A Batman movie void of fanboy gripes is the rarest of unicorns, but “The Lego Batman Movie” manages to pull it off. Michael Keaton was too short. Val Kilmer was too blonde. George Clooney clearly didn’t read the script before signing. Christian Bale may be a part of the greatest Batman movie trilogy ever, but his Batman voice was too froggy. Ben Affleck was Ben Affleck (although Batfleck was a pleasant surprise in the gloomy “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”). “The Lego Batman Movie” is 1 ½ hours of forgetting all the drama that comes with not only trying to put a Batman movie together but trying to build the DC universe on film in general. There’s lots of fun and tons of laughs — many times at the expense of the entire Batman movie universe as a whole. The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) is reminded of that time when he tried to take over Gotham while blasting Prince music. Bane’s (Doug Benson) voice is a spoof of Tom Hardy’s unintentionally funny characterization from “The Dark Knight Rises.”
And then there’s Batman himself. Will Arnett uses his always-on Batman voice (it doesn’t change when he’s Bruce Wayne outside the mask) to remind us that it’s okay for Batman to be funny sometimes. Although the funniest thing about Batman in Lego form is that he takes himself way too seriously. He’s not trying to be funny, but he is, at times ridiculously so. Batman eats lobster without removing the shell. He freestyles and beatboxes over his own mix-tapes while fighting crime with an assist from his trusty “puter,” voiced by Siri, of all people. After he’s done saving the day, he’ll stop by an orphanage and blast Batman memorabilia out of a cannon to Gotham City’s neediest children. He still considers Superman one of his biggest adversaries, perhaps still holding on to some bad vibes after “Batman v Superman.” But all of this covers up the loneliness of being the Dark Knight. Trusty butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) wants Batman to accept that he’s afraid of starting a new family after losing his parents as a child.
This opens the door for Batgirl/Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and the silliest ever take on Robin the Boy Wonder (Michael Cera) — who rips off his pants frequently to perfect that classic Burt Ward look — to try to show Batman the error of his solo ways. [The new ‘Lego Ninjago Movie’ trailer reveals one fantastic plastic family feud] Practically the entire Batman universe is on display in this movie, as is DC’s Justice League. If Batman’s scene-stealing role in “The Lego Movie” led to him getting the solo Lego treatment, “The Lego Batman Movie” could be the gateway to Warner Bros and DC Entertainment finally having what has eluded them since they began trying to put their vast library of superheroes on the big screen: a moneymaking franchise that also gets mainstream critical acclaim. 2017 is perhaps WB/DC’s most important year ever. “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League” are on the way, with no guarantees that the critical drubbing that has dogged DC’s live-action movie efforts so far will go away.
And beyond this year, Affleck at first agreed to be the director of his upcoming solo Batman film, but he has removed that title from his utility belt, creating some uncertainty about its future. “The Lego Batman Movie” is a much-needed positive start to 2017, and offers WB/DC an almost fail-proof, kid-friendly way of giving the Lego treatment to their other heroes. That’s good news for WB/DC, which should now focus on making sure the live-action movies live up to the hype so the companies don’t lose the kids they’ll gain as fans. But the biggest winner of all may be retailers. This movie is going to help sell lots of toys. “The Lego Batman Movie” is an enjoyable reprieve from the live-action Bat-movie drama that is waiting for us in the future. How one man went from the CIA to writing Batman’s adventures How one Batman writer conquered the concern: ‘What if everybody hates it?’The Tumbler101 ReviewsFIND MORE PRODUCTS LIKE THISDC Comics™ Super HeroesBuild the awesome Tumbler from the Batman™ The Dark Knight Trilogy!
Action FiguresVideo GamesBikes & Ride-onsElectronicsBuilding SetsLearningGames & PuzzlesOutdoor PlayVehicles, Hobby & R/CPretend PlayArts & CraftsPreschoolMusical InstrumentsStuffed AnimalsCooking for Kids Hot WheelsMinecraftLEGOStar WarsTransformersTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles we got what's hot! There are questions that Batman movies like to ask, but never quite answer. Is Batman really good for Gotham if villains always come back and, after all these years, crime is still an ever-present threat? If Batman dresses in black, ignores the police and isolates himself from society, is he not becoming the sort of monster that he himself has been warring against? Batman movies like to raise these questions because they lampshade the inevitable narrative inconsistencies created by long-term serial fiction — mentioning them gives a movie a veneer of that quality so theoretically prized by the modern superhero movie audience: “realism.” But Batman movies almost never actually give any answers, or if they do, they do it in near-tautologies like “Gotham needs Batman.”
The Lego Batman Movie asks these fundamental questions, and then it actually provides its own clear answers and solutions. It’s also an hour and 46 minutes of pure joy, a hilarious heroic romp and a love letter to the history of Batman in film. But perhaps most importantly, The Lego Batman Movie is also an out-loud critique of the brooding, angry, hyper-masculine, loner Batman of modern film, from his cut abs to his sadness mansion. (Also, it feels silly to be saying this, but The Lego Batman Movie is a spinoff — so, I should tell you that while it presumably takes place sometime after The Lego Movie, its plot does not directly flow from any previous events in the series.) The idea that Batman (Will Arnett) struggles with interpersonal connections is established earliest — and hilariously — when it is contrasted against the Joker’s (Zach Galifianakis) need for the validation of being the person that Batman considers to be his greatest enemy. Even among his villains, Batman is unwilling to admit that he has strong emotions about any one person over anyone else.
But other than that awkward moment with the Joker, Batman’s life of fighting evil by moonlight and living to excess by daylight is going just swimmingly ... until Commissioner James Gordon (Héctor Elizondo) retires and his daughter Barbara (Rosario Dawson), a graduate with honors from “Harvard for Police,” takes his place. Barbara believes that the Gotham Police Department should take a more active role in the city’s defense against crime. Simultaneously, the Joker crashes the new Commissioner Gordon’s introductory gala, only to turn himself and every other Batman villain over to the police without a fight. What’s a Batman to do when there’s no crime to fight? The Lego Batman Movie has answers. Dawson’s Barbara Gordon is fantastic casting in a great role. Michael Cera as Dick Grayson is funny, earnest and adorable — a parody of Kids’ Movie Cloying without ever slipping up and becoming Kids’ Movie Cloying. Channing Tatum also deserves a mention for a small but very deliberately put interpretation of Superman.
There are more I could mention, but, well ... This is is a Lego Batman movie, which is to say that it takes place in what I guess we’re going to have to start calling the Lego Universe, a setting significantly wider than the DC one. Which is to say, I would really like to talk about some of the unexpected cameos in The Lego Batman Movie but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. But I will say that there’s a scene where a room full of villains gives the Joker a pep talk about how he deserves better than Batman, who has never been able to acknowledge the importance of their 78-year rivalry. “I am not going to be part of a one-sided relationship anymore,” says the Joker at the peak of his self-actualization. Needless to say, the team behind The Lego Batman Movie understand what it takes to make the Joker interesting, and it’s not a grill. The Lego Batman Movie is not to be underestimated. I expected it to answer its questions quickly and get on with things, but the third act is satisfyingly complicated.
It doesn’t take the idea that Batman is a jerk as a necessary quality of the setting, and keeps pushing until it earns its accomplishments. Batman is bad at team work, and he fails at it over and over again, but The Lego Batman Movie makes sure we know exactly why he’s failing, the lessons he keeps missing and the trauma and justified fear that ultimately drive his isolation. If this all sounds more like an adult Batman movie than a kids’ Batman movie to you, I’d like you to find me a recent Batman movie made for adults where its lead learns a lesson, changes his mind, or has any sort of arc of character development worth talking about. And get out your focused microwave emitter, because you’ll have to go back to 2005’s Batman Begins. The Lego Batman Movie is that rare bird of big-screen Batman film: A Batman movie that is actually narratively about Batman, and not a featured villain. It also has a big dance number over the end credits. Take your kids to see it.