The LEGO Movie

RATING: B+

I remember when this movie was first being announced and when its first trailer came out. The general reaction was, "Oh no, not another movie based upon children's toys that will inevitably turn out horrible." I can't say I was super-excited for it either, even though I'm more sympathetic to such movies than most. But then it actually came out, and the world was stunned when they realized that almost all the critics loved it, and that the audience themselves loved it too. How did this even happen?

I still ask myself that question regarding this movie sometimes. It's a movie that for the first two-thirds or so, is pretty cookie-cutter plot wise. There's a prophecy of a guy who's gonna save everyone from the evil overlord. And, much like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix (which this movie actually copies a bit more than I think it intended), the guy who turns out to be "the Special," is a stunningly average guy who often has a pretty blank expression on his face. And he'll have to train to have the ability to save everyone, it seems. So how exactly does this manage to work?

Well, it's the attitude they take towards the whole thing. This film almost never takes itself too seriously. It actually pokes fun at various clichés, even while still using them anyway. And it's such a light-hearted movie, too; the comedy is almost nonstop. There are so many visual gags as well as spoken ones throughout, you probably won't catch them all in the first viewing. Whether it's the various Big Brother references early on, all the pop-culture cameos or references to other movies, or other random stuff, the film repeatedly hits you with hilarity that will have almost literally every age group laughing at *something* constantly.

The cast of characters is pretty amazing. You have original characters like the main protagonists Emmett and Wyldstyle (who work quite decently), the amusing Metal Beard pirate, the surprisingly charming Princess Unikitty, the random spaceship dude, Morgan Freeman's wizard character and the hilariously over-the-top Liam Neeson Bad Cop/Good Cop. Even the literal drones are funny. But you also have non-original characters (ranging from background to supporting) including  Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Michelangelo (the Ninja Turtle *and* the real one), the Millennium Falcon, and... Shaquille O'Neal.

And I haven't even given full credit to the voice cast (only mentioned a few of them), which includes Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett--who does a perfect Christian Bale impression for Batman--Liam Neeson, Channing Tatum, and Cobie Smulders, among others. In other words, one of the more star-studded casts in recent memory.

It's difficult to offer enough praise for the comedy in this movie. What, then, could possibly be wrong with it? Well, one thing that's somewhat annoying at times is that everything in this movie is LEGO. That includes things like bullets and laser beams. This makes the action sequences sometimes difficult to follow because there is *so much* happening on the screen. It's not a massive problem at all, but it is an annoyance at times.

And then there's the final act, where things suddenly go nuts and crazy twists happen that give us a slightly bizarre resolution. It's been called many things, including heartfelt and touching. I can see where some people might get that. I also see it, however, as cheesy and preachy. More importantly, it's so insanely different in tone the rest of the movie. It amps up the seriousness while dialing back the comedy a bit--which is mostly what made the movie so fun in the first place. And then there's just the insane abruptness of the ending as well. Things are "resolved"... and then literally about two minutes later, credits are rolling.

Does this ruin the movie? No. It's pretty doggone difficult to take away from the rapid-fire laughs we get during the first 75 or so minutes. And it's not like it's horrible or anything, either. It's just... out of place. But even with a final act that's a bit clunky, this is still a movie that is way better than anyone expected it to be... and better than it had any right to be. And rather importantly, we're all actually excited for future sequels and spin-offs revolving around these plastic toys. This clearly means they did something right.