When I first saw the trailers for "The Lego Movie", I wasn't sure what to make of it. I remember playing with them when I was little, and enjoying them very much. But a movie about LEGO's? Sounds more like a full blown advertisement for the toy, rather than an actual movie. But upon repeated viewings of the trailer, I began to reconsider my initial opinion. Yes it looked silly, but the movie seemed to realize that and take advantage of its bizarre nature.
So I went to see the film with my mother. When we got there, we noticed the line for the movie, and right then and there I knew this was going to be worth it. The line was long and full of anticipating children.And thankfully, their anticipation was meet with wonderful results.
But before I go any further, let me explain the premise of the movie.
Emmett (voiced by Chris Patt) is an ordinary LEGO mini-figure, who is thrown into a crazy scenario when he is mistaken for a Master builder. He's brought to a group of other Master builder's, who are all in a quest to stop a tyrant know as Lord Business, who is determine to glue their entire LEGO world with super glue. It's up to Emmet and the other Master builder's to save their world and stop Lord Business from his evil plans.
So yes, the setup for this movie sounds extremely idiotic and unoriginal. In fact, this movie uses several cliches, or common plot elements that are found in many movies (kid movies especially). And yet in some surprising way, it works perfectly, and makes it all the more entertaining.
First off, the movie is self-aware of it's use of cliches and generic plot points, poking fun at not only itself, but other films that have used it before. In a sense, the movie is a satire and parody of movies, yet it maintains its own special creativity.
Anyone who has played with LEGO's, knows how much creativity, and patience it takes to build something with them. Anyone who has played with it, knows that what makes it such an interesting toy, is that the idea of it is so simple, yet complex at the same time. When you really think about it, it's just a bunch of blocks to build with. But with LEGO's, you don't just build one tower, but two towers, or four towers. It doesn't even have to be a tower. It could be a pirate ship,or a space ship. Why not a space ship like the ones in the movies? You can build the whole set of "Star Wars", and even have a little Dark Vader to rule the galaxy with.
The creators of this film took those elements and used it to enhance the creativity of this story. They create a universe revolved around this world, and even go as far as to explain that the LEGO universe has many portals to other lands. So at the beginning of the movie, when we are introduced to Emmett, he lives in a LEGO city that looks like New York. But later on we venture into worlds like the old west, or a city up in the clouds, etc. Even characters like Batman, and Superman help expand the universe, because with LEGO's, comic book characters or movie franchises also exist actually do exist. In fact, not only does it expand upon the universe, but it also makes fun references that audience of all ages can understand. The movie is filled with many jokes, most of them a success. There are the occasional eye-rolling gags that don't always work. Some are hits and others are misses. For the most part, anything that revolves the side characters(especially anything with Batman or the other superheroes) are wonderfully delivered and always hit a home-run.
Speaking of characters, the film has a huge cast, some more appealing than others, but none the less serve a purpose to the story. Emmett is a goodhearted fellow, who wants to be special, but occasionally acts like an ignorant full. He's the underdog, a common archetype that has been seen before. The movie is aware of this, and does tend to poke fun of his character many times. But there is a heart to him, a kindness that is somewhat enduring, that makes him likable. For me personally, I have no problems with these types of characters. Sure, he's not particularly interesting, but there is nothing about him that I can say is hateful. But I completely understand if there are people who do not care for him. He's the type of character that has been done to death, that I'm sure many are tired of seeing. But with that said, as a main protagonist, he works fine. Ordinary enough to be amazed by the bizarreness of his situations, cheerful enough that he does not come off being phony, and competent enough to that you're not be completely annoyed by his moments of stupidity.
The two main supporting characters, Wyldstyle(voiced by Elizabeth Banks) and Vitruvius(voice by Morgan Freeman) are also good characters. Wyldstlye is the female lead, and love-interest of the movie. Once again, she is an archetype that has been done several times, but thankfully, she is very likable and interesting. She's the tough, no-nonsense girl, but walks a fine line between being strong, and kindhearted. Plus, they writers took time to explain her motives and flesh her out as a believable character. Vitrusvius, to my surprise, was surprisingly very funny. With someone like Morgan Freeman playing the character, you would think that they might take this character a little too seriously, specially since his character is suppose to be the all knowing being. But he had many funny lines, was an enjoyable character, and despite his voice, it never felt distracting listening to him. Instead of hearing Freeman's voice, I heard Vitruvius voice instead, and that was refreshing.
The villain(voiced by Will Ferrell) was cleverly handled. He's threatening, but also played up for laughs. His diabolical plan for ruling the world is silly, but also menacing. And by the end of the film, we find out something about this character that makes him much more complex than he appears.
It is also important to state that two of the characters in this movie are voiced by Liam Neeson and Will Arnett. Neeson plays a cop, that has both a good and bad persona(good cop, bad cop), and Arnett is Batman. I think it's interesting to see both these same actors that were in "The Nut Job" be in another animated film right after. But unlike "The Nut Job", which I feel did not portray their talent very well, "The Lego Movie" actually gives them roles that show what they can do as voice actors. Neeson is both enduring and intimidating as the cop with a split personality. And Arnett is perfect as Batman, depicting him as a campy, yet still brooding persona, with a love for the color black. They do an excellent job with these characters, and in my opinion one of the movies highlights.
And as far as the animation to this film goes, it is absolutely gorgeous. I was not sure whether the movie was 100% computer generated, or if it was combination of that and stop-motion. It truly looks like if every piece that you see is an actual LEGO piece. The characters move like toys, certain effects like smoke and water are designed like LEGO pieces, and each world is meant to look like a particular type of set that was build for this film. Every shot and every frame is filled with massive detail, and you can see the effort that the animators put into their work. I suppose my only complain with the animation could be that it's little too much to take in all at once. The movie does tend to move very quickly at some points, and it's during those scenes that we are shown a lot of imagery with grand detail. But since the camera is going so fast, it can be rather flashy, and somewhat exhausting. But that's mainly a nitpick, as the look of the movie is just too impressive to say that it is bad in anyway.
Unlike "The Nut Job", where I was less than hesitant to spill out the details of the plot, I feel like I would be committing a capital sin with this film. Without giving too much away, the movie contains a twist at the end that not only gives the cliches a reason for being, but also gives the movie a lot of heart. This is a film that should defiantly be seen on the big screen. And more importantly, this is film that should be enjoyed with the whole family. Although this is only the second animated movie of the year, it delivered fantastically, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were to be nominated as one of the best animated films of 2014.
In short, "The Lego Movie" is a beautifully animated, quick-witted film, with humorous characters, and a huge amount of creativity behind it. Before I give it my rating, I like to add that the creators of this film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, were also the writers of the "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" series. I personally was never a fan of those movies. But I'm happy to say that they both did a tremendous job with "The Lego Movie", and I hope they continue to make more films like this one.I give this flick 8.5/10 bags of popcorn.
Thank you all once again. And until then, keep reading, keep writing. Bye.
So I went to see the film with my mother. When we got there, we noticed the line for the movie, and right then and there I knew this was going to be worth it. The line was long and full of anticipating children.And thankfully, their anticipation was meet with wonderful results.
But before I go any further, let me explain the premise of the movie.
Emmett (voiced by Chris Patt) is an ordinary LEGO mini-figure, who is thrown into a crazy scenario when he is mistaken for a Master builder. He's brought to a group of other Master builder's, who are all in a quest to stop a tyrant know as Lord Business, who is determine to glue their entire LEGO world with super glue. It's up to Emmet and the other Master builder's to save their world and stop Lord Business from his evil plans.
So yes, the setup for this movie sounds extremely idiotic and unoriginal. In fact, this movie uses several cliches, or common plot elements that are found in many movies (kid movies especially). And yet in some surprising way, it works perfectly, and makes it all the more entertaining.
First off, the movie is self-aware of it's use of cliches and generic plot points, poking fun at not only itself, but other films that have used it before. In a sense, the movie is a satire and parody of movies, yet it maintains its own special creativity.
Anyone who has played with LEGO's, knows how much creativity, and patience it takes to build something with them. Anyone who has played with it, knows that what makes it such an interesting toy, is that the idea of it is so simple, yet complex at the same time. When you really think about it, it's just a bunch of blocks to build with. But with LEGO's, you don't just build one tower, but two towers, or four towers. It doesn't even have to be a tower. It could be a pirate ship,or a space ship. Why not a space ship like the ones in the movies? You can build the whole set of "Star Wars", and even have a little Dark Vader to rule the galaxy with.
The creators of this film took those elements and used it to enhance the creativity of this story. They create a universe revolved around this world, and even go as far as to explain that the LEGO universe has many portals to other lands. So at the beginning of the movie, when we are introduced to Emmett, he lives in a LEGO city that looks like New York. But later on we venture into worlds like the old west, or a city up in the clouds, etc. Even characters like Batman, and Superman help expand the universe, because with LEGO's, comic book characters or movie franchises also exist actually do exist. In fact, not only does it expand upon the universe, but it also makes fun references that audience of all ages can understand. The movie is filled with many jokes, most of them a success. There are the occasional eye-rolling gags that don't always work. Some are hits and others are misses. For the most part, anything that revolves the side characters(especially anything with Batman or the other superheroes) are wonderfully delivered and always hit a home-run.
Speaking of characters, the film has a huge cast, some more appealing than others, but none the less serve a purpose to the story. Emmett is a goodhearted fellow, who wants to be special, but occasionally acts like an ignorant full. He's the underdog, a common archetype that has been seen before. The movie is aware of this, and does tend to poke fun of his character many times. But there is a heart to him, a kindness that is somewhat enduring, that makes him likable. For me personally, I have no problems with these types of characters. Sure, he's not particularly interesting, but there is nothing about him that I can say is hateful. But I completely understand if there are people who do not care for him. He's the type of character that has been done to death, that I'm sure many are tired of seeing. But with that said, as a main protagonist, he works fine. Ordinary enough to be amazed by the bizarreness of his situations, cheerful enough that he does not come off being phony, and competent enough to that you're not be completely annoyed by his moments of stupidity.
The two main supporting characters, Wyldstyle(voiced by Elizabeth Banks) and Vitruvius(voice by Morgan Freeman) are also good characters. Wyldstlye is the female lead, and love-interest of the movie. Once again, she is an archetype that has been done several times, but thankfully, she is very likable and interesting. She's the tough, no-nonsense girl, but walks a fine line between being strong, and kindhearted. Plus, they writers took time to explain her motives and flesh her out as a believable character. Vitrusvius, to my surprise, was surprisingly very funny. With someone like Morgan Freeman playing the character, you would think that they might take this character a little too seriously, specially since his character is suppose to be the all knowing being. But he had many funny lines, was an enjoyable character, and despite his voice, it never felt distracting listening to him. Instead of hearing Freeman's voice, I heard Vitruvius voice instead, and that was refreshing.
The villain(voiced by Will Ferrell) was cleverly handled. He's threatening, but also played up for laughs. His diabolical plan for ruling the world is silly, but also menacing. And by the end of the film, we find out something about this character that makes him much more complex than he appears.
It is also important to state that two of the characters in this movie are voiced by Liam Neeson and Will Arnett. Neeson plays a cop, that has both a good and bad persona(good cop, bad cop), and Arnett is Batman. I think it's interesting to see both these same actors that were in "The Nut Job" be in another animated film right after. But unlike "The Nut Job", which I feel did not portray their talent very well, "The Lego Movie" actually gives them roles that show what they can do as voice actors. Neeson is both enduring and intimidating as the cop with a split personality. And Arnett is perfect as Batman, depicting him as a campy, yet still brooding persona, with a love for the color black. They do an excellent job with these characters, and in my opinion one of the movies highlights.
And as far as the animation to this film goes, it is absolutely gorgeous. I was not sure whether the movie was 100% computer generated, or if it was combination of that and stop-motion. It truly looks like if every piece that you see is an actual LEGO piece. The characters move like toys, certain effects like smoke and water are designed like LEGO pieces, and each world is meant to look like a particular type of set that was build for this film. Every shot and every frame is filled with massive detail, and you can see the effort that the animators put into their work. I suppose my only complain with the animation could be that it's little too much to take in all at once. The movie does tend to move very quickly at some points, and it's during those scenes that we are shown a lot of imagery with grand detail. But since the camera is going so fast, it can be rather flashy, and somewhat exhausting. But that's mainly a nitpick, as the look of the movie is just too impressive to say that it is bad in anyway.
Unlike "The Nut Job", where I was less than hesitant to spill out the details of the plot, I feel like I would be committing a capital sin with this film. Without giving too much away, the movie contains a twist at the end that not only gives the cliches a reason for being, but also gives the movie a lot of heart. This is a film that should defiantly be seen on the big screen. And more importantly, this is film that should be enjoyed with the whole family. Although this is only the second animated movie of the year, it delivered fantastically, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were to be nominated as one of the best animated films of 2014.
In short, "The Lego Movie" is a beautifully animated, quick-witted film, with humorous characters, and a huge amount of creativity behind it. Before I give it my rating, I like to add that the creators of this film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, were also the writers of the "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" series. I personally was never a fan of those movies. But I'm happy to say that they both did a tremendous job with "The Lego Movie", and I hope they continue to make more films like this one.I give this flick 8.5/10 bags of popcorn.
Thank you all once again. And until then, keep reading, keep writing. Bye.
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