3 stars (out of 4)Everything is still awesome in the Lego Movie universe!!!All right, maybe not everything.And in a young movie year when the biggest box office hit showcases a deranged man mutilating teen girls for kicks (for shame, Split, for shame), let's cheer an ultra-accessible blockbuster that packs in clever laughs, not to mention fun pows! to please the Batman faithful. Indeed, if any character from the marvelous 2014 hit The Lego Movie warranted a spinoff, it’s Will Arnett’s why-so-serious Caped Crusader. “Really long dramatic production logos.” “Animal Logic animation studio.” Batman himself narrates the opening seconds in his deep growl. He then attributes an earnest lyric from Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” to himself. Oh, yes, this is an irreverent toy story coming to play. Life is pretty damn sweet for Batman these days. The good people of Gotham City like him. They know that as soon as the Bat Signal goes up, he’s going to rescue them from those pesky bad guys.
Not even the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) can beat him. Off-hours, Batman takes off the codpiece and transforms back into billionaire bachelor Bruce Wayne. Wanna know what really transpires inside his lair? The guy microwaves lobster for precisely two minutes and watches Jerry Maguire in his private screening room. But the Joker is nothing if not persistent. So when Batman — his archrival for 78 years! — has the gall to dismiss his antics by exclaiming “Batman and Joker are not a thing,” the villain plots his most intricate hostile takeover plan yet. This time, Batman and his wonderful toys can’t defeat him. He needs to ditch the brooding loner thing and (gasp) seek assistance. Enter a motley crew of eager crime fighters: wide-eyed Boy Wonder Robin (Michael Cera), the new Commissioner Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and trusty butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes).There’s delicious irony in noting the action and entertainment value here far exceeds that of 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
(Granted, it’s faint praise. That dud nabbed Razzie nods for a reason. Changing a light bulb in the bat cave is more thrilling.) The fact is, Lego Batman owes a major debt of gratitude to Ben Affleck’s incarnation. The latter portrayed the iconic superhero as a humorless, tortured soul seemingly impervious to warmth. All that darkness was ripe for the picking. And, holy wow, does this film pick with glee. And the winking jokes come at breakneck pace. For starters, Mr. Grumpy Vigilante is the only superhero not invited to Superman’s rager in the Fortress of Solitude. And his patience with golly-gee Robin — who never realizes that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person, despite their similarities — wears thin in hilarious ways. (Shout-out to whoever thought to cast two Arrested Development vets in these roles.) This Batman can also can sing and dance about his greatness (sample lyric in his signature tune: “It’s OK if you stare/I’m a billionaire!”). We laugh because we love.
At heart, the film is an homage to the superhero’s deep roots in pop culture. Listen closely for familiar references to everything from a Gotham parade set to Prince music (1989’s Batman) to “the two boats” in the river (2008’s The Dark Knight). Every single old foe lines up to torment him, including the Riddler, Two-Face, the Penguin and the Wicked Witch of the West. Every single villain appears, period. Like nearly every spinoff and sequel, this doesn’t recapture the magic of the original. A straight superhero tale, even a sublime one, can’t compare with the joyous story of Chris Pratt’s smiling everyman Emmet learning how to save the day. And that movie’s inventive live-action twist just can't be topped. See what happens when the bar is built too high? (The Lego Batman Movie opens Friday, February 10.) get enough of Us? Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter packed with the latest celeb news, hot pics and more!Obsérvalo en acción Vídeos e imágenes Descárgalo desde PS Store
If you haven't played LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham yet, you don't know what a crazy ride you're missing. If you have played it, well, let's be honest... There's no way you've gotten to 100% yet. It's just impossible, in a game of this size, to complete it fast. There are over 150 playable Minifigures in LEGO Batman 3, all of them plucked from DC Comics history and continuity. It goes without saying that there are plenty of obscure characters in that enormous catalog, but there are some longtime fan-favorites as well. Here are ten of the most desired DC characters that you'll want to play as, and what you have to do in the game to get them. Getting your virtual hands on the Atom is a big deal in LEGO Batman 3. Throughout the Free Play hubs and worlds, you'll run across elaborate rat-maze contraptions that only someone very small can access. Don't bother trying to use Brainiac's shrink ray to shrink down another character to enter the maze; the effects of that gun only last for a few seconds.
You can always unlock the "Mini Characters" Red Brick, which turns all of your characters that small, but it's a pain to go back and forth to the Extras menu just to turn it on, and then do the thing, and then go back to turn it off, etc. The easiest and quickest way to access those small areas is with the Atom, who can shrink at will. The Atom can be acquired during the level "The Big Grapple," but only in Free Play mode. After escaping the big green dome bubble with Plastic Man, go around to the open area between Green Lantern (who's still being mind controlled by Brainiac) and the dome. Destroy the three silver items there and then build with your brand new LEGO bricks. This triggers a grappling hook to the left, so go to it and grapple and it creates a bunch of green toxic goop all over the floor. It also creates a hovering cleanup vehicle, which you should use to mop up the goop. Next, go park your hovering vacuum car over the contraption you built a minute ago with those exploded silver pieces.
Two levers pop up; pull them and there it is: the Atom character token. In the Watchtower, go to the Trophy Room. Fly up to the platform on the right side of the room. Use Brainiac to shrink the statues, and shazam. There's Black Adam's token. Deathstroke can be found in the "Big Trouble in Little Gotham" level, and is easy to get regardless of whether you're in Story Mode or Free Play. In the second area, where Flash and Joker team up to fight bad guys at Joker's carnival, look for five fireworks spinners. Use a grappling hook to pull on each one, and after they've all gone off, you're rewarded with Deathstroke's character token. From the Hall of Justice hub, jump down the big hole into the Hall of Doom area. Outside the Hall of Doom is a swamp area where you'll find a long row of mushrooms growing. Look for the mushroom that has a circular, glowing gate around it. That's right: it's a race. Just follow the gates and jump on each mushroom in turn, and you'll get Doomsday's token as your reward.
You'll want to have plenty of coins saved up for Doomsday; at 1,250,000 coins, he's one of the most expensive characters in the game. As long as you're at the Hall of Doom, you might as well go ahead and get... Go inside the Hall of Doom and work your way through the various character quests until you get to one called "Five Studs Please," in which Ms. Quinn herself gives you a mission. After you've spoken to her, several patients will appear inside the Hall of Doom. Go and speak to each one in turn, and then have them follow you to Harley. She'll give you her character token as your reward. Kilowog can be found as you enter the big temple in the "Need for Greed" level. Pull down the big pillar and then look for a birds nest with 3 eggs inside. Destroy the eggs and then destroy the big bird that appears. Claim Kilowog as your prize (if you can get past the baby bird murderer guilt). While Free Playing in the London part of the "Europe Against It" level, look for the wrecking ball near the bus.
Have Brainiac shoot his blaster at the wrecking ball, and it will grow bigger. That's all you have to do. The wrecking ball falls on its own onto a boat, which dispenses Lobo's token. In the "Space Station Infestation" level, fly up and look on the right of the armory. There's a missile here that Brainiac can shrink. Destroy the crate that appears and then fly back up to nab the character token for Reverse Flash. While you're in this level, you can also get... During the Firefly boss fight, go around to the left of the spot where you started in this area. Look for a blue grate above you and use a power suit equipped with magnetic control to open the grate. Switch to a flying character (or suit) and soar up into the grate to get John Stewart's token. Swamp Thing is one of the characters that comes in more than one flavor. You have your original Swamp Thing, and then there's the New 52's version of Swamp Thing. Let's grab them both. The fourth character quest that becomes available in the Hall of Doom is called "The Garden of Love."