I won’t lie; I was almost positive that The Lego Movie was going to be an awful film.
I originally wanted to see this movie for the sole purpose of hearing Liam Neeson’s voice booming on a big screen again. I’m a Liam Neeson addict; sue me. Then I read that Charlie Day from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is in the cast too, which was enough to win me over.
But when you think about it, it’s reasonable to assume that this movie would be nothing more than an attempt to market current toy lines while creating a new line to fill the shelves.
That of course means that the movie could be about anything as long as every Lego set makes a guest appearance, which would normally prompt the entire creative team to play it as safe as possible with the plot.
That’s where The Lego Movie wins my admiration and respect; this movie’s message is one that is not often heard.
Chris Pratt plays Emmitt, a bland everyman who is content and even enthusiastic about his mediocre life. Emmitt’s life of order and conformity as a construction worker doesn’t last long, as his tiny world is revealed to be part of an enormous universe of other Lego sets. Emmitt finds himself quite literally stuck to the legendary piece of resistance, which is said to be the one thing that can save the universe from destruction at the hands of Lord Business, played by Will Ferrell.
There are plenty of other big names in this movie, but it’s more fun to let these colorful characters surprise you with their vocal performances. And hey, if you don’t guess the voices immediately after the characters are introduced, you can look it up, I’m not going to ruin it for you.
If what I’ve told you about the plot seems a little tired, you’re right; it’s the least creative premise in the history of Western culture. The creativity comes with how irreverent the film seems in telling the story. The whole you’re-the-hero-because-it’s-your-destiny shtick is forced onto the protagonist despite the abundance of evidence to the contrary.
And the best part about that is that The Lego Movie isn’t portraying this trite nonsense in a positive light. I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say the ‘chosen one’ narrative is not going to go the way it always does. The big reveal in the third act is the kind of message that even an adult would do well to remember.
As much as I want to just reveal the message this movie offers viewers and then discuss why I think it’s an amazing achievement in family-oriented films, I won’t do that to you. Instead, let me tell you what you can expect to see aside from the big reveal.
The humor is equal parts clever and silly, the cast unanimously delivers a terrific performance and yes, Will Arnett’s depiction of Batman is part of the central cast.
I can appreciate the inclusion of Batman’s role in this movie, but not because I have a fetishistic obsession with seeing him everywhere I go. Actually, the best thing about this portrayal of Batman is the fact that it reminds us that Batman fans are taking both themselves and the DC franchise too seriously. The movie approaches the character in a loving but satirical way, which I hope will get Batman fans to calm down a bit.
The animation style is one literally made from Legos and doesn’t look like a computer-generated mess like the video games, which makes the film just as much fun to watch as it is to hear. Even if you don’t fall in love with the story, you can still walk away from this having seen a visually impressive movie.
I have thought about this movie for a while now, and I still can’t think of a single negative thing to say. Go see it and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
