Movie Review: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Written by Anthony Sargon
When I think of recent Hollywood movies based on toys, atrocities like “Transformers” and “G.I.Joe” come to mind. Leave it to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – the guys behind “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “21 Jump Street” – to come to the rescue with “The Lego Movie.” Not only is it a brilliant animated film, but it’s vibrant, energetic, and tons of fun. It’s also the best movie of 2014 so far.
Emmet (Chris Pratt) is just your ordinary, generic Lego character. He’s a super cheery guy who doesn’t do anything that his little day-to-day manual doesn’t tell him to. When he’s suddenly believed to be “the special”, aka the greatest Master Builder in the Lego universe, it’s up to him to save it from the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) and his ultimate secret weapon, the “Kragle”. With the help of his new friends Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and the wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), as well as a host of other Lego characters from tons of different licenses, Emmet is taken on the grandest adventure of his average little life, and learns a little bit about himself in the process, too.
I loved “The Lego Movie”. It could have very easily been just an excuse to sell more toys, but the word Lego isn’t even uttered in the entire film. Lord and Miller have built such a fun, believable, and consistent universe that you forget it’s based on a product. For example, when objects break apart, they break into little Lego pieces. Water, bullets, smoke; everything is made out of Legos, and it’s a visual treat from start to finish. Even the way the characters move is extremely true to actual Legos, so the movie has kind of a jittery, stop-motion look to it, which works beautifully.
The film also makes great use of Lego’s many licensing deals. You see characters from the DC universe, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons…the list goes on and on. But the film’s true heart and soul is Emmet. Chris Pratt does a wonderful job with the voice acting and immediately makes Emmet a lovable protagonist. The licensed characters are merely there in supporting roles, but the focus of the story is certainly on original characters. The rest of the cast does a wonderful job, with Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, and Will Arnett (voicing Batman) clearly having a lot of fun with their roles. There are a lot of other recognizable voices in the flick, so I’ll let you discover those on your own.
But seriously, this film is full of energy and visual pizzaz. There was a point in the film where I was dying to run out and grab a snack, but I couldn’t bring myself to step out of the theater for just one second in fear of missing some really cool visual reference or gag. Be ready to laugh, a lot. I also want to commend Lord and Miller for doing something really brave near the end, and while the “transition” may turn some people off, I thought that it was extremely sweet and added an entire other layer to what was already a really great and enjoyable experience.
The film actually has something to say about the way we used to play with Legos compared to what it’s become today, and it’s pretty insightful. Instead of just going crazy with a random set of blocks and letting your imagination run wild, everything nowadays is a licensed set or replica that needs to be assembled. There’s no creativity left. I got surprisingly emotional, something I wasn’t expecting from a movie based on Legos.
The Verdict:
“The Lego Movie” takes a questionable concept and turns it into one of the best animated features I’ve seen in a long, long time. Fun, colorful, and brimming with energy, “The Lego Movie” is a must-see for people of all ages. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to play some “Lego: Marvel Super Heroes.”
Numerical Score: 9.5/10
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