Hey gang, so, as discussed in my post yesterday there will be a weeks intermission before my review of the previously teased Outlander. But that doesn’t mean you’ve gotta go hungry! I watched the Lego Batman Movie last night for the second time and I have some thoughts I’d like to share with you!

First off, I love this film. I feel like I should object to the Lego movies on the grounds that they are essentially the worlds longest examples of product placement–worse even than blade 3!

But the thing is they are made with such skill and enthusiasm that I, along with seemingly most others, really rather like them. The animation is amazing and unique to these films, the humour is knowing yet cartoonish enough for the kids and the fact that they feature cameos from endless intellectual properties we know and love gives them another unique advantage. Plus, as I’ve mentioned here and there in the blog, I’m a big comic book fan; so Lego Batman had a head start in the race for my heart. 

And it takes full advantage of this fact! The film packs in cameos, references and in-jokes for fans of the Batman mythos/ canon. Featuring nods to earlier batman films from Adam West’s 60’s goof-fests to the Ben Afflek SUPER SERIOUS films of recent years in addition to every villain you can think of, almost any frame of this film is a joyous exploration of the history of the Dark Knight- through a sort-of fun-house Lego mirror. 

Furthermore this film GETS Batman in a way that not all of his films do. It understands the emotional core of the character, the fear of loss that drives him to push others away–and the necessity of him letting people in. Yes it’s a sanitised and disney-esque story of a hero learning a lesson and beating the baddies (this is a kids film after all); but rarely does it feel anything other than true to at least a version of the character. 

If you haven’t seen it, the film follows Batman as he fights the Jokers most villainous plan to date- and the only one to my knowledge which features Daleks*. Along the way he adopts a son Dick Grayson / Robin, learns to work with others and let in those who care about him, and finally come to accept his intetwined relationship with the Joker. The action is fluid, comic, Godzilla is there, the climax basically has it all. 

The film isn’t perfect of course, the essential flippancy which propels the film also detracts a little from its emotive weight and there’s an argument, I think, that some of the raiding of WB’s I.P. banks borders on self-indulgent. But at the end of the day, this film is just miles better than a Hollywood cash grab film about plastic batman has any right to be!!!

4 stars: ****

-Tom

*although they are only referred to in the film as ‘British Robots’, they are undoubtedly Daleks.