‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ – Review
The Dark Knight gets the LEGO treatment in this hilarious new comedy from all-star director Chris McKay, which takes the Batman mythos and pokes fun at every turn.
The LEGO Batman Movie is an undeniable laugh fest, and audience members can be assured that the LOLs kick in as soon as the film begins. McKay and his eclectic team of writers, including big names such as Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna, pull deep from the tent pole history of Batman to lampoon it in glorious fashion. When Batman isn’t performing stomach crunches to keep his rock hard nine pack in place, he’s throwing continuous references at his ninety-year history as an eligible bachelor and crime fighter.
The film is amazingly self-referential to Batman’s history and long time fans will pick out plenty of in-jokes such as the presence of Bat-Shark repellant and a host of weirdly neurotic Z-grade villains including Egghead, Calculator and the Condiment King.
Many big name talents have portrayed the Dark Knight, but comedian Will Arnett might just be the ultimate Batman performer. His timing is quick and he’s perfectly at home as the brooding, yet essentially empty superhero.
Christian Bale may have been quick on his feet and Ben Affleck is one hell of a brawler, but Arnett’s Batman also has his own way of fighting crime: battle rap! When the stakes are high he throws down an epic beat, allowing him to put the smack down on his adversaries.
Every hero needs a villain, and Batman’s arch-nemesis makes his presence known with the help of Zach Galifianakis. But there’s a problem: Batman doesn’t exactly feel the same level of hate for Joker as Joker does for Batman. What follows is a hilarious battle of wills as Joker does everything in his power to make Batman ‘hate him’. Galifianakis also has great support from Jenny Slate’s Harley Quinn, who cracks the whip as Joker’s top organiser, throwing shade at her turn in Suicide Squad for laughs.
Well-conceived characters, great vocal talent and a tightly written screenplay all lead to plenty of brilliant moments. But it’s the film’s LEGO setting that really singles The LEGO Batman Movie out as something unique. McKay and the visual effects geniuses at animation studio Animal Logic must have had a ball when realising the vastness of Gotham City, and its legion of heroes and villains in LEGO form, and it shows.
Image: Roadshow Films
