Photo courtesy of The Lego Batman Movie official website
Story by Tim Jenkins / Contributing Writer
Despite promising trailers showing a much lighter take on “The Dark Knight,” “The Lego Batman Movie” ultimately delivers a funny, albeit forgettable film.
The movie opens with a scene introducing the Joker, voiced by Zach Galifianakis, and detailing his plot to take over Gotham City with the help of every villain ever featured in a Batman comic book. As the city panics, Batman, voiced by Will Arnett, jumps in to save the day in a fight scene that seems like it could have been a part of the YouTube series “How It Should Have Ended.” Following a bout of dialogue between Batman and the Joker that sounds comparable to lines from a romantic comedy (I’m not joking), Batman saves the day just in time to return to the Batcave to eat dinner and watch movies by himself. Seriously.
This scene is one of the only unforgettable things about this movie. When not making jokes — usually made by Batman or about something Batman does — the film takes itself too seriously with a plot focused on how Batman needs to stop being alone and find a family. At the same time, the Joker’s plot is based on Batman not acknowledging their “relationship.”
Despite not living up to expectations, the film did have a few good aspects. Longtime fans of “The Dark Knight” will enjoy the numerous references to Batman’s history, and though much of the humor is cringe-worthy, there are many genuinely funny jokes.
If you have children, they’ll probably enjoy this film, but you may have to avoid the Lego aisle at the store for a while. If you don’t have kids, you may still enjoy it, but I wouldn’t recommend paying movie ticket prices for this one.
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I saw Lego Batman this past Saturday and, in my opinion, I thought it was quite good. Coming from a technical standpoint, the animation was really nice. The style they were going for really made the characters look and feel like Lego toys. The lighting and textures were beautiful to look at and I commend the staff for it. As for the story itself, I really enjoyed the chemistry between every character, especially Batman and Robin. I loved the character development they went through throughout the movie. As for the comedy, I didn’t really think any of the comedy was “cringeworthy”. Some of the comedy dove more into awkwardness and I think what makes it funny is how we do what he does( like the microwave scene) in our regular lives. There was one major continuity error in the movie that was never answered. I won’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil anything but it has to do with Zod. Other than that, I really enjoyed this movie. I went with many other friends and they enjoyed it as well. My final thoughts to anyone reading this article are to give this movie a try and see for yourself on how you think it is.
I agree with MAGMTSUSPRING17, I found this film very entertaining. As an animation major here at MTSU, I study multiple parts of the 3D animation process. From the storytelling of the film, it had a deep emotional story about Batman coming to terms with the fact he is not alone even though he lost his parents and also have the childish comedy and fun Lego appeal. This kind of mix is great for grabbing both adult and child audiences and keeping them entertained. The visuals in this film are outstanding. The lighting and special effects made the movie not only visually appealing but also helped with creating different moods and environments. The fact that any kind of special effect in the film was created with the multitude of Lego bricks and shapes, this kept the audience in the fictional world and creating a seamless environment. Most people when watching previous Lego films or shows think that the films are stop motion when it is actually all 3D animated mimicking that sort of blocky “Lego” movement. Overall this is a great film for both children and adults, with both a great story and jokes that will keep you laughing till the end.