The Lego Movie

I had been looking forward to seeing this movie since catching the preview some time back in December.  It looked like it would be a lot of fun and Friday I found out if it lived up to its promising trailer.

The Lego Movie features a broad and somewhat bizarre cast of characters. At first I thought it was just so that Lego would be able to sell more movie related merchandise but there is another reason which becomes clear by the end of the film. I'll just leave that there and let you find out for yourself.  One of my favourite characters was Batman.  He is voiced by Will Arnett (Arrested Development) who has the natural Batman voice Christian Bale could only dream of.  Several other famous names provide voices and they are all very well done.

Pretty much everything in this movie is made of Lego. Not just the characters and buildings but the ocean water, the fire, the smoke and so many other things you'd think would be impossible to "build" with Lego.  I heard someone complain that the graphics weren't up to par because everything looked blocky and the characters didn't move like real people. (I could sure use a face palm smiley right about here!) The graphics were impressive. The speed and fluidity with which the Lego were rearranged to build the visuals is something I'm pretty sure hasn't been done before. At least not in this particular way. It was even hard for my eyes to keep up sometimes.

The story is good but contains many standard roles.  There's the underdog hero, the flashy sidekick, the girl wondering which guy to go with, the wise old man and of course a villain who is all business. It's a good story which does have enough original elements to keep it fresh but it's not a plot you'll be thinking about the next day or even by the time you get back to your car.  This is one time where I'd say the movie is not greater than the sum of its parts.  Its parts, which are many, come fast and furious.  It's full of funny and is a boisterous pleasure to watch.  There were so many kids in my theater it was hard to hear the movie sometimes because of their laughter.

So is The Lego Movie just a bunch of childish humor?  True it's not very deep but considering the target audience I guess we shouldn't be expecting Tolkien. Although funny enough we do get Gandalf.  There is also something to warm the cockles of your heart in the end though. So if you haven't already, I'd say go see it for sure.  Just be warned, if you show it to your kids, be prepared to shell out for some of the many movie related Lego sets that are surely sailing across the Atlantic as we speak.  8/10 for me.