Lego Batman is a funny guy. He was funny in 2014’s The Lego Movie and he is still funny here in his own movie The Lego Batman Movie. Unfortunately, and quite ironically, the movie suffers because of its title character, and the amount of funny that’s jam packed in it.
Directed by Chris McKay, The Lego Batman Movie sees Batman (Will Arnett) stopping the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and a number of other Batman villains (with some of them being incredibly obscure) from completing their latest scheme against Gotham. When faced with the realization that he’s not Batman’s arch-nemesis, the Joker comes up with another plan that forces the Dark Knight to work together with his new orphan son Robin (Michael Cera), Gotham police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), and his trusty butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) to save the city. While the plot is simple, that is not to the film’s detriment.
The cast is solid and everyone does their role justice. Michael Cera is especially good as Robin, as he brings plenty of energy and juvenile excitement to the role, making the character hilarious to watch. As for the Joker, Zach Galifianakis does not do anything really unique with his take on the Joker, but that doesn’t really detract too much from the movie or the character himself. Will Arnett does a good job as Batman/Bruce Wayne as well, bringing back the narcissistic, self-centered, loner superhero that fans loved from the first movie.
One of the best things about the movie is the fact that it gives us a whole new perspective on Batman that we have never had before. The Batman in this movie is one that is truly lonely. This is a Batman who comes home after saving the city, heats up some food in the microwave, and watches Tom Cruise rom-coms by himself to pass the time. He does not have any true relationships with anyone aside from his butler Alfred, and it affects every aspect of his character. Getting this new look at the character is a nice change of pace from the usual portrayals of Batman that we get.
Unfortunately, Batman is also one of the weaker aspects of the movie. While Batman was funny in The Lego Movie, he was a supporting character in the film. Since the film didn’t revolve around him, his personality and antics were tolerable and never got to be too much. Making him the main character though changes this entirely. While Batman is still funny in this movie because of his personality, it becomes too overwhelming not too long into the movie and he starts to become unlikable and annoying. It’s never a good thing when the protagonist of your movie is the one person you want to see less of.
Another strong aspect of the movie that also causes it to suffer is the fact that the movie is absolutely filled with jokes. From start to finish, the movie is hitting you with joke after joke after joke. This is something that you ordinarily want out of a comedy, but in this case it detracts from the movie. There are plenty of jokes in the movie that are funny, with many of the good ones referencing Batman’s past and his relationship with other characters, but since just about every line in the movie is a joke, there are many that either don’t hit the mark, are missed completely, or come and take away from the emotion of an important scene. Just like Batman himself, the amount jokes starts to become annoying and something that you want there to be less of in the movie.
Even though the movie has these issues, there is still plenty of good to be found in the movie. The action is pretty awesome, and although the novelty of it has worn off some since The Lego Movie, the animation still manages to impress. A solid plot, a great cast, and a fresh look at Batman’s deeper issues make The Lego Batman Movie a film that may not be as great as its predecessor was, but one that is still a good film overall.
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