The Lego Batman Movie

For many moviegoers, Will Arnett's take on Batman in "The Lego Movie" was a scene-stealer. It makes perfect sense why a spinoff staring Lego Batman would be created but this could easily have been just a cash grab like "Minions". Instead, director Chris McKay and his fellow filmmakers created a genuinely funny, creative and entertaining show. It has many of the cinematic qualities that made "The Lego Movie" successful including some character development scenes but "The Lego Batman Movie" also has a huge comic book universe to lampoon and reference. Speaking of that, this show is extremely self-referential. Despite all these good points, "The Lego Batman Movie" has the same flaw as "The Lego Movie" in that it lacks the ability to be just as entertaining as the first time you saw it.

I was pleased to see the same animation style and complexity from "The Lego Movie". The fast pace action and humor is also carried over to "The Lego Batman Movie" to great effect. The sense of comic timing was very noteworthy. What mostly separates this film from other sequels/spin-off where companies are trying to make an easy buck is the attention to the story. As with Emmett, we begin the movie with a lonely protagonist who fails to acknowledge he is unhappy. Originality in "The Lego Batman Movie" is created from the fact that instead of a Hero's Journey plot, we have a flawed main character that undergoes a change for the better. He doesn't change too much thankfully because otherwise, much of what we like about Lego Batman would be lost. As mentioned, this film is self-referential in that it doesn't take itself very seriously and the audience is constantly reminded that they are watching a movie. "The Lego Batman Movie" was able to be more self-referential than "The Lego Movie" was because of the source material. The various incarnations of Batman have spanned decades from Ben Affleck back to Adam West and even eariler than that and this provided the filmmakers with many characters, films & TV shows to reference directly. I really loved the cracks concerning "Suicide Squad", which lead me to believe that Warner Brothers still has a chance to turn the DC Extended Universe around if they are willing to acknowledge the failure of that motion picture. The opening narration set the tone of the movie perfectly from the get go and I thought it was awesome.

"The Lego Batman Movie" has some great voice acting as well as cameos that will please many who see it. Will Arnett has been voicing many animated characters for over a decade but this is the first time he has ever reprised an animated role of his. I fully believe it was his performance that gave Lego Batman his own movie. Funny enough, for me at least, Michael Cera's performance stole this show from the original show-stealer. Because Lego Batman is ridiculous on his own, his sidekick would have to one-up him in order to fit alongside him in the film. Arnett and Cera are in TV's "Arrested Development" together so that probably helped the chemestry (if they recorded together). There are a lot of famous names that voice cameo characters in this movie and some of them return to voice their brief roles from "The Lego Movie". Billy Dee Williams had a cameo in "The Lego Movie" by voicing the Lego version of his most famous film role. Probably the best inside joke in "The Lego Batman Movie" is that he reprises another of his roles: Harvey Dent or Two Face (even though his character had not yet become evil in the live action 1989 film). I was so impressed by Doug Benson's impression of Tom Hardy's Bane. One thing I don't understand is why Ralph Fiennes voiced Alfred but didn't pull double duty by voicing another cameo that I won't spoil here. The filmmakers it seemed took advantage of the fact Warner Brothers owns the rights to many villains besides those in the Batman universe. My favorite cameo not related to Batman was Agent Smith because I really did not expect them. Director Chris McKay was the animation supervisor & editor for "The Lego Movie" and his previous work on television further qualified him to take the reins for this spin-off. I took notice of the use of Michael Jackson and I really loved the inclusion of the "Superman" musical score by John Williams.

The story of "The Lego Movie" didn't really warrant a sequel but the potential for spin-offs was obviously there. When a spin-off is done correctly, you have originality but also an experience similar to the source. "The Lego Batman Movie" is a good example of this. The filmmakers had so much to pull from not only "The Lego Movie" but also from the Batman universe and they took full advantage of this. The filmmakers didn't just make us laugh though but told a plot concerning Batman's relationship with others that would also work in a more serious animated Batman film. My big question is whether this spin-off, like its predecessor, has lasting value because "The Lego Movie" is really fun the first time but loses a little bit of appeal upon multiple viewings. I also hope that Warner Brothers doesn't get carried away with these spin-offs.

3.5 Stars out of 5