Movie Info
Movie Name: The Lego Movie
Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Family
Release Date(s):
MPAA Rating: Movie Rating
The gang’s all here!
Emmet Brickowski lives an un-extraordinary life as a builder in the city. When he finds himself graphed to a piece, he learns he might just be a builder and the legendary “Special”. As Lord Business plans his attack on the world of Legos, Emmet could just be the world’s best hope at survival. Emmet has been blessed with visions of “The Man Upstairs” and with the help of Batman and his girlfriend Wyldstyle, Emmet could thwart Lord Business’s evil plans for Taco Tuesday!
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie is a combination of computer animation, stop motion animation, and real life footage. The movie was a massive hit and well received by critics and fans. The movie received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song (“Everything Is Awesome”) but the lack of a nomination for Best Animated Feature was considered a massive snub by fans and critics.
Damn…she’s my woman!
I was kind of excited for The Lego Movie though I missed it in the theater. I love Legos, I love Lego video games, and I love most of the actors involved in the project. I even loved the commercials and the humor they displayed in them…I didn’t really love the movie however.
I know it feels like a wet blanket, but I didn’t find it as funny as the promos that seemed to have most of my laughs even when watching the film. The problem I had was the tone of the film. The story is a very positive one for kids with the idea that everyone has the potential to make a difference if they believe in themselves and that is fine. My problem was the actual humor. The movie felt a lot like Family Guy to me (which I don’t enjoy) in that the humor was random and generally pointless…It didn’t seem to push the plot forward at very often.
Yeah…because you’re not a tool, Superman
The movie also was pretty inconsistent. The idea is that this is all being acted out by a child named Finn (Jadon Sand) who is playing with his father’s Legos (played by Will Ferrell who also voices the evil Lord Business). The film could not commit to this idea. Sometimes it was obvious (the ghost of Vitruvius is seen on a string), but most of the time it was as if the toys were alive. I think it should have been one or another and it would have made the film more surreal and smarter (it kind of reminded me of a kid’s version of Team America: World Police…but that film committed to its themes).
We only can stop by for a minute before the new Trilogy starts
The cast is stellar. Chris Pratt voices Emmet with his love interest played by Elizabeth Banks. Emmet’s ally and nemesis is Batman voiced by Will Arnet and Pratt’s Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman provided the voice of Metal Beard the pirate Transformer. Liam Neeson provided the voice of Good Cop/Bad Cop and Morgan Freeman played the wise sage Vitruvius. Other players included Will Farrell (as mentioned above), Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders, Shaquille O’Neal, and a return of Star Wars actors Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams.
Ok…now you look like a toy…I’m just confused
The visuals (besides the toy-real life inconsistency) are also great. You get to do what you did as a kid and blend characters and genres because you didn’t care. You have the Space Legos mixing with the City Legos and specialty Legos like the 2002 NBA All-Stars, Star Wars, DC Heroes, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings showing up…it is fun.
I can’t go fully with this movie because I didn’t like its humor or pacing as much as I would have liked to. Visually, the movie is interesting, and the cast is strong. It just wasn’t quite there for me (though I can’t get “Everything is Awesome” out of my head…which was good humor). With the movie being a runaway success, a spin-off title The Lego Batman Movie was released in 2017 and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part was released in 2019 to a less receptive box-office.
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