This could possibly be the shortest review in the history of time.
Go see The Lego Batman Movie right now!
*The creators of this movie could have phoned it in... but they didn't.*Ok if that didn't work and you are not running out the door to find a theater, here's the real review.
I have been looking forward to this movie for at least one year. I loved The Lego Movie and thought Batman was the funniest part. I anticipated that this would be 90 minutes of that same brooding Batman fun from the first movie. I was terribly wrong.
It was 104 minutes of awesome Batman fun!
And I mean the full 104 minutes. Batman's jokes begin the second the previews end and the movie starts. He cracks jokes about the Warner Brothers, DC, and RatPac Entertainment logos. He even jokes about the theme music. The closing credits take place during a really funny dance number. The 99 minutes in-between are filled with non-stop laughs and action.
This is the second time this week I have left the theater exhausted. The first was caused by fighting back tears during Hacksaw Ridge. Today I was exhausted from laughing. I mean really laughing. It wasn't just me. Everyone in the theater was laughing out loud at least fifteen times.
This movie could have simply been 90 minutes of Batman fighting villains. It didn't have to be creative in the least. The animation would have looked cool, it would be exciting, it would make $100 million and everyone would be happy. The writers could have taken the easy way out. But they didn't.
*Number of good ideas the writers had... 1,000*Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, John Whittington actually wrote an incredibly entertaining story. They story actually made sense. Usually writers don't get "brownie points" for a coherent script, but after seeing Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad... it is clearly much harder than it seems.
Don't get me wrong, the story is only there as a vehicle for cool action and TONS of jokes, but it is still well thought out. Unlike those live action films, I can explain why every single character did everything they did. I still have no idea why Batman, Superman, or Lex Luther did anything they did in that piece of garbage. This is supposed to be a kids movie and it is far more intelligent than either of those live action fiascos.
To sum up the plot, Batman has to defeat many super villains. It might be more accurate to say he has to defeat every super villain. Luckily the writers create a plausible reason for this. He also has to grow as a person. This added depth was a great touch. It is a very simple and straightforward growth that any child can recognize... but it is also a transformation that adults can appreciate. Don't worry, it never gets too serious. There are no long breaks in the fun to deal with Batman's emotions. Just quick ones here and there to give the story a bit of depth.
One of the best parts of the movie is...
The Lego Batman Movie makes fun of other superhero movies including Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.
Some of the biggest adult laughs come at the expense of these two disasters of a movie.
*Why are we mad at each other? I have no idea.
Is it because we don't know each other's mother's name yet?*This movie also pays homage to the 1960s Batman TV show. It is hard to pinpoint my favorite part of this movie, but bringing back the villains, costumes, and BAM!s from this cornerstone of my youth may have been it.
The creators brought in some real actors to voice the characters and each is perfect. I could listen to Will Arnett riff as Batman all day long. Michael Cera's portrayal of Robin is filled with the perfect amount of youthful wonder and exuberance. Ralph Finnes and Rosario Dawson as Alfred and Barbara Gordon respectively are perfect. This movie did not miss a single detail. They even brought back Billy Dee Williams to play Two-face ( a role he played in Tim Burton's Batman).
The animation is perfect. It is simply amazing. As with the first Lego Movie, the music is also fantastic and fun. My kids and I will be singing "Friends are Family" for weeks.
I honestly cannot say one bad word about this movie. As soon as the movie ended, my kids and I immediately started trying to figure out when we could see it again. Both would have sat back down and watched it immediately. So would I. In fact I need to see it again. There were so many little "Easter eggs" that I know I missed some. The song that Batman wrote for his first epic battle of the movie was so funny that I need to hear it again to truly concentrate on it. I was too busy watching the action to catch all of the funny lines in the song.
We will most likely go to see it again tomorrow.
I guess I was mistaken when I said I couldn't pinpoint my favorite part of the movie. I actually can.
Here is the only "spoiler" I will share. I will only share it because I think there are only at most 5 people on steemit who will actually get this joke.
Robin is clearly a gymnast. At one point he offers to fight some bad guys and tells Batman, "Don't worry I know Gymkata". I nearly wet my pants laughing. My kids and pretty much everyone else in the theater thought I was nuts. Here is why that is so funny to me.
Gymkata may very well be the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life (yes worse than the Star Wars Holiday Special). It is also pretty obscure. I can't believe the writers included that line. At that moment I actually felt like the writers had said "Hey let's throw in a line just for that guy hanshotfirst".
Gymkata is a 1985 "martial arts" movie starring World Champion gymnast Kurt Thomas. In the movie he uses gymnastics to fight ninjas. I am not making this up. I have seen the movie at least 10 times. You can expect a post about that very soon.
In the meantime, here's the trailer for Gymkata.
Any movie that is so dedicated to cracking up geeks like me is a perfect 10 in my book.
Go see The Lego Batman Movie right now!
Geeky Dad's Movie Guide
Number of times I fell asleep: 0 Number of eye rolls: 0 Number of face palms: 1 (But it was a double face palm in amazement of them including a Gymkata reference) Number of times my kids asked to go to the bathroom or get food out of sheer boredom: 0 Number of times I checked steemit: 0 Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 0 Did my kids like it: Yes!!!!! We are seeing it again tomorrow. Would I see it without my kids: Yes!!!!! I would see it again tomorrow even if they didn't want to go. Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Full price
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