Starring the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson and Will Ferrell. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. It's easy to walk in with low expectations for "The Lego Movie," a film so saturated with product placement that every single scene doubles as a toy commercial. Adding to the cynicism is the early February release date, a time when quality family cinema is typically as plentiful as tulips on a freeway median. The movie is a wonderful surprise, cleverly written and executed brick by brick with a visual panache. Filled with humor and action, the Warner Bros. movie pulls off an emotional finish that rivals some of Pixar's best work. You can argue - and not sound completely crazy - that this is a better film than a few recent Academy Awards best picture nominees. There were early signs that "The Lego Movie" might rise above mediocrity. It was directed and written by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who seem to specialize in stealthily making quality films, including the charming "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and a satisfying film remake of "21 Jump Street."
Lego has a history of nurturing the brand; the company's video games have mostly been excellent in recent years. But the first big-screen animated Lego movie has the feel of a passion project - where smart people were given a lot of resources and allowed to execute the craziest thoughts that came to their head. "The Lego Movie" is a PG film, but its closest comparison is the work of "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The single musical number, "Everything Is Awesome," is so effective, you'll wonder why Lord and Miller didn't make more. "The Lego Movie" begins in the middle of a generic Lego city, where construction man Emmett (voiced by Chris Pratt) lives a lonely but upbeat life as one of the most boring Lego mini-figures. He is mistaken for a savior by love interest and rebel leader Wyldstyle, who is in a relationship with Batman. (That love triangle is one of many insider nods for Lego-loving kids and adults. As anyone who has played with the toy can tell you, a construction worker is at the bottom of the Lego caste system, while only Lego Boba Fett is cooler than Lego Batman.)
As the friends work to save the city from the schemes of conformist tyrant Lord Business, the movie settles into a nice blend of sly rapid-fire humor and over-the-top action sequences that all seem hatched from a 9-year-old's imagination. With plastic brick people instead of flesh and blood, the filmmakers and skilled animators at effects studio Animal Logic get a bit of a pass on the violent and racy content. If a real-life construction worker gets beheaded, it's unspeakably gory. A man photocopying his naked butt is lowbrow and obscene. When these things happen in the Lego world, it's kind of cute. Lord and Miller offer a lot for adults - from unexpected pop culture nods to a blink-and-you'll-miss-it joke about failed Lego play sets. But that humor is almost never patronizing. So many lazier family filmmakers have dropped a line from "Taxi Driver" or a double entendre, counting on the fact that the joke will sail over kids' heads. Part of the uniqueness of "The Lego Movie" is that children and their chaperones can enjoy it on pretty much the same level.
I felt a hint of worry about two-thirds of the way through the movie, realizing that the movie's high marks for style were not matched by its substance. For all its in-the-moment satire and entertainment, the lack of a human heart became harder and harder to ignore. That's the last and best surprise from the makers of "The Lego Movie." We shall say no more, except that the emotional finish exceeds the pleasures of the unexpected ending in "Frozen." This is becoming a welcome trend in kid-friendly films: making sure the adults walk home smiling as well. Teacher Appreciation Week at the Alamo Drafthouse Austin! Free movies for educators! Beware the eats (and drinks) of March… Dig your claws into juicy kabobs, bub. Go ape for our boozy banana shake. Soothe your savage beast with a refined repast. Front of House Takes Shape Our front of house is starting to give us an early preview of its final form.» , , , , , , , Dang! This event has already taken place.>> Want to see our Top Picks for this week instead?
Saturday, December 31, 2016 - 7:00 pm to 12:00 am Plaza de Cesar Chavez | Market Avenue & Park Avenue, San Jose, CAThere are big changes brewing in Gotham, but if Batman (Will Arnett) wants to save the city from the Joker's (Zach Galifianakis) hostile takeover, he may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up. Maybe his superhero sidekick Robin (Michael Cera) and loyal butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) can show him a thing or two.Right from the start, when the title character interjects to make comments on corporate logos, “The LEGO Batman Movie” makes one thing very clear: the only person that Batman thinks is worth listening to is Batman. Building on his role from 2014’s “The LEGO Movie,” Will Arnett gives us an interpretation of the character that is defined by two main attributes: his loneliness and his narcissism. The result of this is a film that works as both a satire of DC’s storied legacy, and a Batman story that features more in the way of character development for Bruce Wayne than even the last 10 years of live-action Batman movies have been able to provide.
In many ways, the reason that a comedy set to the backdrop of a Batman narrative is able to work in the first place is because of how this Batman differs from most of the well-known interpretations of the character. Here, Batman is still driven, in part, by the tragic death of his parents. However, he’s also a egomaniacal loner. Granted, some may not consider this to be out of the ordinary, given that Batman is, ultimately, a billionaire with a cave under his house that jumps between rooftops in a bat costume. The twist here is that Will Arnett takes this idea and pushes it to its logical limits. Christian Bale’s Batman didn’t laugh out loud at romantic comedies in solitude. Ben Affleck’s Batman didn’t carry a “good-idea counter” in his utility belt just to win arguments. Adam West’s Batman didn’t call himself a “heavy metal rap machine.” And we can safely assume that Michael Keaton’s Batman never embezzled Michael Jackson lyrics (even though the 80s must have made that tempting).
By contrast, LEGO Batman does all of these things; if that wasn’t enough, the aftermath of the film’s first big action scene makes it clear that this Batman’s ego feeds off of the fame and recognition that comes with the territory of being Gotham’s savior, yet again, another break from typical conventions. Additionally, he’s determined to keep his distance from others at every opportunity. This extends to other superheroes, the Gotham City Police Department, and even The Joker (Zach Galifianakis). The latter, in particular, gets quite bent out of shape about this, and acts in a manner similar to that of a jilted spouse (resulting in some humorous back-and-forth moments between the two). Beyond giving Joker motivation to justify his latest evil scheme, this dichotomy serves as a hilarious commentary of the long-running “Batman and Joker complete each other” cliche that has underpinned a myriad of Batman stories across various mediums. Nonetheless, Batman’s lone wolf mentality is challenged when Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) convinces Bruce to start raising his newly adopted son Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), and to take him under his wing as his sidekick, Robin.
This addition to the story works for a number of reasons, for one, Cera’s Robin is a well done, piercing take on the character (he’s basically a stereotypical “whiny” Robin mixed with an excited 5-year-old child). But beyond that, the results of their collaboration take the story in an interesting direction, where Batman is forced to wrestle with the fear of emotional attachment that he has spent so much time suppressing. Additionally, Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) doesn’t make this any easier for him (and needless to say, she may or may not wear a cape at some point in this movie). Speaking of which, Barbara’s introduction and later appearances can’t help but t come off as somewhat cheap to people familiar with the character. Upon seeing her for the first time at an event, Wayne goes into the stereotypical “love trance”, complete with Cutting Crew’s “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” playing in the background. And this isn’t the only scene like this in the movie.
Beyond being a lazy gag with no narrative significance (those actually hoping to see the two together had best not hold their breath), it can’t help but feel like a strange choice on the part of the writers to hint at a romance between two characters commonly considered to have a “father-daughter” relationship. But at the very least, I suppose that, given this is a comedy aimed at young kids, this sort of “joke” isn’t exactly the kind of “killing” blow it would be in a Batman film with a darker tone (not that I’m pointing fingers). Taken as a whole, “The LEGO Batman Movie” delivers as both a charming tale of sentient plastic figurines that both children and adults can find value in, and as a satirical exploration of what makes Batman tick. While it may not have the strong thematic underpinnings of “The LEGO Movie,” this spinoff manages to hit a lot of the right notes, in spite of having a few strings out of tune. Still, it does start with a black screen, and all important movies start with a black screen.