MOVIE REVIEW – Oh Batman, you had a rocky road behind you for the past couple of years. While the Tim Burton, and Nolan Movies were good, there were some bad spots in the franchise such as the Joel Schumacher version, and the Superman Vs Batman movie back in 2016. Warner Brothers and DC has been struggling, and unfortunately, Marvel just cannot stop winning. It seems that Ben Affleck is stepping down as director of The Batman, there might not ever be a great, and awesome Batman movie… except this cartoon comes along from the creators of Lego Movie, and does the unthinkable. It created probably one of the best Batman movies ever.

Well, 2017 is kicking off into a great year for movies, and The Lego Batman Movie will end up as one of the best cartoon movies of this year. The film while having a lot of buzz to it, with trailers, and press material, I actually avoided most of the previews. I was not very sure if it was a pure cash grab or a well thought out spin-off of the original Lego Movie idea.

SAY IT, BATMAN!

The trailers were, at least the early ones were not that hopeful that this would be a great movie. It set up Batman as the infallible excellent action hero, and after four trailers not much of the plot was revealed. I was worried that the entire movie would just be snippets of strung together meme ideas. However, while at the beginning of the movie shows Batman as being this epic crimefighter with no flaws, the jokes are well written, and soon Lego Batman Movie shows how the Caped Crusader is vulnerable and is slightly too depressing for a children’s movie.

Whose only joy in life is to fight crime and try to defeat all of the villains and lives alone on Wayne Island’s Wayne Manor. While the summary sounds depressing, the tone of the movie is well balanced, and kids might not pick on some of the jokes. Hell when my colleague and I were watching the movie, there were some references that only the grown-ups were able to pick up on. It really balances handles the jokes well enough that this not just a kids movie, but a movie for all ages.

However the movie will be the most pleasing for fans, as it is jam-packed with references from the old Adam West series, to the 1990s old cartoon, and even Nolan and the new Superman Vs Batman movie. I could list a few examples of jokes, and scenarios that woved me, or made me laugh, but that would do a disservice to the movie. It is best to experience this movie without watching a trailer of it, as that is how I should have viewed this film.

The plot is that Batman hurts Joker’s feelings during one of their epic battle to save Gotham City, which sets off a chain of events that allows the Joker to be more villainous than ever. A weird play on the concept of a relationship, blanketed by the fact that is a Hero and Villain. Most of the screen time goes to Joker throughout the movie, but Bane, Scarecrow make an appearance for a few scenes. On the hero’s side as the title of the movie should imply, Batman takes up most of the screen with his antics.

Overall the cast is well balanced, and the voice work is great for all of the characters. However I found the musical numbers to be much more lacking in quality compared to The Lego Batman movie, and sometimes felt a bit too forced. In the end, though this movie’s plot, jokes, and the narrative is something that can be enjoyed by adults and kids equally. It does not assume that the audience is only full of children, and has a lot of references to the old parts of the franchise.

Shiny New Lego Batmobile

The visuals of the movie are impressive, and it felt more smooth compared to The Lego Movie, where most of the animation felt choppy. Here it is fluid, and the effects are better designed. The set design is also great, and Gotham is detailed very nicely. The villains that appear throughout the show are just like their real counterpart, only in Lego form. Whose mansion is a really elaborately designed set place, that is a sight to behold. The effects are also better, and the sound design is superb.

The one thing that was lacking though is a variety of the scenery, which was limited due to the way the story and universe was set up. While The Lego Movie had a wide array of lands that the characters explored which were different, here in The Lego Batman Movie not so much. Sure the set design is great, but variety is lacking compared to the previous movie. It is not bad, but I expected more in a way.In the end, The Lego Batman Movie is a more refined movie, with a heavier dose of narrative, and jokes for the adults too. It is one of the 2017s must see.

–Dante-