The LEGO Batman Movie Is Great Fun For All

It is a simple truth is, in any form — including LEGO blocks — nobody does it like quite like Batman.

The LEGO Batman Movie returns us to the world of The LEGO Movie, where we find Batman (Will Arnett) back to his usual crime-fighting antics in Gotham City. Things take a turn when The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) gathers Batman’s entire rogues gallery into one gang hell-bent on conquering Gotham. However, when Joker learns that Batman doesn’t consider him the intimate archnemesis that he’s always aspired to be, The Clown Prince just doesn’t see a point to the fight anymore. With his rogues gone, Batman quickly finds that his life is actually quite lonely without crime-fighting. Under Alfred’s (Ralph Fiennes) instruction, Batman tries to open up and let new friends into his fold, including young Robert Grayson (Michael Cera), and police officer Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson).

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However, Batman isn’t accustomed to working with others, and the learning process proves awkwardly slow; meanwhile, Joker begins to hatch a plan that will bring even more even villains to Gotham, in order to prove to Batman once and for all who his greatest foe is.

The LEGO Batman Movie — which received a 3.85/5 in the ComicBook.com Anticipation Ratings — has a different creative team than the original LEGO Movie, including a new director (Robot Chicken‘s Chris McKay) and new writers (author Seth Grahame-Smith; Community‘s Chris McKenna; American Dad!’s Erik Sommers; Wreck-It Ralph‘s Jared Stern; and John Whittington).

The new creative team embrace a lot of what made The LEGO Movie so much fun – but they don’t quite measure up to the larger themes and ideas that directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord used to make The LEGO Movie truly resonate with viewers. Nonetheless, even with the spinoff falling somewhat short of the original, it’s still get a fun animated movie that is entertaining for kids, adults, and hardcore DC Comics fans, alike.

Truly, the greatest strength of The LEGO Batman Movie is its intricate knowledge of the Batman character, his mythos, and place in the larger DC Universe. While the film is plenty of fun on a basic comedy level, the in-jokes and Easter eggs pulled from DC Comics lore and Batman franchise history are what make it especially insightful and fun for fans. Like Robot Chicken, LEGO Batman at once delights in being part of the genre, while simultaneously poking fun at it. From the contradictions of Batman’s character, to some of the more ridiculous villains from the hero’s rogues gallery, the filmmakers’ insights run deep. The result is a Batman movie that actually works effectively as a superhero action flick; a somewhat emotional character story; and another signature entry in the LEGO Movie universe. The only drawback, as stated, is that LEGO Batman Movie doesn’t hit bigger resonant chords about life and imagination like the original LEGO Movie did; as entertaining as it is, it never quite rises above the measure of being a simple comic book adventure story with some meta-humor flair thrown in.

The main voice cast is all on point – save Galifianakis in the always-debated Joker role. Some fans just won’t be able to escape the distraction of the star’s unique voice and comedic delievery. The character and voice cameos in the film make things extra fun for fans, as there are plenty of recognizable faces from the Batman universe, DC Comics Universe, and even characters imported from other Warner Bros. film franchises. In addition to the high-profile character cameos, we also get a wonderful lineup of obscure DC Comics characters making an appearance (as Joker says in the film, “It’s worth the Google”) as well as some high-profile celebrity voices in minor character roles.

In the end, long time Batman fans and LEGO Movie fans all have plenty of reason to go out and see The LEGO Batman Movie. They don’t necessarily need the 3D experience (the stereoscopic effect isn’t used as effectively in this movie), but they should experience the film, nonetheless.

Have you seen LEGO Batman yet? Thanks to IMAX & Regal, you have the chance to win an amazing prize pack full of LEGO sets, movie tickets and more! Click here or the image above to enter. A winner will be chosen February 14th, 2017!