A movie review by: Lee Sonogan

(2017) 1h44min/Animation, Action, Adventure

Batman: Black. All important movies start with a black screen. And music. Edgy, scary music that would make a parent or studio executive nervous. And logos. Really long and dramatic logos. Warner Bros. Why not Warner Brothers? I dunno. DC. The house that Batman built. Yeah, what Superman? Come at me bro. I’m your kryptonite. Hmm, not sure what RatPac does but that logo is macho. I dig it. Okay, get yourself ready for some… reading. If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change. Hoooo. No, I said that. Batman is very wise. I also have huge pecs and a nine pack. Yeah, I’ve got an extra ab. Now lets start the movie.

This film is a spin-off of The Lego Movie made in 2014. With a budget of $80 million dollars, the animated movie made $310.3 million at the box office. The movie is within the Lego universe and Batman dealing with all the usual suspects until he accidentally adopts a son that becomes his sidekick. As a loner, this causes issues Batman. You like Lego? this could be the movie for you!

There is many characters in this movie. Excluding the main characters of Batman and the Joker, characters from other series make an appearance from the Phantom Zone. Villains in the Phantom Zone include King Kong, Lord Voldemort, The Kraken and Medusa from Clash of the Titans, Gremlins, The Wicked Witch of the West and Flying Monkeys from The Wizard of Oz, Daleks from Doctor Who, Velociraptors and the Tyrannosaurus Rex from Jurassic Park, Sauron from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Agent Smith from The Matrix, The Shark from Jaws, Lord Vampyre, The Mummy, The Swamp Creature from Lego Monster Fighters and the Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts from 1963.

Voice actor Will Arnett acknowledges that the raspy, whispery voice he uses for the Batman character is the same voice he uses with his children when he’s giving them important parenting information. In early casting, Guillermo del Toro and Steve Buscemi were the front-runners for voicing Bane and The Joker, respectively. Then it was given to the comedy actor, Zach Galifianakis. Zach Galifianakis stated in an interview about voicing the Joker, “It was really fun! I’ve only done a couple of sessions, it’s crazy; I’m lucky. I was telling diarrhea jokes in coffee houses ten years ago, so I’m very fortunate.”.

Fun fact – Richard Cheese can be seen in Lego form performing “Man in the Mirror” at the Gotham Winter Gala. Overall, for having a story full of DC comic characters, it was more about the action then the dialog. When they did say something, it was terrible one liners. Then with Batman, it very over the top. I liked the Lego movie and expected more from this movie. The ending leaves Gotham split into two and their resoulution to the problem is ridiculous. Pros of the movie is the visuals and certain music used in specific scenes. I recommend the movie to kids, fans of Lego and people who wanna see a terrible portrayal of DC comic storys and characters.

5.5/10