- I should begin this review by admitting that Chris McCay's The LEGO Batman Movie is probably the best theatrical Batman film since 2008's The Dark Knight. I say "probably" because I couldn't even bring myself to watch Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice or Suicide Squad for many of the same reasons that I never saw 1997's Batman & Robin. (Sometimes you just see the train coming.) At any rate, this film's first half-hour sets it up to be a worthy foil to the myriad dark and brooding versions of The Dark Knight that have dominated his characterization over the last thirty years. Things pretty much fall apart after that first half hour, but what do you expect from something built out of LEGOs?
- The film's fun opening sequence has Batman (Will Arnett) interrupt a dramatic heist (involving MacGuffin Airlines, no less!) executed by the many rogues of Gotham City. Although there is some debate about who is Batman's greatest enemy - the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) wants the title for himself, but Batman keeps mentioning a certain Man of Steel - I was also pleasantly surprised at the involvement of such d-list villains as Orca, Crazy Quilt, and the Condiment King. But it is after the fracas that the film has some fun with Batman's brooding isolation, most memorably taking the forms of lonely guitar solos on a Bat-boat and lobster thermidor meals for one. Batman obviously envisions recent "Harvard for Police" graduate Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) as the cure for his loneliness, while seeming completely unaware the accidentally adopted Dick Greyson (Michael Cera) would love to become part of his family.
- If the movie had ended at this point, it might have been successful. Unfortunately, the remaining hour focuses on an inane scheme involving the phantom zone projector and the most evil villains in the universe, ranging from Sauron (Jemaine Clement) and Lord Voldemort (Eddie Izzard) to Joe Dante's Gremlins and the Ray Harryhausen's Kraken from Clash of the Titans. Some say variety is the spice of life, but randomness often implies cheapness when licensing rights are involved. At any rate, the film somehow manages to be both frenetic and boring for most of its final two-thirds, during which its pop culture-saturated dialogue grows exponentially more grating with every utterance of the word "sick." The result is a film that is a lot worse than The Lego Movie and considerably more obnoxious than the pleasantly quiet LEGO toys and video games that inspired it. If you really want a lighthearted take on the Caped Crusader, why not just watch Batman: The Brave and the Bold?
- Voices also provided by Ralph Fiennes, Jenny Slate, Héctor Elizondo, Mariah Carey, Seth Green, Billy Dee Williams, Conan O'Brien, Zoë Kravitz, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill.
