Movie Review 049 the LEGO Batman Movie

the LEGO Batman Movie
Disney & Lucasfilm
[10th of February, 2017]
85%

an overview

Having to follow up the surprising hit of the LEGO Movie, a spin-off with the standout character, Batman, in his own movie is a tricky task to handle deftly but they really outdone themselves with an excellent outing for Batman and LEGO respectively, going hand in hand in supporting each other in the storytelling and the appearances as well as the action sequences.

a spin-off standing on its own

The first movie set up the universe really well and although its followup is playing well inside what's already been set up nicely, it's entirely in its own Batman world with extensive use of his mythology and filmography throughout the years that served the character wonderfully in the end. Going on with its own more cheery tone and more bombastic style, the premise holds up on its own even without the LEGO shell around it.

a tie-in with the others:

It wouldn't be a LEGO property without including other properties and the tangential ties with the DC Universe (Justice League) and the first movie (master builders) while its spoof take full of love include the previous Batman movies as well as previous incarnations and informative enough to know what to highlight and bring out the essence of the character.

a lovely spoof take with a smart meta narrative 

As mentioned before, playing to the total opposite of how the Dark Knight has always been portrayed in recent years, the rather risky direction to go towards the opposite end of the spectrum is paying off tremendously with the spoof take on the vigilante concept and meta narrative on the genre as a whole add another layer after another and enrich the experience even more.


- Synopsis -

Bruce Wayne must not only deal with the criminals of Gotham City, but also the responsibility of raising a boy he adopted. There 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.

- 9.1 - 7.9 - official - wiki -

Cast
Will Arnett - Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael Cera - Robin, Rosario Dawson - Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Ralph Fiennes - Alfred Pennyworth, Channing Tatum, ...

A spin-off movie standing on its own two feet.

(Director Chris McKay [Robot Chicken], Budget $80 Millions = Box Office $92.9>> Millions [US],
Duration 1h 44m, Rating PG-13, Genre - Action, Adventure, Animation, Family)

* Scenes to admire *

opening meta narrative "Black", the entertaining and energetic music video full of action, lonely downtime with lobster thermidor and romantic classics, Robin getting his costume, lack of seat belt in Batmobile, Justice League isolating Batman away, homage with word illustrations materialized in fight scenes, etc ... there's too many to list!
+ Highlights +

best representation of the Batman albeit narcissist of
full of action using the spectacle of the Batman franchise and combined it seamlessly with the LEGO universe (the first opening scene/music video) smartly using the LEGO concept as a solid foundation for the Batman elements to thrive on,
the spoof comedy playing with the superhero tropes and how vigilantes like Batman in its essence but understanding fully of the characters with meta perspective ("dark screen ...") and self-deprecating narratives (went through a lot of phases through the years) while also putting the spotlight on the main theme of family that's vital for the Dark Knight's psyche, making it a great Batman movie even without the kid-friendly scope it's viewed in,
relentless amount of endearing humor throughout playing with the longstanding franchise from its infancy coupled with the high tempo in each scene and in its transition,
using the mythology extensively to fill the movie chock full of Batman goodness from the extensive list of villains to his colorful and bizarre history (classic '66) while tapping into the LEGO/WB resources of the Dimensions game,
? Points of Contention ?
a lot of leeway is taken in adapting the original property to fit the unique storyline and its playful tone essentially to the betterment of the movie but diehard fans would love to see a faithful adaptation despite the LEGO aspect of it.
the Justice League was not to help the Gotham City in the third act ... maybe preoccupied in the Fortress of Solitude?

- Lowlights -

a little less smooth storytelling when using the Batman's supervillains library to set up the main storyline and in conjunction the uneven momentum is noticeable when the more active scenes are interjected with more slower scenes.
tie-in with the first LEGO movie has been too little if you're fan of the original (master builder scene just one of the few)

-x-