All important movies start with a black screen,” intones the titular character of The LEGO Batman Movie. “And logos—really long and dramatic logos.” And so continues our narcissistic hero, mansplaining every crucial component to a great film’s intro and sounding self-important, even when he pronounces his studio’s name “Warner Bras.” With that, The LEGO Batman Movie already feels like a promising spinoff of 2014’s surprisingly entertaining The LEGO Movie, even though not one of the filmmakers involved in the original had a hand in creating its follow-up. This crew—the helmer and five (!) scripters—isn’t even well-versed in the film world, but earned their chops working in television: Director Chris McKay is best known for Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken while the writers bear credits such as Crank Yankers, Community, and American Dad. Collectively, however, they’ve captured the wit, silliness, and parodic spirit of The LEGO Movie note-perfectly.The LEGO Batman Movie sets up its storyline early: Batman/Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett, returning and just as terrific as in the first go-’round) is lonely.
When the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) mentions to his nemesis early on that he’s his greatest villain, Batman bristles like a typical commitment-phobe: “Batman doesn’t do ’ships,” he says. “I like to fight around.” Yet after he saves Gotham City once again (and a cheering fan mentions how great it must be to be Batman), Bruce returns to his literal island, heats up a dinner-for-one, and watches TV alone in the cavernous Wayne Manor. After losing his parents—Bruce is famously an orphan, of course—he’s afraid of letting anyone in. But during a lovestruck moment (one not unsimilar to what Emmet Brickowski experienced in the original LEGO Movie), Bruce unthinkingly agrees to adopt a puppyish orphan (Michael Cera) who follows him around. The love interest is Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), who’s taking over as police commissioner after her dad (Hector Elizondo) retires. And though everyone at the orphanage calls the boy “Dick,” (“Well, kids can be cruel,” Bruce remarks), he’s renamed Robin—and we all know what happens there.
Though the Joker is, in fact, the main villain here, he’s brought along pretty much everyone in the DC universe to help him destroy Gotham, from Superman to Harley Quinn to Godzilla. Warner Bros. fantastically allows itself to be mocked, with not only knocks on its superhero flicks (Suicide Squad is a slow-moving target, as is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; there’s even a quick reference to Zack Snyder) but also romantic properties such as Must Love Dogs. And if you’re not familiar with the history of Batman, you may not catch the flurry of homage to former Batmen down to pre-Adam West days, along with their attendant styles or, in West’s case, goofiness. The re-created look of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy is particularly brilliant.As with The LEGO Movie, the jokes come too rapidly here to catch them all—at least in the first half. Batman has more flat moments than its predecessor, but when it hits, it’s hilarious: Batman’s dark-soul personality is consistent throughout (when Robin and the Joker exchange a “Namaste” greeting, Batman responds, “Gross”), and a protracted, nearly silent scene involving Bruce and his microwave may leave you laughing until you tear up.
Yet the requisite heart of an animated film is still there. The themes of family, togetherness, teamwork, and even gender parity (“If you call me ‘Batgirl,’ can I call you ‘Batboy?’”) are highlighted, and the movie has an odd fixation with Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” Though he does melt a little, Batman’s self-aggrandizing nature remains charmingly intact and may remind viewers of this not-so-great characteristic IRL, with the disillusioned wishing that a pro-superhero sign in the film could come true: “Batman for President.” The LEGO Batman Movie opens Friday in theaters everywhere. Running Time: 100 minutes LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers LEGO Ninjago: Masters of SpinjitzuThe unexpected side effect of the cold war between Marvel Studios and DC Comics-affiliated Warner Brothers is that big-budget superhero movies can finally afford to be weirder. After a certain point, what kind of new Batman story can you tell that a hungry audience wants to see?
Chris McKay's "The Lego Batman Movie" is simultaneously a spin-off of a hit animated movie from two years ago, a masterful melding of valuable corporate intellectual property, and the most amazingly strange film you'll watch all year.Batman's enduring flexibility and adaptability as the American pop culture icon over 70-plus years is front and center in "The Lego Batman Movie" and even remarked upon by other characters in the film. In the Lego World's Gotham City, Batman's been around forever and every on-screen incarnation from the racist '40s-era serials to "Batman v. Superman" is considered canon. Whereas Christopher Nolan's trilogy stoically turned a critical eye toward Batman's masked vigilantism in a modern society, "Lego Batman" immediately parodies the self-seriousness of recent Batman movie opening credits. Will Arnett's gravel-voiced frat boy take on Batman may invite us all to laugh at and with him from minute one, but the movie we get is markedly unlike any kind of Batman movie we've seen before.
As "The Lego Batman Movie's" hyper-melodramatic opening minutes give way to pure comic madness, Arnett's Batman sings a growly metal song about how awesome he is while delivering effortless beatdowns on an army of villains including The Joker (Zach Galifianakis), Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate), and Two-Face (a cute role reprisal/bit of cosmic justice for unfortunately sidelined '89 "Batman" actor Billy Dee Williams). It's a deliberately and delightfully overstuffed action sequence that really capitalizes on the world's-biggest-toy-collection chaos that made "The Lego Movie" such a visually mesmerizing film. But it's all a feint: The conflict Batman faces isn't really with the combined might of his famous rogues or even with—spoilers, y'all—a collection of imprisoned movie super-baddies including The Eye of Sauron, Voldemort, The Wicked Witch of the West, and the goddamn Gremlins from "Gremlins." No, this dickish loner and emotional recluse has to look at the man in the mirror and ask him to change his ways.
And yeah, you better believe Warner Brothers shelled out for three different covers of that Michael Jackson hit to drive this point home in its $180 million dollar movie."Batman's an asshole" has become such a pronounced part of the caped crusader's DNA that it feels almost revolutionary that a Batman movie would call attention to it as a problem to overcome. The Lego Batman we met in "The Lego Movie" was the kind of obnoxious alpha-jerk role Arnett has built a career on, but this solo outing suggests an unbeatable rock star Batman who is terrified of forming new emotional connections because of the death of his parents. Arnett's toy Bruce Wayne skulks around his impossibly gigantic mansion and Batcave, pathetically laughing at old movies in solitude and reheating cold lobster thermidor in a microwave. Arnett elevates what could've just been extended schtick into a surprisingly nuanced performance easily on par with Bale, Keaton, or Affleck's live-action takes on the character. A Batman whose pathological inability to love again is getting in the way of his happiness is a pretty ambitious theme for what's presumably a movie to sell toys to kids, and McKay—and a half dozen screenwriters—do a pretty deft job of balancing this for jokes and actual earned pathos.
If there's one area where "The Lego Batman Movie" falls short it's that the film's momentum grinds to a halt in more than a few of these scenes.As ever, Batman is only as good as his supporting cast, and "The Lego Batman Movie" is held up by some excellent performances. Galafianakis' aforementioned clown prince of crime leaves Jared Leto's try-hard Joker performance from "Suicide Squad" in the dust, managing genuine menace with his pointy shark tooth smile in between bouts of childish pouting. The Lego version of The Joker is less a maniacal psychopath and more a deeply insecure ex lashing out. In case you missed the obvious subtext that's casually tossed around, Batman and The Joker's Lego counterparts re-enact the climax of a certain '90s Tom Cruise/Cameron Crowe joint.The film also re-teams Arnett with his "Arrested Development" co-star Michael Cera, here playing a deliberately off-putting nerd version of Robin. Cera so often gets pigeon-holed, so it's especially fun to watch his Dick Grayson insist on calling Batman and Bruce Wayne his two dads or ask about the vigilante policy on cookies.