Catanas
The LEGO Batman Movie
Possibly very minor spoilers.
I saw the LEGO Batman Movie earlier today and I can safely say that it was a wonderful experience. It made me laugh, out loud I might add, and it almost made me cry. It may not have had quite the same emotional impact as The LEGO Movie, but I am glad it didn't. It's something different, not necessarily better, but I think, personally, I enjoyed it more!
From the get go, the humour is laid on, even before the movie starts, and we're taken to a shot of a Macguffin Airlines plane carrying lots of dynamite, lots of C4, some cute little bombs and two friends requesting permission to fly over Gotham. That sets the tone for the rest of the movie and the fun rarely, if ever, gets stale.
The background characters often get their moments to shine. Bane in particular, though he has barely any lines, made me laugh. I'm sure it'll disappoint a few of you, but villains like The Ventriloquist, Black Mask and Mad Hatter didn't make an appearance, but there is plenty more to see and love! Not just the villains either, the police force and civilians are a great source of amusement.
With regards to the main characters, they were all voiced superbly and animated wonderfully.
Batman is a douche, plain and simple. But that works extremely well for him in this context and WIll Arnett portrays this excellently in his dry manner. I'm still not entirely sold on this whole rapping/beatboxing thing, but I'm sure it's to others tastes! The film is clearly a satire of him and his vast history, so you will see a LOT of references to previous incarnations.
Robin is...adorable. Simply put. Michael Cera's voice is perfect and although I wasn't sure about the glasses at first, the range of emotion and character that they give him is fantastic and I wouldn't have it any other way now. He's oddly not as bumbling as I thought he would be but I never really questioned it!
Barbara/Batgirl is probably one of the main reasons I was looking forward to this movie. This is a strong Barbara, and one that can definitely put Batman in his place. After the recent killing joke adaptation I was hoping we would see something different. The police commissioner angle is a newer one, and welcome in my eyes! My only problem was that there wasn't enough of Batgirl! I love that costume design.
Alfred was great. In fact, he is now cemented as one of my favourite Alfreds, the other being from the Animated Series. He is quintessentially British and is voiced as such. He also plays a much bigger role in Batmans mission than previous incarnations of the character, which is great to see.
The city itself has a wonderful art style and I really like the red/orange skyline. It really helps establish Gotham as it's own city away from The LEGO Movie. Speaking of which, just like The LEGO Movie, there are lots of wonderful little details to spot in the background. I didn't catch them all, but I'll be sure to look out on repeat viewings. Regarding the ties to The LEGO Movie, this film stands pretty much on it's own and I'm almost 100% certain it is a prequel. There is one little nod to The LEGO Movie and we do see that Superman/Green Lantern relationship again, so it does tie together a little!
Overall, this is a movie packed with fun and details and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are definitely some 'unique' choices regarding story and characters, but that doesn't detract at all. This is LEGO Batman, not Batman and they choose to have a hell of a lot of fun with that. I will say, the way that the city is saved in this movie is quite possibly the strangest thing I have seen in my time watching superhero films. But I'll let you find that out!
Three things I'd like to say though.
I was in love with The Scuttler before. I now love it 500% more!
The end credits sequence was amazing. Way better than The LEGO Movie one, and just as catchy! If you want to hear the music, it's here!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QULBg1jMcJY
And this is probably the only Batman movie in which you're likely to hear Rick Astley.
I know that this movie is being used to push the Superhero line in the long term, and I can definitely see this doing very well. So here's to the future! :)
The LEGO Batman Movie
Possibly very minor spoilers.
I saw the LEGO Batman Movie earlier today and I can safely say that it was a wonderful experience. It made me laugh, out loud I might add, and it almost made me cry. It may not have had quite the same emotional impact as The LEGO Movie, but I am glad it didn't. It's something different, not necessarily better, but I think, personally, I enjoyed it more!
From the get go, the humour is laid on, even before the movie starts, and we're taken to a shot of a Macguffin Airlines plane carrying lots of dynamite, lots of C4, some cute little bombs and two friends requesting permission to fly over Gotham. That sets the tone for the rest of the movie and the fun rarely, if ever, gets stale.
The background characters often get their moments to shine. Bane in particular, though he has barely any lines, made me laugh. I'm sure it'll disappoint a few of you, but villains like The Ventriloquist, Black Mask and Mad Hatter didn't make an appearance, but there is plenty more to see and love! Not just the villains either, the police force and civilians are a great source of amusement.
With regards to the main characters, they were all voiced superbly and animated wonderfully.
Batman is a douche, plain and simple. But that works extremely well for him in this context and WIll Arnett portrays this excellently in his dry manner. I'm still not entirely sold on this whole rapping/beatboxing thing, but I'm sure it's to others tastes! The film is clearly a satire of him and his vast history, so you will see a LOT of references to previous incarnations.
Robin is...adorable. Simply put. Michael Cera's voice is perfect and although I wasn't sure about the glasses at first, the range of emotion and character that they give him is fantastic and I wouldn't have it any other way now. He's oddly not as bumbling as I thought he would be but I never really questioned it!
Barbara/Batgirl is probably one of the main reasons I was looking forward to this movie. This is a strong Barbara, and one that can definitely put Batman in his place. After the recent killing joke adaptation I was hoping we would see something different. The police commissioner angle is a newer one, and welcome in my eyes! My only problem was that there wasn't enough of Batgirl! I love that costume design.
Alfred was great. In fact, he is now cemented as one of my favourite Alfreds, the other being from the Animated Series. He is quintessentially British and is voiced as such. He also plays a much bigger role in Batmans mission than previous incarnations of the character, which is great to see.
The city itself has a wonderful art style and I really like the red/orange skyline. It really helps establish Gotham as it's own city away from The LEGO Movie. Speaking of which, just like The LEGO Movie, there are lots of wonderful little details to spot in the background. I didn't catch them all, but I'll be sure to look out on repeat viewings. Regarding the ties to The LEGO Movie, this film stands pretty much on it's own and I'm almost 100% certain it is a prequel. There is one little nod to The LEGO Movie and we do see that Superman/Green Lantern relationship again, so it does tie together a little!
Overall, this is a movie packed with fun and details and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are definitely some 'unique' choices regarding story and characters, but that doesn't detract at all. This is LEGO Batman, not Batman and they choose to have a hell of a lot of fun with that. I will say, the way that the city is saved in this movie is quite possibly the strangest thing I have seen in my time watching superhero films. But I'll let you find that out!
Three things I'd like to say though.
I was in love with The Scuttler before. I now love it 500% more!
The end credits sequence was amazing. Way better than The LEGO Movie one, and just as catchy! If you want to hear the music, it's here!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QULBg1jMcJY
And this is probably the only Batman movie in which you're likely to hear Rick Astley.
I know that this movie is being used to push the Superhero line in the long term, and I can definitely see this doing very well. So here's to the future! :)