THE LEGO MOVIE 2 REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Prior to its release in 2014, I don't think anyone was expecting The Lego Movie to be as good as it was. I didn't think an animated film based on Lego would work and would only appeal to young children. However, I couldn't have been more wrong and The Lego Movie proved to be a pleasant surprise. It was funny, entertaining and managed to appeal to viewers of all ages, especially those who have played with Lego. It was successful, both with critics and at the box office, leading to two spin-off films, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, being released in 2017. While the former proved to be just as good as its predecessor, the latter was a disappointment. Five years after The Lego Movie's release, a much anticipated sequel has been released.

It's been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are now facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than it can be rebuilt. The battle to defeat the invaders and restore harmony to the Lego universe will take Emmet (Chris Pratt), Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett) and their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds, including a strange galaxy where everything is a musical. It will test their courage, creativity and Master Building skills, and reveal just how special they really are.

Making a sequel that lives up to people's expectations can be a challenge, fortunately, The Lego Movie 2 is just as entertaining and enjoyable to watch as its predecessor. It expands on the original’s premise and introduces viewers to new worlds and characters, showing that there’s no limit to someone’s imagination. The sequel has also crafted a timely story that is inventive, funny and can be enjoyed by the whole family. The end of The Lego Movie revealed a twist and that the entire film had been based on a young boy, Finn (Jadon Sand) playing with his father's (Ferrell) Lego pieces. It then ended with his younger sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince) wanting to play too, leading to the Lego Duplo characters entering the universe. While The Lego Movie was about Finn forming a closer relationship with his father, in the sequel, we see Finn playing with his sister. At first, he's not happy about this, leading to a divide in their relationship. Anyone who has siblings will be able to relate to these scenes as there's a lot of arguing. Because they can't play without fighting, their mother (Maya Rudolph) tells them to pack away the Lego. This leads to a sense of uncertainty for the Lego characters as it seems like it's coming to an end. 

I found the writing to be quite clever and inventive with words. In the beginning, Emmet is troubled by dreams of a pending 'Armamageddon', which references the children's mother. The 'Systar System' sounds a lot like 'Sister System', which indicates Bianca and the world that she has created. 

The Lego Movie 2 picks up straight where its predecessor ending, with Emmet introducing himself to the Lego Duplo characters, unfortunately, things go wrong, with the Duplo characters taking over the world and turning it into a post-apocalyptic wasteland named Apocalypseburg. For the majority of the film, the Duplo characters are perceived as invaders and as the main villains. After Lucy, Batman, Benny (Charlie Day) and Unikitty (Alison Brie) are kidnapped, Emmet goes out on a rescue mission. 

Most sequels suffer from being predictable as they follow the same narrative path, leading to a boring viewing experience and disappointment. This isn't the case for The Lego Movie 2, which continues the story of its predecessor and, instead of repeating the same narrative, the writers, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Matthew Fogel, manage to keep things interesting by introducing viewers to new characters, such as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi, whose name is a clever play on the words 'Whatever I wanna be', (Tiffany Haddish) and General Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz). Queen Watevra is a shape-shifting alien who is the ruler of the Systar System whose plan is to marry Batman in order to unite the two universes together. Despite Queen Watevra singing a song about how 'not evil' she is, Lucy isn't convinced and tries to come up with a plan to stop her. Meanwhile, during his rescue mission, Emmet meets Rex Dangervest (Pratt), a self-declared galaxy-defending archaeologist, cowboy and raptor trainer. Considering that Emmet and Rex are both voiced by Pratt, the twist involving Rex's character isn't that much of a surprise. While The Lego Movie 2 isn't unpredictable and it's easy to see most of the twists, it is still entertaining and there isn't a dull moment to be found in its 107 minute runtime.

The Lego Movie is remembered for its catchy song, 'Everything Is Awesome', and its sequel features several more songs, including 'Not Evil', which is sung by Queen Watevra, 'Catchy Song' and 'Everything's Not Awesome', a twist on the original song. This songs add to the overall enjoyment of the film and I can imagine children annoying their parents by singing 'Catchy Song' repeatedly. While 'Everything Is Awesome' is an upbeat and optimistic song, 'Everything's Not Awesome' is more of a slow ballad, sung by the Lego characters who believe all hope is lost. However, while it's not a negative, depressing song, it is actually sung with a sense of hope. It is a more realistic song than 'Everything Is Awesome' which ignores the realities of life. 

The Lego Movie 2 features strong voice casting. Pratt returns as Emmet and Rex, who is an amalgamation of other roles played by Pratt, including Star-Lord from Guardians Of The Galaxy, Owen from Jurassic World and Joshua Faraday from the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven. The character of Rex makes for great self deprecating humour. Also returning is Banks as Lucy, Brie as Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny and Nick Offerman as MetalBeard. While Lucy spends most of her screen time trying to rescue her friends, the latter three don't get as much screen time. New additions include Haddish as Queen Watevra and Beatriz as General Sweet Mayhem.

Lego bricks have been available ever since they were first manufactured in 1949, seventy years ago. Because of the technology that is available now, including iPhones, iPads and so many apps, it's a little hard to believe that Lego bricks are still popular now, however, the release of The Lego Movie and its spin-offs and sequel proves that there will always be an appreciation for Lego. There's a lot of fun to be had with The Lego Movie 2 and, while it lacks the fresh quality of the original, it is still a successful sequel.

7/10

  

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Since the release of Tim Burton's Batman in 1989, we've had too many disappointing Batman films that aren't thrilling enough or are just plain embarrassing to watch (Batman & Robin, I'm looking at you). Fortunately, we now have Nolan's trilogy which gave the titular Dark Knight more background and developed into a true hero. It was full of thrilling action and still remains, to this day, the best feature film adaptation of Batman. Last year, fans and critics were left disappointed by the release of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad. The former's plot was too dark and Ben Affleck's portrayal of Batman wasn't anything special and the latter suffered from a predictable plot. This lead to many fans being worried that the Lego version of Batman would be a disappointment too. However, there's no need to worry as The LEGO Batman Movie can go right up there alongside Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy as one of the best adaptations of the famous caped crusader.

In 2014, Warner Animations released The LEGO Movie and it proved to be a surprise hit, making over $469 million at the box office. It also received critical acclaim and, because of the action and humour that featured within the animation, it was entertaining for the whole family. One of the most popular characters was Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) and this lead to him getting his spin-off film.

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made The Lego Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble - Lego Batman - stars in his own big-screen adventure: The LEGO Batman Movie. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker's (Zack Galifianakis) hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

The comedy featured in The LEGO Batman Movie is where this animation succeeds the most. Batman has plenty of one-liners throughout and most of the laughs are due to him and his self-deprecating humour. Both Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna have written a brilliant script that's full of digs at previous adaptations and hilarious references. The pair certainly don't hold back. This leads to Batman making a quip regarding Suicide Squad: 'Fighting villains with villains? That's just stupid'. Even Batman's butler, Alfred (Ralph Fiennes), refers to all the previous adaptations, even that 'weird one in 1966'. There are also many pop culture references as we see Batman watching Jerry Maguire and we also learn that he has a thing for romantic films. I honestly doubt anyone will be able to keep a straight face throughout. 

This animated feature also has a star-studded cast including Arnett as Batman. Like in The LEGO Movie, he captures Batman's famous deep growl perfectly and his witty dialogue makes Batman an all-round likable protagonist. I was surprised to discover that Galifianakis voiced the Joker but, as it turns out, he was a great choice. Throughout the film, I forgot that it was him. Michael Cera was brilliant as the young and awkward Richard 'Dick' Grayson who, after being accidentally adopted by Batman, goes on to become his sidekick, Robin. Cera captures Robin's innocence and provides lot of the humour. Fiennes also brings comic relief to his portrayal of Alfred as he supports Batman through his many endeavors. Rosario Dawson gives a fresh approach to her role as Barbra Gordon, the new Commissioner of Gotham City and she soon develops into a bad-ass BatGirl. Other recognisable characters include: Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz); Clark Kent/Superman (Channing Tatum); Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate) and Bane (Doug Benson), however, they are nothing more than cameos, hopefully, we'll see more of them in a future sequel.

This animated feature also has some sentimental value to it too, especially in the final climax. Throughout the film, we can clearly see that Batman is very independent and finds it hard to open up about his true deep feelings. Since losing his parents at a young age, he has found it difficult to be part of a family again, however, he soon gains a new one. A lot of us will be able to relate to the idea of wanting to be independent but this film reminds us how important family is. This works really well as we see Batman develop new relationships with Robin and Barbra Gordon. 

Unlike what we've seen recently, The LEGO Batman Movie has a coherent plot and moves at a brisk pace. The film has a simple narrative that younger children will be able to understand. However, there's enough twists and turns to make it, at times, unpredictable. The climax features various villains from other franchises including Voldemort from the Harry Potter films, Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and even the Daleks from the popular sci-fi TV series, Doctor Who. This all adds to the humour as it's so unusual to see all this famous villains work together in one film.

Much like The LEGO Movie, the animation stands out. The filmmakers used digital 3D animation and it's really impressive. The film looks like it was built entirely out of Lego bricks. The animation is full of bright and dazzling colours and stunning visuals.

Fans of The LEGO Movie will not be disappointed with this spin-off. Much like its predecessor, it's fresh and entertaining and suitable for the whole family. Fans of Batman may also be happy with this adaptation as it's full of thrilling action sequences to make it a worthy addition to the franchise. 

8/10