The LEGO Batman Movie Review!

Alright! Today I’m reviewing the most recent theatrically released Batman flick in preparation for The Batman tomorrow, The LEGO Batman Movie. This very well could have been an exercise in marketing and nothing more than a soulless corporate crash grab designed to sell toys to children (Cough Batman & Robin cough). However, like The LEGO Movie before it, The LEGO Batman Movie has something to say, an emotional way to tell it, and a surprisingly adept and refreshingly fun look at Batman’s mythos. 

This is, first and foremost, a Batman story. I’ve chastised previous Batman movies for not focusing on Batman and letting villains overshadow the title character. I love how The LEGO Batman Movie is about Batman. The main conflict of the movie comes from his character, he’s in nearly every scene, and he never feels overshadowed. In the debate of “Batman is doing this for his parents” “Batman is doing this to save the soul of Gotham,” and “Batman is doing this because he can't live without Batman” exemplified by The Long Halloween, Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns, The LEGO Batman Movie goes decidedly childish on “He can’t live without Batman.” 

And most of the time the word “childish” has a negative connotation, but that’s not the intended purpose here. The LEGO Batman Movie plays it smart. It recognizes that it is 1) A movie for children starring children’s products, and 2) Set in an already childish genre. It rolls with that. It exaggerates the actions of Batman to be reminiscent of a two-year-old, making him a bit more egocentric and cocky than he normally is depicted as. It’s a refreshingly fun look at the caped crusader, and one we’re not likely to get again any time soon. 

So just by establishing the take on the character The LEGO Batman Movie understands Batman better than big-budget live-action outings have. There are so many references to the Bat lore it’s hard to go a frame and not notice one. From the Batman Beyond suit in the Batcave to shark repellent to calling out Suicide Squad, this movie takes the established DC lore and goes big with it. I hesitate to call this the most comic-accurate Batman, but it certainly is in terms of production.

Because they are not limited by the restraints of reality, Wayne Manor is unbelievably huge and cavernous. The Batcave is decked out technologically, hundreds of alternate costumes exist, and a multitude of Bat vehicles (Such as the Bat Space Shuttle) are lying around. They’re accepted at face value. This is probably what the Batman found in the comics would have to have to fit 80 years of mythos underneath his house. 

Speaking of which, this movie is unbelievably funny. There’s just something about the LEGO humor that makes each movie they make absolutely hilarious. When people say a fun and campy Batman movie can’t balance the dread of his actions and disturbed psyche, The LEGO Batman Movie is there to prove them wrong. This movie is as funny as it is emotional. Not only does it have so many in-jokes about Batman’s lore, but also movie making in general, with a healthy dose of good old-fashioned universal humor.

This is not to say that the movie is perfect, however - I do have my grievances with it, namely that it sometimes gets too kid-friendly. While I’m well aware that I’m not the target audience, I was at some point. Batman’s “Let’s Get Nuts” mix, while a great reference and heavy metal version of the 1966 Batman theme song, still makes me cringe a bit. Singing in animated movies is 9/10 times a red flag. I also hated all the beatboxing. It’s the remains of generic kids movie tropes that The LEGO Batman Movie so often transcends that haunt me. 

I also disliked how most of the main villains of the movie were not Batman villains, but rather symbols of pop culture. It was cool to see Agent Smith team up with King Kong, but I do mourn the loss of cooler Batman villains that did not appear in the movie such as Hush, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Professor Pyg. Interestingly, the director, Chris McKay said LEGO didn’t allow him to put some characters in the movie due to their backstory, but the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns made the cut and even got a minifigure. That dude bit the mayor’s throat out in the comic, if they kept him who did they cut?

I also believe the movie is too long. It’s the quintessential Batman story right up until it stops being a Batman story and introduces all the non-DC villains. That’s when the movie always leaves me in the dust and I lose interest. It’s about an hour in? The finale feels a bit bloated at half an hour. I also disliked how, with the simplification of most of the characters, Jim Gordon was reduced to just a guy who flips the switch to the Bat-Signal. 

But that’s basically all of my complaints about the movie. Everything else I adore. The animation is once again beautiful, emulating the stop motion feel. I love how it gives them the option to give Batman his big glowy eyes, a trait that has been lacking in nearly every Batman adaptation to this point. I just enjoyed watching them move.

I also liked Robin in this. While the contrast between a broody and grumpy Batman and overly positive Robin makes Dick Grayson feels more like Carrie Kelley, this is still by far and away the greatest interpretation of Robin in a Batman movie to date. His positivity is absolutely endearing and spreads. He’s so corny and positive it’s hilarious. It creates some good character-driven humor beats throughout the film. 

I’m also surprised at how well the Batman x Batgirl relationship works here. Most of the time that pairing makes me cringe greatly (Either due to him being a father figure or multiple love interests that work better), but here it works. I also love the Alfred here. This is easily my favorite Alfred interpretation, even if it is just because he actually looks like Alfred. He’s bald, mustached, classically British, and spectacled! True Alfred material. 

I also love how the movie is aware of how large DC is and just rolls with it. Elements of DC not specific to Batman such as the Justice League, Fortress of Solitude, and the Phantom Zone make appearances here and are actually pretty well integrated into the plot. It makes me mourn the canceled sequel, LEGO Superfriends, which would have focused on Batman’s relationship with Superman and the Justice League with Lex Luthor and OMAC as the main villains and featured a Marvel crossover.

That canceled sequel is, by far, the greatest missed cinema opportunity of all time. A movie made about the Justice League where it goes totally bananas with the long-running history and has no limits of live-action restraints or suspension of disbelief. It’s everything a DC fan like myself could ask for. 

Overall, I give The LEGO Batman Movie a 9/10. “Absurdly funny and full of mythos, The LEGO Batman Movie is light-hearted Batman done right.”

Almost everything in The LEGO Batman Movie is awesome.