The Lego Batman Movie Review

My wife and I still say “dang it”, referencing the original Lego Movie. It left an impact.

Batman was one of the stars of that movie and now he’s got his own as Lego continues to build its own cinematic universe with The Lego Batman Movie. The trailers and marketing had me excited but I had concerns that it would be too much. This Dark Knight worked well as a strong part of a story, but could he handle the spotlight?

He can! Do you know why? I think we all know what’s coming…

Because he’s BATMAN!

Will Arnett’s Batman is a crazy amalgam of every incarnation ever and the film goes to great lengths to show that. Do you want to see references for everything from the 1940’s serials to Batman v Superman? Then you are in luck. For a long-time fan of the character in all his incarnations this was a real treat and goes to show the love that the makers of the film have. That love isn’t solely for the Dark Knight either. There are a variety of choices made, especially with regards to voicing, that made me tingle. Amalgams everywhere!

The story itself centres on Batman and Joker giving each other the two biggest gut punches they possibly ever have; they rob each other of purpose. It speaks to the core of their characters and their relationship. Each is used to introduce lots of other characters, from across the DC and from other franchises.

There are some similarities between this story and The Dark Knight Rises. For instance, both have an opening sequence involving a plane. But the Lego one is better! Then there’s the intro and story of a Robin, which again…Lego does better!

There’s a lot of action, with some Master Building thrown in, but it never overshadows this story understanding that Batman is more than a rich guy punching people. Gotham even tries to move on, with Batman’s discovery that he can be part of a family extending to Gotham too.

This is one of the better Batman films. it’s funny and entertaining and quotable, and it gets it. One of Batman’s greatest strengths is how he can exist in such different styles. Even as Lego.