The LEGO Batman Movie review – a hilarious and fun-filled movie

‘Gotham city is in trouble with the arrival of The Joker.’

Back in 2014, Lego Batman proved to be the breakout star of The Lego Movie (2014). So much so, that the studios decided to postpone its sequel and instead produce a spin-off movie focusing entirely on the Caped Crusader and his exploits in Lego Gotham. He was a great supporting character in the previous movie, but the question is can the Lego incarnation of this beloved superhero hold a film on his own? The answer is a resounding yes.

To start with, The LEGO Batman Movie, helmed by Chris McKay, isn’t as good as its predecessor, nor does it have the heart and emotional heft of it either. What it is though, is a thoroughly hilarious film, which ultimately is what it set out to be; to take the funniest supporting character from the first film, and just give us more of him.

Thankfully, it also has some resemblance of a story, instead of being purely about the comedy, and throwing gag after gag at the audience with no real context, like so many of these films do. The writers have smartly given us a decent narrative to build around the jokes, involving Batman (Will Arnett) accidently adopting Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) and having to learn to be a team player, while also dealing with the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and his plan to unite all the supervillains to take over Gotham City.

It’s smartly focused on Batman, and presents him as this overgrown man-child with serious abandonment issues, who struggles to commit to anyone, including, much to his chagrin, the Joker as his exclusive number one enemy. It’s a great parody of what has become this over-serious character, and Arnett nails those exaggerated gravely tones the character has become so well known for. He’s perfectly suited to this incarnation of the Dark Knight who will happily break out into an updated, heavy metal styled, Batman theme song while pummelling the bad guys, which kind of tells you everything you really need to know about the sort of film you’re watching.

The rest of the voice cast are similarly good in their roles, including Michael Cera, going a couple of octaves higher and bringing a real infectious joy to Robin, who’s just excited to be on an adventure with Batman. Ralph Fiennes’ elegant voice is ideal for Alfred, and Galifianakis, as the Joker, adds a lighter tone to what is normally a dark and twisted character, and makes him more sympathetic.

Additionally, they also prove rather adept in bringing a comedic edge to their characters, and it sounds like they’re having a lot of fun being silly with their roles. In fact, the comedy is relentless and juvenile, which is spot on for the tone of the film, with the only flaw being that the odd moments of seriousness can feel a little forced and unnecessary, just for the sake of giving Batman some kind of redemptive ark. Regardless though, children and adults alike will be too busy laughing out loud to notice.

The animation is great, and although rendered using CGI, like The Lego Movie, it very much has the look of stop motion, of actual Lego being used to bring this world to life. Every aspect of the environment is Lego, down to the very elements of water and fire, which helps give the impression we’re watching something handcrafted, and a real tangible world unfold in front of us.

Gotham itself is a bright and neon-lighted metropolis with McKay clearly being inspired by the Schumacher films, and although that visually loud and colourful style didn’t work in live action, here it translates rather well into the wacky world of Lego. It doesn’t stop there though, as McKay shows a great love for this character and references/pokes fun at the whole legacy of this legendary figure, which will appeal to all ages.

It’s also an incredibly fast moving film with rarely a moment of stillness or silence. This break neck pace infuses a lot of energy and will help keep the little one’s eyes squarely fixed on the screen. Although it can be hard to follow at times as the action mercilessly attacks your senses, you won’t be able to deny the fun-fuelled mayhem on display, made all the more entertaining by the hilarious and quick-witted dialogue.

‘The LEGO Batman Movie is a rib-tickling yarn that simultaneously makes fun of and homages this beloved character.’

With excellent animation, a funny script and a great voice cast, it’s a film that will have you struggle to take Batman seriously ever again.