The Lego Batman Movie was not a movie I was solely anticipating on seeing at the time. For those that don't know, I have this somewhat dislike toward the Lego version of Batman from the original Lego Movie. I didn't necessarily hate him and to be fair he did have a few funny lines but I never understood his purpose in the first "Lego movie" but It seems like everyone else loved this character and couldn’t get enough of him. You could imagine that I wasn't super hyped when I heard about a Lego Batman movie. However, when I saw the score on the Tomatometer at a surprisingly high percentage it convinced me to see the movie despite not liking the character. Little did I know what I’d be in for as this movie would in some ways represent Lego Batman in a much better and engaging way than in the previous Lego Movie.
In the Lego universe, Batman has been fighting off foes in Gotham City for quite some time, but unfortunately, he is full of himself and does not care for anybody especially his rivalry with the Joker which he fully admits to him. Batman lives a life of solitude and despite his butler Alfred giving fatherly advice about his past, Batman counties to deny his problems and accepting help from others. One day he finds himself accidentally adopting an orphan named Dick and despite trying to get rid of him, Batman finds that he’s stuck with raising a son who takes on the identity as Robin. Things begin to become suspicious when the Joker arrests himself leaving Batman to investigate what the Joker is up to. However, He’ll have to learn to work together with Robin, Alfred, and New Commissioner Barbra to stop The Joker’s plans as he tries to recruit the greatest villains of all time from a place called the Phantom Zone so The Joker can finally be accepted as Batman’s greatest enemy.
The best thing I can say about this movie is how it manages to poke fun at its premise while also telling an engaging story that surprisingly dives deep into the complexities of the Batman mythos. This is quite similar to the style of filmmaking that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were well known for doing in the first Lego Movie and even though they weren’t in the director’s chair for this movie you can still tell their fingerprints were all over this movie. There are many references to Batman’s past and present as well as a ton of Fourth wall breaking humor that adds to the zaniness of the movie. Underneath all that, is a nice and gentle story about Batman learning to accept help and being a part of a family even when he doesn’t want to admit it. This can lead to some admittedly touching moments that help make this movie more than just a good comedy. I know I’ve already said in my Lego Movie review that I wasn’t much of a fan of Will Arnett as Batman not because of the actor but because of the somewhat annoying personality he was given, but this movie manages to do the impossible in not only making Batman a well-defined character but also making him funny in a way that is more delightful than it is annoying. Batman’s not the only character that gets the spotlight though as we are also introduced to other memorable characters such as the wide-eyed innocent Robin, the father-figure like butler Alfred, and a surprisingly great interpretation of the Joker as he too has as much complexity as Batman does.
The Animation takes a page right out of the first Lego Movie as almost everything you see on screen is made out of Legos in one way or another. Some of the most impressive animations come from how Batman makes use of his environment with the heavily detailed and complex vehicles he uses or showing Gotham city under attack from the villains of the Phantom Zone. the environments are also full of detail and life with one of my personal favorites being the inside of the Batcave as it has all these cool gadgets and gizmos but at the same time is empty and desolated to make it relate to Batman’s lonely side of his complex personality. There are also plenty of visual references to Batman’s origins in film and tv which are hilariously and smartly incorporated into the story. They also get creative with some of the character designs as many of Batman’s villains and Joker’s new recruits from the Phantom zone take advantage of the simplicity of their lego forms and are exaggerated in heavily detailed but also fun and interesting ways. The movie also has the pleasure of having a traditional music score with added pop songs to the mix. Some of the songs are copyrighted songs only added for laughs but there are also songs sung by Batman or Robin respectively and each of them represents their specific personality traits whether happy and bouncy or dark and bruting.
This movie managed to take one of my least favorite characters from the original Lego Movie and made him an actual sympathetic character to route for along this surprisingly funny and even touching adventure. This is a spin-off that could have so easily been made to make a quick buck cashing in on Will Arrnet playing the Dark Knight. Thankfully, the filmmakers treated the movie seriously, giving it a lot of zany humor and even some deep complex moments that dive into the history and longevity of Batman. To make a movie starring a character I didn’t like originally and turning in a movie that actually made me care about that said character is quite impressive in itself. If you were like me and thought Batman was annoying in The Lego Movie, then you’ll be shocked to discover that this movie manages to defy many expectations and makes Batman a funny and also complex character to route for every step of the way.
(Final Grade B+)