The Lego Movie - Movie Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

Inventive visuals and a seriously deranged script make this animated adventure far more enjoyable than we expect, especially as it brings out the childish creativity in everyone watching. Filmmakers Lord and Miller are experts at finding offbeat comedy in the most surprising places (see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs or 21 Jump Street). And this movie is often jaw-droppingly entertaining.

It's set in a Lego city where construction worker Emmet (voiced by Pratt) follows instructions to the letter. Like everyone else, he has been lulled into complacency by President Business (Ferrell), whose inanely catchy pop songs (the insanely hummable Everything Is Awesome!) and mindless TV shows (Where Are My Pants?) keep people from thinking creatively. He's also concocting an insidious plan involving a secret weapon called the Kragle. Then Emmet inadvertently discovers the Piece of Resistance and is declared "The Special" by the underground rebel alliance led by Wyldstyle (Banks) and Vitruvius (Freeman). With help from Batman (Arnett), a patched-up pirate (Offerman) and a groovy kitty (Brie), they go off-grid to save their civilisation, pursued by the president's vicious enforcer (Neeson).

As the story spirals from the city to the Wild West and Cloud Cuckoo Land, it develops an insane, free-wheeling tone that can't help but spark our imaginations. And the sassy 3D animation adds to this by evoking surreal stop-motion classics like Gumby or The Magic Roundabout while referencing other movies and playing merrily with iconic characters. Hill, Smulders and Tatum turn up as a trio of frustrated superheroes, while Daniels and Williams offer a bit of Star Wars silliness. All of the vocal cast members dive into their characters with energy, bringing out the warped humour and pulling us into the action and even some emotional moments.

Visually, the film looks astonishing, as everything seems to be rendered in Lego, including water and smoke. This may make the film look blocky, but it also adds a blast of imagination that reminds us that creativity is unlimited when you get your hands on a pile of Legos. Some action sequences are too frenetic for us to follow, and the general insanity of the plot sometimes wears us down. But it's such a riotous ride that we hang on and laugh, engaging with the characters in ways that bring out much bigger themes without resorting to sentimentality. Most of all, the film reminds us that no matter how old we are, we can still tap into our childhood curiosity.

Watch 'The Lego Movie' Trailer

Facts and Figures

Year: 2014

Genre: Animation

Run time: 100 mins

In Theaters: Friday 7th February 2014

Box Office USA: $257.8M

Box Office Worldwide: $373.1M

Budget: $60M

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Production compaines: Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Comics, LEGO, Animal Logic, Warner Animation Group

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Fresh: 192 Rotten: 9

IMDB: 7.9 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Producer: Roy Lee, Dan Lin

Screenwriter: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Starring: Will Arnett as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice), Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle / Lucy (voice), Craig Berry as Blake / Additional Voices (voice), Alison Brie as Unikitty (voice), David Burrows as Octan Robot / Additional Voices (voice), Anthony Daniels as C-3PO (voice), Charlie Day as Benny (voice), Amanda Farinos as Mom (voice), Keith Ferguson as Han Solo (voice), Will Ferrell as Lord Business (voice) / President Business (voice) / The Man Upstairs, Will Forte as Abraham Lincoln (voice) (as Orville Forte), Dave Franco as Wally (voice), Morgan Freeman as Vitruvius (voice), Todd Hansen as Gandalf / Additional Voices (voice), Jonah Hill as Green Lantern (voice), Jake M. Johnson as Barry (voice) (as Jake Johnson), Keegan-Michael Key as Foreman Jim (voice), Kelly Lafferty as Lord Business' Assistant (voice), Chris McKay as Larry the Barista / Additional Voices (voice), Christopher Miller as TV Presenter (voice), Graham Miller as Duplo (voice), Liam Neeson as Bad Cop/ Good Cop / Pa Cop (voice), Doug Nicholas as Surfer Dave / Additional Voices (voice), Shaquille O'Neal as Shaq (voice), Nick Offerman as Metal Beard (voice), Chris Paluszek as Robot Foreman (voice), Chris Pratt as Emmet Brickowski (voice), Chris Romano as Joe (voice), Jadon Sand as Finn, Cobie Smulders as Wonder Woman (voice), Melissa Sturm as Gail / Ma Cop (voice), Jorma Taccone as Shakespeare / Additional Voices (voice), Channing Tatum as Superman (voice), Billy Dee Williams as Lando (voice), Leiki Veskimets as Voice of Computer (voice)