoy the film, but the story is lacking and gets incredibly tedious. Alfred becoming Batman dressed up is just an odd nod at the Batman mythos and every character plays along.
The biggest complaint has to be that there is NOT enough Joker. After the bantering at the end of the big battle, most of which was spoiled in the trailers, Joker gets lost in the background. Lego Batman cements the filmmaking quality and stories for a Ninjago standalone film and of course, the sequel to The Lego Movie.
Overall The Lego Batman receives 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
As I mentioned, if you a Lego addict in your house, a young boy or a 40-year-old man child, add at least one star – they are the target audience and the film delivers for them.
