The Lego Batman Movie
Directed by Chris McKay
Starring the voices of Will Arnett, Zack Galifiankis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes and Jenny Slate
Backstory
With Lego Batman being one of the breakout characters of The Lego Movie, and superhero films being all the rage these days, and Lego and Warner Brothers desire to start creating a Lego Cinematic Universe, making a Lego Batman movie just made a whole lot of sense. And given the sense of humour in The Lego Movie, and the lack of humour in the recent DC Superhero films, we were ready for a more lighthearted take on the Batman mythology. How does it work when one of the most beloved construction toys in the world meets the Dark Knight?
Plot
We all agree, Batman’s life is pretty sweet. Beating up bad guys, being a billionaire, and universally beloved. But if there’s one thing he’s always asserted, it’s that he can do it alone. It’s an assertion that seems to hurt the Joker most of all, as the Joker always envisioned himself as Batman’s #1 villain and always assumed that Batman was obsessed with him. But Batman finds his desire to do this on his own put to the test, as the new police commissioner, Barbara Gordon, wants the police department to start working with Batman, instead of relying on him. And then, he accidentally adopts an orphan named Dick Grayson with designs on becoming Batman’s partner. Will Batman be able to work with all these new people in his life? And to what lengths will the Joker go to prove once and for all that he’s Batman’s #1 bad guy?
What I Liked
Dear God, when this film comes out on Blu-ray, I’m going to have to watch it frame-by-frame. That is the only way to fully take in all the references and Easter eggs to Batman’s long and storied history. Every scene is filled with some kind of reference. The 1960s Batman, gets a lot of love, as does the 1989 Tim Burton film. But it’s more than just non-stop pop culture references. The whole “I can never let anyone into my life. I must do this alone,” attitude of superheroes has become a huge superhero trope, and this is perhaps the most in-depth exploration of that trope and why it is. The voice cast is excellent as well. As Robin, I’ve never heard Michael Cera sound so happy and excited and chipper. It was genius casting.
What I Didn’t Like
It’s a superhero movie. The formula is firmly established at this point, and it follows the formula pretty closely.
Final Verdict
We’ve got a new contender for greatest Batman movie. It`s fast and furious and funny.