A spinoff of the hugely successful The Lego Movie released in 2014, The Lego Batman Movie lives up to its predecessor as a hugely entertaining film that delights kids and adults alike as a result of its clever use of animation and a script full of irreverent humor. Taking place several years after The Lego Movie in which Batman played a role, Batman, voiced perfectly by the deep-voiced comedian Will Arnett, feels lonely without family and is always eager to be the lone hero of Gotham City. The film humorously shows him moping throughout Wayne Manor and the Batcave accompanied by Alfred, voiced by Ralph Fiennes, who, among other things, prepares Batman’s favorite meal of microwaved Lobster Thermidor. Batman is overjoyed to be put back in action when the Joker, voiced by Zach Galifianakis, returns with a crew of famous villains to wreak havoc on Gotham City in order to become Batman’s most hated villain. The rest of the movie follows Batman in his madcap adventure to stop the Joker and is begrudgingly assisted by Robin, voiced by Michael Cera, and the daughter of recently retired Commissioner Gordon who herself was just promoted to police commissioner, voiced by Rosario Dawson. I particularly enjoyed the self-referential and very much irreverent humor: the character Batman makes fun of himself and refers to the many portrayals of Batman in TV and film. For instance, he refers to the speech bubbles with random words during a fight, an obvious ode to the famously cheesy original Batman TV show. Furthermore, I thought it was especially creative to depict villains from other Hollywood films, including King Kong, the Wicked Witch from the West from The Wizard of Oz, Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, and Sauron from The Lord of the Rings. Overall, I found it to be a terrifically fun-filled movie that perfectly blends spectacular animation with extreme wit and humor to make for a wonderful cinematic experience even for adults hesitant to see an animated film involving Legos.
KEITH on Reels 