The Lego Batman Movie

It's a strange day indeed when a Lego Batman film can comfortably sit as one of the superhero’s best films. But then again, surprises appear to be part and parcel of Lego movies. Rewind to 2014 when The Lego Movie was released. What could have been a cynical 90 minute commercial for the popular toy line turned into a very funny and surprisingly intelligent take on “chosen one” narratives, that took more cues from Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984 than standard kid’s fare. Of course, one of the standout characters was Will Arnett’s Batman, a very funny take of the dark and brooding character, who is clearly sending up the Nolan vision of the caped crusader. Arnett is a master of taking sociopathic, egomaniacal and depressive characters and turning those traits into humour (see his performances as Gob in Arrested Development and the titular character of the incredible Netflix show Bojack Horseman) – making him a perfect choice for Batman! So clever writing plus a brilliant comedic actor equals a spin off that is often funny, several times brilliant but doesn't quite hit the high water mark of The Lego Movie. This is the Batman film for people who are sick of seeing Batman but it somehow manages to not veer into cynicism and still be reverent to the character. Plus, it's the only Batman film that really gets an important core of the character – his adoptive family. 

Batman (Will Arnett) is well loved around Lego Gotham but he has become incredibly lonely and tries to shut everyone out due to takin on the mantle of being the dark knight. He protects himself by shunning others – including a potential bromance with The Joker (Zach Galifianakis), who is incredibly upset when Batman claims he does not see him as his greatest rival. Pressure increases on Batman when the new police commissioner, Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), wants the Gotham force to team up with the superhero and finds himself besotted with an adopted child he forgot he agreed to look after, Dick Grayson (Michael Cera). Not to mention that Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) is also incredibly concerned about what is now left of Bruce Wayne's social life. The Joker, upset by his rejection, forms a fiendish scheme to get back at Batman and prove that he is indeed his greatest enemy. Batman must get his groove back together, learn to work as a team and foil the Joker’s nefarious scheme.  

The Lego Batman Movie boasts many of the original film’s best attributes: wonderful animation, great one-liners, an irreverent sense of humour and the joy of seeing skilled animators bring Lego pieces to life. The main difference is that Lego Batman plays it a bit more straight. The Lego Movie didn't reveal all its card in one go and saved a game changing turn for the third act that was intelligent and gave a whole new perspective to the proceedings. Lego Batman tries to do this with a mid-point reveal about the members of Joker’s crew, and in turn the wider Lego-verse, but doesn't quite hit home in the same way. It’s more clever in a “this is like Lego Dimensions the video game” than “this is a brilliant and unexpected turn that completely changes our reading of the whole film”. In the fact, the elements that feel a bit old are the Lego elements, to the point where I question if this even needed to be a Lego movie. The script, acting and loving spoof of the character would be more than enough for a funny animated film but the Lego layer doesn't really add much to it (outside of a wider roster of Warner Bros’ owned characters). Weirdly, it plays to much a younger audience than The Lego Movie, which could be enjoyed by all audiences on some level. This give Lego Batman more of a brand feel as opposed to a film literally about Lego (if that makes sense).

Now that said, all the other elements that make up the rest of the film work really well. The humour, as mentioned, is spot on. Will Arnett’s delivery and performance as Batman is pitch perfect – almost like if Bojack Horseman decided to take up the mantle of being a superhero (minus the drugs, booze and sex). Batman is an arse and the film does not shy away from this. The deadpan delivery is in contrast to Michael Cera’s hyperactive Dick Grayson, aka Robin, who enters into Batman’s life like a crashing train, who also gets some big laughs. Zach Galifianakis actually manages to turn in an oddly sympathetic Joker. The character’s expression and tone of his voice following his rejection by Batman is probably the comedic highlight of the film. Along with the great line deliveries, the visual gags help to carry the film. Even if they don't all land, so many are thrown at the audience that there's bound to be something that will make you laugh. Every incarnation of Batman is referenced. An early gag has Joker team up with several Z-list villains, all taken from the pages of the comics or TV show at some point, with The Joker encouraging the audience to  google them to prove they are real! They are even pretty merciless in taking down recent developments in the character’s on screen persona (looking at you Batman v Superman). Whilst the animation doesn't quite have the freshness it did back in 2014, there is still a charm in seeing these bricks come to life. It is bright, colourful and incredibly appealing to look at. The best piece of animation is probably seeing the transformation of the Batmobile, from car to aircraft. It feels like a real piece of stop motion animation in the best way possible.  

The Lego Batman Movie manages to ride the line between family entertainment and clever satire of the Batman mythos. While it definitely does play to a much younger audience than The Lego Movie (and loses some of that movie’s greatest elements) a great cast (especially Arnett) and witty script make it worth the price of admission. The loving spoof of all things Batman make for great references and jokes for long term fans. In this regard, it is a celebration and farce of all aspects of the character on screen: the goofy 60s show, the gothic Burton films, the Schumacher failures, the brooding Nolan meditations and the ultra violent Synder murderer. It also manages to work in one of the character’s key components often missed on screen – the extended Bat family. Oddly enough, it succeeds more as a Batman film than as a Lego movie, which unfortunately means it lacks based on the standard set by the original film. The best thing the film does though is bring a big-screen version of the character back to children, something that has been lacking for a long time. 

Rating: 7/10