Nothing was going to live up to “The Lego Movie,” but “Lego Batman” was a logical next step in the series. Will Arnett’s dimwitted voicing of Batman made it easy to choose his memorable character for an expanded story, especially since superheroes are in vogue. References to Adam West, obscure DC villains with silly M.O.’s, and a bashing of Robin’s emotions (perfectly written for Michael Cera) keep us laughing from start to finish. All of the Robin jokes are so much funnier to “Arrested Development” fans because their interactions often parallel Gob and George Michael. You do need to be prepared for this film to be “silly” instead of “funny,” but I think that this is what makes the movie so entertaining to kids and adults alike. Unlike the humor, I find the story to have one of the most sophisticated themes that I have ever seen in a Batman film, questioning whether Batman would have any value without a villain to battle. I like the writers’ treatment of Joker that makes him into a truly dynamic character and he becomes the perfect piece in this thematic puzzle. The exiling of Joker to The Phantom Zone gives the writers a perfect excuse to incorporate Voldemort, The Wicked Witch, Sauron, Agent Smith, and many other famous bad guys (in Lego form) into the equation. Naturally, these villains all converge in an anachronistic battle that is unlike anything that we’ve seen in a superhero film (with the exception of “Avengers: Infinity War” which has more characters than the writers knew what to do with…) Ironically, the cast may actually have more star power than “Infinity War.” Literally every character is a big name and it becomes a game to try and identify the voice behind the villain. They even brought in Seth Green to voice King Kong… All of these actors and story elements are cleverly brought to life through impeccable animation with disjointed Lego movements. I think that it is easy to forget how impressive the animation is because it intentionally looks choppy, but it is amazing how the crew captures those Lego movements. “The Lego Batman Movie” subscribes to the philosophy of go big or go home and, despite the small stature of the Legos, this film is HUGE!
[Pictured: The range of emotions on these Lego characters is stunning]
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