Review of The Lego Movie (2014) by Anzaan A — 24 Nov 2017

To be honest - when I first heard of 'The Lego Movie' I thought it to be a ridiculous idea and automatically dismissed it as something bad. However, when I gave it a second thought, I realized I kind of liked the idea. I mean, why not create a big budget movie that takes place inside the Lego universe? At least it's somewhat original (there have been previous Lego movies, but they were all direct-to-video, and from what I realize - they are much different from this one). And in this age of spin-offs, remakes, prequels, etc. originality is more valuable than ever. Add to that the amazing cast in the movie, and I, for one, needed no more reasons to see this movie - and I ultimately enjoyed it.

The movie opens with the movie's villain, Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell), stealing a mysterious artifact called the 'Kragle' (I hope I've written it correctly) from a wizard named Vitruvius (voiced by Morgan Freeman), in order to destroy the Universe. During their encounter, Vitruvius tells of a prophecy about a Chosen one, who will find another mystical artifact, called 'The Resistance Piece' and will put an end to Business's mettle. 8 and a half years later, Lord Business's alter ego - President Business - is ruling the whole world in a sort of totalitarian way. We then meet the movie's protagonist, Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), who one day accidentally stumbles upon 'The Resistance Piece' and is thought to be the Chosen one by a group of Lego characters called the MasterBuilders.

Despite the fact that The Lego Movie's plot summary may seem a bit complicated (and despite the fact that I hailed the movie's originality a moment ago), the movie is actually pretty predictable and formulaic. That isn't necessarily a bad thing - actually, the movie has an explanation of some sort for why it is so predictable - but the movie does get slightly tedious from time to time. The only other possible downsides to the movie besides that, are the movie's third act, which gets clingy in some parts, and some of the action scenes. I like how the animation is a combination of both stop motion and CGI, but this unusual style of animation may be hard to follow during a few action scenes - and I fear this scenes might be even harder to follow if you decide to watch the movie in 3D. Nonetheless, all this downsides to the movie are easily overshadowed by its qualities.

The movie's biggest quality is definitely that it is fun. The Lego Movie is a nostalgic look back at childhood and it helps to realize that our child games were often very silly, ridiculous, over the top and funny - and in that way The Lego Movie could be better appreciated by adults than by children. Virtually almost every scene contains a silly joke or gag and I was constantly giggling throughout the whole movie. The Lego Movie easily succeeds in being a feel good, ridiculously entertaining movie that is worth your time. Moreover, another The Lego Movie's quality is that it has quite an impressive cast (Pratt, Ferrell, Banks, Day, Brie, Freeman, Hill, Neeson, Offerman, O'Neil, etc.), that portrays a bunch of very colorful and memorable characters. In short, if you are interested in watching a nostalgic throwback to your childhood or just want to watch a fun, feel-good movie, you mustn't skip The Lego Movie.I'd be surprised if anyone saw this coming. The Lego Movie is quite simply unlike anything seen in a long while: rip-roaringly hilarious, gorgeous to look at, imaginative beyond belief, a great parody of worn out "chose one" clichés and also rather poignant and touching.

The first thing one has to mention is the animation. Not only does it look like an amateur stop-motion film with a $500 million budget, but the amount of detail and creativity put into the visuals is just staggering. At times there's so much going on the screen it's almost overwhelming, yet if you look closely you can see that every single thing is comprised of recognizable Lego parts. The various ways the world shifts, breaks, is constructed again, falls apart and moves around is simply a joy to watch. The implementation of real-world objects into the otherwise plastic world is certain to get huge laughs out of anyone, especially the revelation about the ominous superweapon "Kragle". The result is a film that looks unlike anything we've seen before.

The script is a roller-coaster ride of hilarious gag after another. The jokes come at you so fast you can't catch them all in one viewing, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it side gags clutter the screen. No running gag wears out its welcome, no joke is overplayed or overemphasised. The characters are all funny and likable with enough personality to them to fill up multiple movies on their own. Batman especially is a riotous parody of the grim, dark versions of the Caped Crusader we've been stuck with for nearly a decade. And due to Lego having rights for nearly every IP imaginable, you won't be able to guess which mega-franchise is going to turn up next.

Despite all this high praise, there are a couple of minor issues. During its third act the tone of the film starts moving to a more serious and emotional direction, which to me didn't work as well as the rapid fire comedy of the rest of the film. The voicework is great for the most part, but amidst all the others it becomes rather apparent that Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson are live, not voice actors. It's not that their performances are bad, they just seem rather flat and lifeless in comparison to the rest of the cast.

The Lego movie is a downright masterpiece, there's no two ways about it. Incredible visuals and animation combined with a hilarious script, dazzling creativity and good characters make it one of the best and most original animated films in a long time. Some minor hindrances can do very little to drag it down, and the end result is fantastic.Hollywood has a long history of taking beloved relics from our childhood and adapting them into big-screen entertainment, with the unfortunate truth being that the final product often bears little resemblance to the source material that our younger counterparts loved so much. Typically we're left with something that feels like a cheap, hollow cash-in (The Smurfs, Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks), or a bloated, special effects-laden monstrosity full of explosions and poor acting (Battleship, Transformers, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra). So it was with much trepidation that I sat down to watch The Lego Movie, steeling myself for an experience that would be little more than a two- hour commercial designed to drive traffic into the nearest toy store, coaxing money out of the wallets of parents and into the pockets of the Danish toy company. Instead, I was treated with one of the most original, creative and entertaining films I've seen in years, which has quickly cemented itself as the first must-see movie of 2014. Emmett (Chris Pratt) is a construction worker, obediently carrying out his daily duties in accordance with the instruction manual provided to all Lego citizens by President (Lord) Business (Will Ferrell), an obsessive compulsive, maniacal CEO bent on world domination. Think Lex Luthor, but as a complete control freak with less intelligence and more mustache-twirling insanity. A chance encounter with the beautiful WyldStyle (Elizabeth Banks) leads Emmett to the mythical Piece of Resistance, an ancient relic spoken of only in prophecy that can be used to save the Lego citizens from their impending doom. Wyldstyle quickly whisks Emmett away and brings him before the Master Builders, which include the sagelike Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), the manic 1980s astronaut Benny (Charlie Day), and WyldStyle's boyfriend, Batman (Will Arnett, in perhaps the film's most hilarious vocal performance). Together, the Master Builders formulate a plan to defeat Lord Business by infiltrating his massive high-rise fortress, using the Piece of Resistance to defeat him once and for all - provided they can escape the clutches of the terrifying Good Cop/Bad Cop (Liam Neeson), Lord Business' most loyal henchman. From the opening moments of the film, The Lego Movie fires an endless array of jokes at its audience from seemingly every angle. Writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who also directed the film) have an expert grasp of the absurd, and they use it to great effect, ensuring that every scene is stuffed to the gills with laughs. Many of the film's best moments are derived from the fact that the characters, vehicles, and environments are created from Lego pieces: one of the rules established by the filmmakers was that everything appearing on screen must be possible to construct in the real world. There's an especially clever twist that occurs during the third act that, if attempted by less talented filmmakers, could've easily derailed the entire experience, but Lord and Miller's pitch-perfect execution makes it work. With lightning-fast wit, a surprising amount of action, and perhaps a bit of attention deficit disorder, The Lego Movie is consistently entertaining from start to finish. It's a brilliant mix of humor, heart, and creativity, and provides a great foundation to build on. Sorry, I couldn't resist at least one Lego-related pun. But seriously, The Lego Movie is fantastic. -- Brent Hankins.