The LEGO Batman Movie review & thoughts

(Written by William)

“All great movies tend to have actors in them… or something.” – Really Important Person. And all great reviews have super important quotes at the beginning. I’m not that great with quotes, so go ahead and think of one, then pretend it just got inserted. Does it seem weird that your impressive quote now applies to the best Batman movie of all time? Well, it does, so congratulations! 🙂

This is the sort of off-kilter humor that runs through the entire Batman Movie. If self-referential jokes mixed in with a healthy dose of silliness are not your thing, then you might want to step back and hide under a rock for a while, because this movie is going to inspire a lot of memes. I was fortunate enough to attend a pre-screening of The LEGO Batman Movie with my local LEGO Users Group (LUG), and we all agreed it lived up to the hype. With that said, I don’t really want to spoil the film for anybody, so I’ll break this review down into three general categories; the Bad, the Good, and Spoilers. Good and bad are obvious categories, and as for any spoilers, I’m going to talk about things that shouldn’t ruin any surprises – just a bit of info you might find interesting.

➡ THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE REVIEW – THE BAD:

The movie is compact. For many people this is going to be a plus, as it gives tons of reasons to watch the film over and over again. However, I do remember that when The LEGO Movie came out, some people found it exhausting to try to pay attention to everything. If you were one of those people, the same thing will happen in this film. Adding to this, the pace of the movie is fast. There are a few moments of quiet contemplation, but they are just enough to catch a quick breath before jumping straight into action again.

The final bad is that you’ll see many things in the movie you wish LEGO made sets for. This includes vehicles seen in one of the trailers like the Bat Zeppelin, and others are characters like Condiment Man. The extra vehicles and settings play small parts in the film, so this is probably the reason they were not made into LEGO sets. However, they are so cool that you may be inspired to build them. Once the DVD comes out you should have a chance to pause the film to get better reference images.

➡ THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE REVIEW – THE GOOD:

Is there a particular Batman you like? Actually a better question is; do you like anything about Batman? If the answer is yes to either question, you’ll most likely find something to relate to. The movie accomplishes something that I thought was not really possible; it combines every known Batman and blends them all into one character that works. Within this vast cocktail of Batmen (or Batmans?) is a reasonable, relatable, yet vulnerable character that has the ability to grow throughout the movie. Couple this with a simple yet profound story dealing with relationships, and you got a strong, well-defined plot – kind of like Batman’s abs.

The humor in the movie has subtle layers that can amuse children and adults alike. It manages to do this while still reminding the audience that it is all LEGO. A good example is the sound effects used anytime someone shoots a gun. The character will literally say, “Pew, pew, pew!”

➡ THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE REVIEW – SPOILERS:

As I mentioned above, I have kept this section more educational rather than spoily, so as not to ruin the movie for you, but if you don’t want even subtle spoilers please don’t read.

Those who watched The LEGO Movie may be expecting some crossovers. Apart from Superman, Green Lantern, and Batman mentioning he’s doing some “Master Building”, there is really not much connection between The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie. However, that is not to say other licenses don’t show up in the film.

Speaking of licenses, it looks like LEGO is using this movie to help push some of the LEGO Dimensions properties currently produced. One of these might be a BIG surprise – at least it was for me. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about even after watching the film, it’s the character voiced by Seth Green.

Finally, if you’re like me, and would like to see all the Easter eggs put in the film, there is nothing after the credits. They will show some funny things at the start of the credits, but sitting through all the scrolling names will only be worth it for two reasons. The first being that the music is awesome and hearing a few more songs is pretty sweet. Second, you get to see some of the famous celebrities that made an appearance as voice actors in the film – there are a staggering amount.

I’m sure most of our readers will get to watch the film soon after it hits theaters on February 10th. Just keep in mind that this is the type of film that will most likely cause more people to show up at the LEGO aisle of your favorite retailer. They’ll probably be after The LEGO Batman Movie sets, so if you have been considering getting some, it might be a good idea to pick them up within the next couple of days. Supply may be a bit sketchy right after the movie comes out. They are also available at The LEGO Batman Movie section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to The LEGO Batman Movie? Will you be at the movie theater on the first day? Do you have any of the sets already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own review (please keep it spoiler-free as a courtesy for those who watch it later), in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

• The LEGO Batman Movie Books from DK
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 1 (#70900, #70901, #70910)
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 2 (#70907)
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 3 (#70904)
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 4 (#70906)
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 5 (#70909)
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 6 (#70912)
• LEGO Batman Movie Sets Review – Part 7 (#70905, #70908)