Na na na na na na na na LEGO Batman Movie Review

The LEGO Batman Movie came out in cinemas here in the Philippines last week, but fans have been waiting for it ever since the first LEGO Movie came out. Before anything else, What’s A Geek would like to thank Facebook groups The Dark Knight PH and PinoyLUG for inviting us to the screening they organized at SM Megamall.

The movie will be well-loved by people of all ages, and be especially enjoyed by BatFans who have invested time exploring the mythos of The BatFamily. If you haven’t watched it, bookmark this page and run to the cinemas right now. Spoilers incoming!

As an unbiased and objective reviewer…

I will say that the LEGO Batman Movie is a comedy-filled experience. You don’t have to be a BatFan to enjoy the movie and the experience isn’t too shocking to feel left out when it does quip about other Batman things.

The voice-work of Will Arnett as Batman, Michael Cera as Robin, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, and everyone else in the cast gave an authentic and realistic Batman movie. Plotwise, LEGO Batman is formulaic. Some parts were predictable, though this doesn’t change that it was an enjoyable ride. The music also tried to live up to expectations set by the awesome LEGO Movie, but just didn’t quite hit the mark. All things considered, it was a great movie that could still improve in further sequels.

Rating: 4/5

As a BatFan: IT WAS AMAZING!

It had everything! Pow! Biff! Bang! Bat-Shark Repellants! Pew pew pew!  Villains! Magic! Taxes! Explosions! Relationship advice! Family troubles! Philosophical conundrums! Nostalgia bombs! Regular bombs! Architecture! EVERYTHING!

Ok, give me a moment and let me catch my breath. Before we continue, open up your Spotify and put this song on repeat:

The LEGO Batman Movie is, by far, the most enjoyable Batman Movie I have ever watched. It has the right amount of action and comedy to keep the audience interested, great PG13 jokes for those looking for those stuff, and a simple enough story. What really got me was how many homages and tongue-in-cheek jabs this movie has to pretty much everything in the Batman Franchise.

Now, take a look at the villains. The ‘greatest enemy’ Joker has rounded up almost the whole roster of the BatGallery to fight The Bat.

The cast of villains includes Riddler, Bane (with the TDKR accent), Killer Croc (who finally does something) and even the really obscure ones like Eraserhead, Zodiac Master and Condiment King! Most fans of the the Bat Franchise will love seeing their secret favorites on the screen. I especially loved how they used their quirks to team up and try to beat The Bat.

Later on, Joker picks up a new posse featuring other Warner Brothers’ baddies: He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the creator of the One Ring, and British Robots. Seriously, Ask your nerd friends about it.

Technical Stuff

It was fun to watch how the baddies from different franchises teamed up with each other, while still retaining some semblance of their personalities. LEGO Batman also adds to the Batman/Warner Brothers Universe by introducing Phyllis, the Phantom Zone protector-secretary. I might touch upon this again next time, but Phyllis just opens up a dozen theories I have about the LEGO universe.

Lines and throwbacks to different Batman movies and their respective universes made watching the movie rewarding and enjoyable. It’s funny when heard alone, but even funnier when you realize they’re making fun of the Nolan-verse or media. For me, the most hilarious part is when Joker threatens the pilot and the pilot just goes: “Nnnn.” There’s plenty more lines like that hidden in the the dialogue. I won’t talk about them more here, so be sure to listen really hard for those funny lines.

The level of detail that the set pieces and the backgrounds was over 9000! The use of LEGO bricks and pieces really made the whole thing feel magical. Like the original LEGO Movie, most everything was made from pieces found in the boxes that toy collectors own. I especially loved when Bruce Wayne does a spit take; watch out for it!

My only real complaint with the movie is that the soundtrack is pretty forgettable. Save for the one song I linked at the start, the songs weren’t as catchy as The LEGO  Movie’s Everything Is Awesome. The Michael Jackson Batman wrote that song  song didn’t feel like it fit the movie; granted, I might be looking for something more pop and more energetic so my bias might have painted the whole thing wrong.

Overall, LEGO Batman is an awesome experience. Non-BatFans will enjoy this and BatFans will watch it again and again. There are also fun little bits for you to try out at home; call Siri ‘Puter and see what she tells you! I’m actually going out now to catch the movie before it leaves theaters

Oh, before I forget! The LEGO movie also gave us this gem! I didn’t know I needed this until I saw it.