The Lego Batman Movie

Ever since his introduction to the world in 1939, many versions of Batman have been portrayed in television and film. Each of them had their own style such as corny campiness, dark brooding, or somewhere in between. It had success with the Adam West series, the Tim Burton movies (Michael Keaton), the Dark Knight trilogy (Christian Bale), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (while the movie was a mess, Batman was the best thing about it), Batman the Animated Series, Batman Beyond, the Justice League series, and almost every animated movie. It also had its own share of failures such as Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, and Batman: The Killing Joke (the animated movie, not the comic). There's one rule to be aware when it comes to Batman: If you ask how he can perform an act that's thought to be impossible, the answer is because he's Batman! My favorite Batman portrayals go to Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, and Kevin Conroy. In 2014, however, a new portrayal has been added to the roster in the form of Will Arnet as Lego Batman in The Lego Movie as a side character with the ability to steal almost every scene he's in (fun fact: he actually had 2 video games before that movie). That leads to the highly anticipated spinoff: The Lego Batman Movie. I went into the theater ready to see if it's worth the buzz as well as its treatment of the Batman material and I left the theater extremely satisfied that everything in it was awesome.

Plot: The story follows Batman confronting his own psychological issues after events set in motion by the Joker. After a period of time battling criminals, changes are brought forth to that status quo with the new Gotham City Police Department commissioner Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson being adopted by Bruce Wayne's. The plot has fast paced action mixed with some nice emotional heartfelt moments that deals with Batman coming to terms with relationship dynamics following the aforementioned developments. It's very comedic and lighthearted in dealing with both the action and psychological issues while not taking itself seriously. There are an abundant amount of jokes spread throughout the movies and most of them land pretty well as it makes fun of Batman's history (both old and recent) in a great self-aware manner. There are elements of The Lego Movie shown throughout the movie in regards to building Legos and showing characters that the Lego brand has the rights to showing presented in a hilarious manner. Overall The Lego Batman Movies plot is mixed with fast paced action and nice emotional moments while having fun with the Batman lore. 

Characters: The characters to focus on in the movie are Batman (Will Arnet), Joker (Zach Galifianakis), Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), and Alfred Pennyworth (Ralph Fiennes). To summarize how Batman is in this adaptation, imagine if Ron Burgundy (from Anchorman) and Batman had a baby together. That baby is our main protagonist being a selfish troubled vigilante forced to come to terms with new changes in his life and how his personality affect others. Will Arnet does an excellent job with this portrayal of balancing the selfish nature with a relatable vulnerability in a positive way (and a great contrast in tone with his other role as BoJack Horseman). The Joker is the clown prince of crime with whose hobbies include terrorizing Gotham City and trying to force Batman to come to terms with their relationship. Zach Galifianakis does a great job with this role in having fun being enveloped in the character who's similar to Batman in the selfish manner as well as having a few moments of sympathy and is now the fourth best Joker portrayal. Dick Grayson is an orphan adopted by Bruce Wayne who's eager to please his new parent and wants to feel appreciated in this new life going through adventures with the caped crusader. Michael Cera's performance is wonderfully adorkable in showing how optimistic he is in learning "life lessons" from Batman as he builds a bond with him. Barbara Gordon is the new commissioner for the GCPD with a no-nonsense attitude in reaching for the goal of having Batman convert to the ways of the police force instead of his destructive battle against crime. Rosario Dawson's great performance showcases Barbara's courageous enthusiastic stance toward keeping Gotham safe while adapting to new situations that show up during the movie. Alfed is Bruce Wayne's loyal butler and surrogate father who tries to push Batman to open up about is personal issues. Ralph Fiennes portrayal joins the best Alfred portrayals gallery as his compassionate nature shines throughout his dynamic with Bruce. Overall the cast provide great performances for characters that are 

enjoyable and worth sympathizing with. 

Overall Consensus: The Lego Batman Movie doesn't need to try reach the heights of its predecessor while comedically celebrating Batman by embracing its lore mixed with fast paced action and nice emotional moments worthy for a great family flick. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2

Reasons to watch it: You are a Batman fan and/or liked The Lego Movie. You like watching family friendly animated comedies with characters you can relate to. You want to see a Batman movie succeed in a comedic manner where Batman & Robin failed in achieving. You want to see a movie so self-aware to the point of making fun of its lore both old and recent. You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like movies that have fast paced action mixed with some nice emotional moments. You want to see a movie that has fun embraces its material while not trying to be more than what it is. You want to see a superhero movie that doesn't have a blue beam shooting to the sky. You like watching comedies that have so many jokes involved that encourage replaying it. You want to see the Easter Eggs in this movie.

Reasons to avoid it: You don't like Batman. You don't like family friendly animated comedies. You don't like family friendly animated comedies. You don't like any of the aforementioned actors. You don't like The Lego Movie. You don't like superhero movies.

Coming up next: Can Keanu Reeves accomplish in having a great sequel in an action movie franchise and is it worth the buzz? I will find out as February Frenzy continues with John Wick: Chapter 2 on Valentines Day. That entry post will come up later this week.