The Lego Batman Movie Is A Well Timed, Amusing Self Parody
Director: Chris McKay
Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson and Jenny Slater
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Rated: PG
Running Time: 1 Hr, 45 Mins
Sometimes a big reason for a film’s success is timing. Summer movies are designed to be massive spectacles or adventurous roller caster rides because that’s want people need and during the year’s steamy months. Others are designed to supply some much-needed chuckles during the dour winter months (where they can also be insulated from the big budget blockbusters).
The Lego Batman Movie is that film for 2017. It’s an amusing diversion during winter’s final, bitter month when we could all also use a break from the news. A light escape that would otherwise get slaughtered during the summer months competing against other animated behemoths like Pixar, Universal’s Illumination or Disney. It may not shoot for the stars, but it gets the job done.
Video: Warner Bros. Pictures
Life is good for Batman. Adored by an entire city, he’s a billionaire with the coolest collection of toys on the planet (including a Bat Space Shuttle), nine abs (that’s right, nine) and for fun he breaks into heavy metal rap during super villain battle royals. And he always wins.
But beneath the ultra-cool veneer, there’s a growing emptiness that becomes profoundly obvious when Gotham city unexpectedly becomes crime free. After all, why would Gotham need a super protector when it has no more super crime? With no more mission, the Dark Knight begins to wonder how full his life really is as a loner.
His plan to rediscover meaning and return to relevance is complicated by the presence of Dick Grayson (the world’s biggest fan boy and accidental addition to the Wayne clan), his deeply concerned and not above meddling father figure Alfred, and Gotham’s progressive new police commissioner, Barbara Gordon. In an odd departure from the comics, Barbara becomes the romantic apple of Batman’s eye, even though she opposes both the Caped Crusader and everything he stands for. The cherry on top of this animated sundae is the Joker, who’s desperate to prove he is indeed Batman’s greatest enemy and the two are emotionally dependent on one another.
There’s no shortage of slapstick humour that you could only get away with in an animated movie and the dialogue is a machine gun buffet of one liners and innuendo. Stop paying attention for a minute or two (especially during the action sequences) and you’ll miss half a dozen jokes. But what makes Lego Batman work is the self-depreciative, tongue-in-cheek humour and the voice cast.
Will Arnett and Michael Cera were the perfect casting choices as the Dynamic Duo; Arnett has the razor sharp timing needed for his gruff, almost juvenile Batman while Cera wears this dorky, almost puppyish incarnation of the boy wonder like a glove.
While Ralph Fiennes is effective as the stoic Alfred, Zack Galifianakis comes up short as the Joker. While this is obviously a movie for the kids, he didn’t even provide a touch of menace as the Clown Prince of Crime. He played the Joker like an emotionally needy stand up comedian (insert jokes here). Another surprise was Jenny Slater’s Harley Quinn. Considering how much mainstream media love Harley has gotten the last year (especially following last summer’s Suicide Squad and the recent announcement of her follow up title), you think she would have had a starring role. Yet she is barely in the film, which is a tragic waste of Slater’s gifts (she stole the show as Gidget in last year’s The Secret Life of Pets). Both Harley and Slater deserved a much more prominent part.
In fact there’s plenty of surprisingly big names in Lego Batman’s credits that only get one or two lines. The likes of Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Jemaine Clement, Zoey Kravitz and Mariah Carey all make appearances, but if it wasn’t for Imdb you’d never know it.
Lego Batman gets plenty of laughs from poking fun at every corner of the Batman mythos, from his endless array of toys (the infamous shark repellant even makes an appearance) to his virtual infallibility to his numerous movie appearances and incarnations (including the 60’s TV campfest starring Adam West). There’s even a joke about Robin’s speedo. And it works.
The film does take a very different approach to depicting Batman (very similar to the one we saw in The Lego Movie). While he is a crime fighter fighting the good fight, his mission is primarily one of ego satisfaction. He doesn’t just buy his own press, he pretty much writes it as well. But beneath the bravado and the cocky arrogance, there’s a deep well of insecurity and self doubt always threatening to bubble to the surface. He’s the popular kid in high school who was naturally cool but still went out of his way to act the part and then remind everyone how awesome he was.
While Lego Batman does flirts with some mature themes (like family and purpose), it never loses sight of what it is; a comedy for kids, Batman fans who don’t take themselves too seriously and anyone looking for an escape from day-to-day life will also enjoy laugh or two. Despite some attempts at deep introspection and character growth, this is all about having a good time. Lego Batman never comes close to taking itself seriously, instead using the uberdark tone of the live action Bat-films as well as the Dark Knight’s extensive pop culture history as comedic fodder.
Image: Warner Animation Group
