THE LEGO MOVIE

The Lego Movie (2014)

Grade: B+

Featuring the voices of: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Will Arnett and Alison Brie; with Jadon Sands as Finn (in live-action)

Premise: An average Joe Lego man is mistaken for a prophetic hero, causing the authorities and a rebel sect of free-thinkers to try and capture him in order to utilize his talents.

Rated PG (featuring stylized action and some intense moments)

Well, I’ll be darned if watching The Lego Movie didn’t make me want to play with Legos—just a little. This movie, which contains little else but the connect ‘em toys we’ve all played with, bursts off the screen with the energy and attention span of a kid on a sugar rush, but it’s far from mindless nonsense. A cross between the wacky irreverence of The Looney Tunes and The Emperor’s New Groove, the visual and creative panache of Toy Story and Wreck-It Ralph, and more than a hint of the satire of Shrek, this Lego Movie ain’t just for kids barely old enough to not automatically put any Lego they see in their mouths. Featuring an all-star voice cast, some gut-busting humor, a fun story and a nice-enough moral about using your imagination and having fun, Lego is an engaging time at the movies, feeling both familiar and brand new at the same time and, like the best animated movies, providing a real mental escape. Don’t believe me? Watch it, and I bet you’ll forget, at least for a minute, that you’re watching a movie based on those little colorful blocks you stick atop one another.

Plot

It’s not easy being just another Lego guy. Construction worker Emmet (voice of Chris Pratt) tries to have a really good day by following encouraging instructions in a manual, but when he’s alone at the end of a work day, he feels a little down. He can’t even approach a beautiful woman without falling down a shaft at his work site. Fall he does, and he inadvertently becomes connected to a fabled piece of Lego that can thwart the plans of his town’s secretly-evil president/dictator, Lord Business (voice of Will Ferrell). Emmet doesn’t understand what's going on, not even after he’s sprung from Lord Business’ heavily-guarded lair by the same beautiful woman he saw before. With multi-colored hair and a knack for creating complex machines out of random blocks in a jiffy, Wyldstyle (voice of Elizabeth Banks) claims to be one of a secret group of Builders who can create most anything out of Legos. Due to their impulsive, inventive nature, they’ve been banned by Lord Business, who likes order and normalcy in his world. The Builders have long been seeking the Master Builder, who would find the Piece of Resistance that could clog the doomsday device Lord Business is planning to unveil. Hint: the Piece of Resistance is the piece Emmet found underground, and it’s not just connected to him, it’s become fused to his back. Lord Business and his cronies want it so they can end all resistance once and for all, and Wyldstyle and the other builders want Emmet to dig down and use his Master Builder skills to stop Lord Business’ regime. But plain old Emmet isn’t sure he’s really the person everyone thinks he is.

What Works?

If the idea of a regular guy being caught up in dramatic circumstances seems familiar, it is, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Especially not with the breathless pace, clever sight gags and absurdly-funny characterizations in play here. And in what other adventure movie does the hero become romantic rivals with Batman (voice of Will Arnett), get assistance from an uber-perky mutant named Unikitty (voice of Alison Brie) and get necessary exposition both in life and from beyond the grave via an old, wizened mystic (voice of Morgan Freeman)? The Lego Movie is a blast, showcasing hundreds of the Lego line’s toys without being ridiculous or feeling like mere product-placement, and drawing on the star power of its voice cast for laughs (Freeman’s unexpectedly snarky, Ferrell continuously mispronounces common brand names like Krazy Glue and Bandaid for comedic effect, and serious old Liam Neeson cleverly provides both voices for a Good Cop/Bad Cop schizophrenic). Like the best movies, Lego keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly anticipating the next scene, the next gag, the next line of dialogue—it feels completely fresh (Brie’s Unikitty is a hoot; her superbly-expressive block face might be the single best thing in the movie). The deceptively simple nature of the toys provides constant delight, with everything, including droplets of water, explosions, and laser blasts from guns manifested by the little blocks, an effect that simultaneously amazes and amuses. Right away, I wanted to watch this one again, and I’m actually excited (rather than cynical) upon hearing they’re working on a sequel. It’s great, especially since this one ends with one of its best jokes.

p.s. There’s a simple but undeniably catchy song (“Everything is Awesome”) that you won’t be able to keep from singing during the credits.

What Doesn’t Work?

Like most absurdist comedies, Lego Movie has to come back to earth sometimes, and its attempts at seriousness tend to border on boring or unnecessarily edgy. And there might be a few too many gags—as awesome as it is that Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Daniels reprise their most famous Hollywood roles, a random Star Wars bit feels like one thing too many. There’s also an extended live-action scene that attempts to explain…well, it doesn’t explain too much, other than the movie’s theme of letting go and having fun. It’s decent enough, but, despite an appearance by Ferrell, it felt unnecessary—the filmmakers were doing well enough with what they had without trying to go bigger.

Content

Kids and adults alike will laugh, be delighted, and get that song stuck in their heads. There are a few moments where the pell-mell action gets a little intense and things look serious, but, otherwise, this movie is a comfy PG (the best kind of PG, too, where parents will enjoy it as much as their kids).

Bottom Line:

Everything is awesooooommme!!! Pretty much. Didn’t think they could make a legitimately enjoyable full-length feature film using only Legos? Well, they did (and there’s even a nod to Bionicle in it). A great voice cast and rapid-fire inside jokes, visual gags, and an engaging storyline make The Lego Movie one to remember.

The Lego Movie (2014)

Written and Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Inspired by the Lego Construction Toys

Rated PG

Length: 100 minutes