Four stars. Rated PG, for mild rude humor
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.10.17
This film doesn’t merely break
the fourth wall; that invisible structure between viewer and on-screen action
is virtually shattered ... into thousands of little LEGO bricks.
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| When newly minted Gotham City Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon suggests teaming up with Batman, the resolutely lone-wolf vigilante is at a loss for words ... but only brieftly. His answer: "No." |
Rarely have a genre, franchise
and stable of characters so cheekily, hilariously and relentlessly indulged in
winking, nudging and self-parody. In its own gleefully warped way, this may be
the best big-screen Batman movie ever made. It’s certainly the funniest and
most consistently entertaining.
That said, the approach taken
here by director Chris McKay — and a veritable army of scripters — is vastly
different than the gentler touch that characterized 2014’s The LEGO Movie. That first film charmed audiences, in great part,
because of its unexpected innocence and sense of discovery: a tone that was
essential to the story’s climactic “surprise reveal.”
The first film also was
instructive, in the sense of establishing its LEGO universe, the structural
rules therein, and the unexpected quest that gave humble construction worker
Emmet Brickowoski his opportunity for greatness.
This sequel takes all that for
granted ... meaning, for starters, that you’d better already know the
significance of being a “master builder.” More to the point, aside from the
chuckles constantly prompted by the brick-y look of these characters and their
surroundings, McKay and his writers don’t really exploit the “LEGO-ness” to any
significant degree; this film probably would have been just as much fun in any animation style.
The first film was more intimate,
at an individual brick level, which made it rather sweet. This sequel is more
cinematic, operating on a much larger scale that frequently obscures its LEGO
qualities.
Instead, the story gets its
momentum from colorful pizzazz, warp-speed editing, self-referential gags, bad
puns and an irreverent sense of humor: all qualities that I’d expect from an
animation director who made his rep on snarky Adult Swim TV shows such as Robot Chicken and Titan Maximum.
The result is akin to a Mystery Science Theater 3000 feature, if
mocking commentators Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot and Gypsy were, themselves, part of the film they were dissing.
On top of which, this film’s
primary story credit goes to novelist Seth Grahame-Smith, who was responsible
for the genre-mangling mash-up Pride and
Prejudice and Zombies. About which, no more need be said.
