Review – The LEGO Batman Movie

Much like The LEGO Movie (2014), everything in The LEGO Batman Movie is awesome.  This is easily the best Batman movie since The Dark Knight (2008), and this is a true Batman movie.  It understands Batman lore, brings in classic characters, mocks or pays homage to past Batman films, and delivers in terms of story, comedy, and action.

In The LEGO Batman Movie, The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and all the legendary villains of Gotham, like The Riddler, Bane, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and even the lesser known ones like Calendar Man, Egg Head, and Condiment King, are taking over Gotham until Batman (Will Arnett) comes in and stops them.  But The Joker, always steps ahead, schemes up a maniacal plan that forces the brooding, loner Batman to do something he has never done before; team up with his loved ones, in this case Robin (Michael Cera), Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), and his trusty butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes), to defeat The Joker and his gang.

In keeping with the tone and feel of The LEGO Movie, this a very self-referential, meta movie that mocks every other Batman movie and T.V. show ever before it and it is all hilarious.  From the best Batman movie to the worst, everyone gets referenced and it never feels forced.  The fact that they were able to mesh in the infamous Shark Repellent from the 1966 Adam West Batman in such a seamless way is pure genius.  Also, aside from the slew of Batman villains in the film I mentioned above, we get classic pop culture villains from all over the map, like The Wicked Witch of the West, Voldemort, and The Eye or Sauron merging in this Batman and D.C. universe in such a brilliant, twisty way and one that made me giddy like a kid.

The movie really establishes its universe.  It doesn’t reference anything that happened in The LEGO Movie, though it would have been nice to hear a reference to his relationship to Wylstyle.  But, this world is a Batman and D.C. world, with a Justice League and all the characters we know, really cementing itself as a true Batman film.  It understands Batman lore, which is one of the film’s greatest strengths.  It knows Batman’s backstory even better than some of the live-action movies and develops him as a character, making us fall in love with The Caped Crusader all over again.

The LEGO Batman Movie is a perfect film for kids and for adults.  The kids will love the bright animation, explosive action, and sweet message about family and teamwork.  Adults will like it for the action, the comedy, the references, and the appreciation of the voice work from the entire cast.  This is easily the animated movie to beat in 2017.

MY RATING – 3.5/4

Did you see The LEGO Batman Movie?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.