Sunday, August 17, 2014

Quick Reviews: The Lego Movie

This is another 'I'm late to the party' Review, but I'm sure that there are a few of you wondering how I felt about it.  Since it is on Video now and there were probably six people other than me that didn't see it, I can help you make up your mind.  It ain't the Duplo Film, it's...
Emmett is an ordinary, ordinary guy (as far as Lego people go).  He lives in a City controlled by President Business and sees nothing wrong with it.
He discovers world's outside of his own, however, like Middle Zealand (ha), The Old West and others.  He becomes part of a quest to stop LORD Business before he destroys their world with...well, I won't SPOIL it.
Things got big and bad, forcing such diverse people as Metalbeard, 1980's Spaceman Guy, Batman, Wild Child and others to team up to save the day.

Will the real battle take place...outside though?  To find out, watch the movie (if you still haven't).  The End.
Consider me off the fence.  When the giant Lego Movie Promotional Machine was active, I just kind of rolled my eyes.  I'm sure that I wasn't alone.  Some months later, I thought 'well, I might as well see it.'  I was the same way with Frozen.  That one was well-made and all, but i'm still not big on Musicals.  As far as this movie goes, I like that it wasn't so kid-friendly that it pulled all of its punches.  There aren't dirty jokes or anything really, but there was at least a good amount of non-goofy stuff (like, say, Olaf).  Given that the two guys behind Clone High and 21 Jump Street were behind it, you get some good stuff.  The fact that most of the Cast of the latter film are here (some in cameos like Tatum and Hill) is also a bonus.  The way they used Batman was quite good, making him not act overtly-silly, but seem that way compared to everyone else.  Among the more overt jokes, you get little ones like Freeman's character introducing Michelangelo the Painter followed by Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle.  Oh crap- they're going to make Lego Ninja Turtles in like a year, aren't they?!?  As a whole, it was alot of what I expected, but contained alot of stuff that I didn't.  The key, of course, is to find the balance of cute and creepy...unlike what they did for some of the film's promotion...
Overall, a fun movie for adults (if you're weird like me) and probably even better for kids.  It also has more to say than the 'Everything is Awesome' promotion said too.

3 comments:

  1. I somehow dodged the hype barrage you refer to but I was still in no big hurry to see it... but when I did, with some kids I know, I was pretty impressed.
    Sure, I'd have preferred something a bit more Team America... and the ending does bring a dumpsterload of schmaltz... but I did laugh quite a bit.

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  2. "The Lego Movie" is totally unwatchable horse-shit from first frame to last. It really was absolutely appalling.

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  3. Well... I didn't like it at all, I thought it would be the same kind of fun than the cinematics of Lego videogames, but nop :-/

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