With the films of DC’s Expanded Universe falling apart more and more with each movie, we’re going to see a light touch added to the future films in the franchise. Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice could have been the nail in the coffin if it weren’t for the $873 million worth of moviegoers (which is still a disappointing number when you factor in the $250 million budget and marketing which probably matches the previous number). With bated breath we wait for Wonder Woman and Justice League, but what if the solution to Warner Bros problems is right in front of them. What if, believe it or not, The Lego Batman Movie is the property to properly show how to properly utilize these characters and the beloved universe. Returning as the ever self-involved Batman, Will Arnett changes his tune into something a little more dimensional. Bruce Wayne/Batman is always busy fighting off the bad guys and making sure he looks good in the process. His selfishness from The Lego Movie is just as evident, but Arnett’s performance (and writing from a five person team) help flesh out the character we all know and love into something we haven’t seen yet in this character.
All of Batman’s negative behavior comes to a head when The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) along with the rest of Gotham’s bad guys turn themselves in, leaving Batman to ponder on his now useless situation. The Lego Batman Movie is a surprise in so many different ways. Wrapping an entire feature length film around The Lego Movie’s most irritating character worried me. It’s very obvious that Batman’s purpose in the original Lego feature was to annoy, but it was up in the air as to how or if they would address his self-absorbed personality traits. Despite their producer credits, the lack of a writing credit from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had concerned further. That duo are known for rebooting and turning dead franchises into meta commentaries on their very existence. While that would seemingly get old, it hasn’t failed on any of their four directorial efforts. But I neglected to mention the constant presence of The Lego Movie‘s Animation Director Chris McKay. Popping up in the director’s chair, it seems as if his efforts here have elevated the film to heights I hadn’t even considered possible.
The Lego Batman Movie is just as fun, if not more even more fun than The Lego Movie. Between every instance of references to DC Comics and ironic humor lies an explosive energy in the animation that is just as spectacular, if a little less imaginative and surprising, as it’s ever been. Despite the setting of the dark and grim Gotham City, McKay brightens the palette with a smorgasbord of dynamic color. An increasing amount of fun comes into play with the very polished script. Not just pleased with only having DC Comics characters to play with, McKay assembled other Warner properties to show up in the film for various reasons adding a sense of unpredictability to the already crazed adventure. A place I can unfortunately find some fault with The Lego Batman Movie is its story in comparison to the first film. Now I don’t think there’s anything wrong with making a slight film, especially when it’s based in this subject matter, but the message of the first Lego movie was so transgressive for an animated children’s film.
While it may have felt more necessary in the first Lego movie, it still hurts the latest film by comparison. It’s not even an issue with the story told in this film. It’s still a great story. It may be conventional, but it never lacks good storytelling. Again, I really enjoy both films, but The Lego Movie has more innovation. The Lego Batman Movie is pure unadulterated fun at its finest. Not only did Will Arnett win me over with his usually annoying antics, but the film managed to make me laugh at the ridiculousness of the monopolization of the comic book world. It may very well be more fun, but it’s still less innovative than The Lego Movie. The Lego Batman Movie pulls out all the stops to make sure that if you aren’t blown away by its ideas, everything else will suck you right in regardless. The Lego Batman Movie Pros Will Arnett really shines as the Caped Crusader The rest of the cast match both Arnett's dedication and energy to bring this universe to life Animation is spot on dynamism Script is incredibly tight despite five different credited writers
Cons The Lego Movie's innovation and message loom over the entire filmAwesome FlexAwesome CatchyAwesome GraceAwesome MovieFunny CatchyCatchy TuneLego MoveLego SKids Dance PartiesForwardThe Lego Movie - Everything Is Awesome...it's got a beat and you can dance to it...and it gets stuck in your head for days! Everybody loved Will Arnett’s Batman from The Lego Movie so much that he’s getting his own Lego Batman spin-off movie. But who could possibly play off Arnett’s Batman for 90 minutes or more? Lego Batman is such a big, brash jerkface, the movie will need a character who’s pretty much the exact opposite to provide a little balance. Well, it sounds like Warner Bros. has this thing all figured out. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Michael Cera has signed on to play Robin in the Lego Batman movie. Yup, that’s pretty much the perfect casting for a Bluth family reunion. Now, who will they cast as the manic pixie dream superheroine who Cera’s Robin moons over all movie?
Maybe it’s time we set up a little Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist reunion and get Kat Dennings in there as Catwoman. See what I did there? Lego Batman is being written by Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and directed by Chris McKay, the animation director of The Lego Movie. The dark, parentless action hits movie screens early 2017. (via the Hollywood Reporter) How The Spice Girls’ Legacy Of ‘Girl Power’ Paved The Way For Women To Dominate Pop How Keeping Austin Weird Turned Into A Widespread Phenomenon How Kevin Gates Went From Underground To Platinum In A Year And Changed The Game In The Process Look For The Star: How Starter Jackets Became The Iconic Clothing Of The Early ’90s ‘Dream, Try, Do Good’: The Oral History Of ‘Boy Meets World’ How Frank Barsalona Created The Modern Rock Concert And Got Himself Into The Hall Of FameOn PC, PS4 & Xbox One: Live the fabulous Bat-lifestyle with the complete guide for beating all six new levels included in the LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack.
LEGO Batman Movie Story Pack | The Fortress of Solitude Attack of the Uber Villains Back at the Power Plant, it’s time to rumble. At the start, you’re besieged by a small army of enemies; Flying Monkeys, Daleks, and Agent Smiths appear to cause trouble for the Bat Family. Destroy all the goons, then smash the green car to construct Tow Bar grapple points. You know what to do! Ride the Bat-Wing and pull to open the path forward. Down the hallway, a frightening Velociraptor doesn’t want our heroes getting through. Crawl into the Robin Chute and dive into the water — repair the machine while submerged to cool down the super-hot revolving Agility Poles. Use those poles to right up to the second floor. Up top, push the big crate down and construct the hopping bricks to scare that pesky prehistoric critter away. Use Batman / Batgirl to pull down the ladder with their Grapples. At the top, use the Thermal Detective Mode to clear away some bombs and push the big wheeled object down the track.
In the area infested with gremlins, you’ll find a new type of vehicles… giant bombs! Ride the big round explosives like any vehicle, and steer them toward each of the three silver glowing LEGO boxes. Blast all three boxes and build the leftover bricks into a turnstyle. Don’t hesitate — start pushing! Up on the platform that’s literally surrounded by bombs, use Detective Mode to track the gas. It’ll lead you straight into the Kraken! How to Defeat the Kraken: Smash the LEGO objects on the right side of the arena. When they’re all broken, build a catapult and load the rolling bomb onto it. Use the interaction icon to fire. Use the broken catapult pieces to rebuild, and rinse / repeat Step #2 to defeat this mythological menace. Use the defeated Kraken’s arms to continue toward the top of this ridiculously over-the-top bomb pile.The elevator isn’t working, but its your straight shot to the top. Repair the Pipes — Step on the red buttons until the pipe colors all match.
Cycle through all three red switches to make sure all the pipe connections match. Fix the Generator — Build the hopping bricks on the generator and flip the Batarang Switch. If all the power cable pipes are properly matching, you’ll get six green lights at the elevator will reactivate. Step on both elevator red buttons to restore power and go for a ride. Now you’re face-to-face with the Master Timer. Bust the box on the left and build to create a laser-redirect pad. Switch into Bat-Robin and redirect that laser to melt all three gold locks. Smash everything inside the timer to defuse the bomb. Switching to Batgirl’s perspective, she has an angry wizard to deal with. How to Defeat Voldemort Defeat 6 random minions and avoid the blast icons — when the central platform is destroyed, construct the hopping bricks into a weird ramp-launcher. We still don’t have everything we need, so defeat 6 more minions. When a villain delivers a rolling bomb, deposit it in the launcher to take off Voldemort’s first health point.
Again, you’ll need to take care of 6 random goons. When he launches his barrage, build the hopping bricks near the foreground helipad and use the Batgirl terminal. After Harley Quinn arrives, stand on the pad to her left to launch the manic pixie directly into Voldemort. Smash up all 6 villains, and use the Grapple point that appears on the right after Voldemort’s barrage. The final phase immediately gives you a Blank Keystone Chooser. Highlight the blue / yellow / magenta dots to begin summoning things from other dimensions. Magenta Portal: Use Batgirl – Summon the Ghostbusters to help! Use the Grapple point to help them out of their car, and they’ll keep Voldemort busy. Yellow Portal: Keep the Magenta Portal open, and use Robin to open this portal. Jump on the (living!) trampoline to fire a mint at Voldemort. Blue Portal: With all three portals still active, use Batman to set off the Batarang Switch on the robot’s back. Now that Voldemort is defeated, you can reclaim the Phantom Zone Projector and send these bad guys back where they belong.