The LEGO Movie Review: Building Blocks of a Great Movie!
In a world where everyone goes along with the flow and blindly follows instructions, construction worker Emmet (Chris Pratt) is no exception. Yet when he accidentally stumbles upon a relic that mistakenly identifies him as being “The Special,” his once predictable world is about to be turned upside down. With a team of new friends including Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman,) Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks,) and Batman (Will Arnett) Emmet has to learn the power of thinking outside the box he was forced to live inside with imagination and creativity as he battles the micromanaging Lord Business (Will Ferrell.)
While
The Lego Movie can be seen as a 100 minute long commercial for the interlocking building bricks many of us enjoyed playing with in our youth, it’s pleasantly more than that. Brought to you by the dynamic duo behind
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 1&2 (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller,)
Lego is a comedic CG success voiced by talented actors that will have you in stitches until credits roll.
Without a doubt Will Arnett, most popularly known as Gob Bluth on
Arrested Development, steals the screen as Batman. Not being a stranger to voice work or witty dialogue, Arnett is a perfect fit for the conceited and cocky caped crusader. An unexpected stroke of genius came with the casting of Liam Neeson as Bad Cop/Good Cop, a member of the Super Secret Police with a split personality. Neeson’s character captures the Good Cop/Bad Cop trope of classic cop movies. While the Bad Cop persona is typical of the roles Neeson is known for, hearing him as Good Cop with an obviously fake falsetto is hilariously and surprising for the usually straight laced Irishman.
As someone who grew up in the 90’s during one of the high points of the Lego rollercoaster, I feel like twenty and thirty year olds were definitely taken into consideration for this movie’s demographic while it was in development. In fact, most of the audience I saw this movie with was in this age range, rather than the usual audience of younglings PG movies are marketed to. Not only is the dialogue smart, it also pokes fun at many fandoms rooted in adult geek culture. Lego characters released in the 80’s,
Batman references from Nolan’s trilogy, and
Star Wars jokes all cater to the older audience, while the fast pace of the film along with the bright colorful world appeals to children.
Originally I thought this movie would be geared towards kids with the occasional double entendre sprinkled in to keep parents entertained as well. Seeing this technique in many children movies of the past, it surprisingly doesn’t appear to be used too heavily in
Lego. Sure, there are some jokes that children won’t understand, but not because they are inappropriately mature. Rather, the jokes children will not understand are in reference to the geek culture they will soon embrace in their teenage years. The smart, witty, and especially funny dialogue is well balanced making
The Lego Movie a film the whole family can enjoy, as well as us geeks who never grew up!
The LEGO Movie Official Site
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February 11 2014