A film review by Craig J. Koban February 14, 2014

THE LEGO MOVIE  

2014, PG, 100 mins.

THE LEGO…MOVIE. 

Just let that digest with you for a second. 

This movie has absolutely no business being as good and – to take a page out of its show-stopping and catching jingle – as awesome as it is.  THE LEGO MOVIE is, on paper at least, one great big glorified 100-minute toy commercial and a massively elaborate bit of product placement disguised as a movie.  Here’s the miracle of this film, though: Yes, it exists to highlight and sell a brand that’s been in existence – in one form or another – since the late 1940’s, but as far as marketing tie-ins and movies-as-products go, THE LEGO MOVIE manages to have a tremendous amount going for it beyond that.  

A lot more.

The film is also a wickedly sly and subversive satire with more hysterical laughs-per-minute than most live action comedies of recent memory.  More importantly, this is a work of eye-popping beauty and boundless joy and imagination where you can clearly sense the creative jubilation of those behind the scenes.  Going in, I was never expecting THE LEGO MOVIE to have legitimate things to say about the nature of blind conformity and naively following powers above you on the social/economic ladder.  There’s a shocking amount of storytelling thoughtfulness, thematic ingenuity, and dazzling artistic bravado on display here, which more than helps erode just about anyone’s fears that the film is just another obnoxious attempt to sell merchandise.  There has not been an animated film the likes of this made with such exhilarating originality and designed to appease both younger kids and older adults in a long, long time. 

In the land of Bricksburg exists a lowly, but happy and spunky construction worker Emmett (voiced with loveable hyperactivity by Chris Pratt), whom, like his other worker bees, leads a rather slavish life of conformity under the watchful and oppressive eye of President Business (Will Ferrell, a perfect voice fit for this film’s capricious and non-stop energy).  Even though everything in his daily life appears to be content, Emmett could use for a little more adventure.  It comes when he's accidentally believed to be “The Special", or a yellow faced one prophesized to become a master builder and save the world from tyranny.  This comes to his attention with the appearance of the beautiful Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), a courageous warrior hunting for the – ahem – Piece of Resistance, a red brick that’s capable of stopping Lord Business once and for all.  Poor Emmett, rather unwittingly, has possession of it…it’s glued to his back.   

Speaking of glue, Business plans to ravage the world with his newest weapon, the Kragle, which shoots out a mysterious and unstoppably sticky substance that bares a striking resemblance to Krazy Glue.  Realizing this, Wyldstyle and Emmett become targets of Business’ right hand man, Bad Cop/Good Cop (a sublimely silly Liam Neeson), who displays schizophrenic tendencies towards sweetness and hostility.  While on the run, Emmett and Wyldstyle hook up with a blind wizard named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), the one that believes in the prophecy of Emmett as the Special, as well as a whole group of eclectic heroes, ranging from, yes, Batman (played with a lovable narcissistic glee by Will Arnett), spaceman Benny (Charlie Day), a lumbering and huge pirate Metalbeard (Nick Offerman) and many other supporting players far too numerous to mention.  Within no time, Emmett and his newfound allies race against the clock to stop Business’ nefarious plans of global domination once and for all. 

Something needs to be said about the overall look of THE LEGO MOVIE.  I could see how it would have been so tempting to ostensibly make it in pristine and perfect CG animation, but directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have opted to imaginatively combine bravura stop motion and CGI animation, which lends the film a more immersive and tactile appearance that gives an ethereal credibility to what’s on screen.  The distinct and iconic Lego look of the characters – made with such stark simplicity – is lovingly preserved; hell, they even move in herky-jerky motions, which seems fitting considering the limited range of movement in their limbs.  Even subtle things, like, for instance, water, looks like it was made of an incalculable number of hard-edged Lego bricks, which only further lends to the film’s engagingly crude and retro - yet unendingly beautiful - façade.  Crucially, THE LEGO MOVIE creates a stunningly realized and evocative world where no corner of the silver screen is misused; you just may need to see this film more than once to drink it all in. 

Beyond the film’s eye-poppingly gorgeous look, THE LEGO MOVIE is devilishly smart in the way it deconstructs not only our expectations of it, but also for how it sends up the conventions of its genre.  Even the whole established city of Bricksburg - containing millions of citizens that rather happily (mostly against their wills) tune in to the same mindless sitcom “Where Are My Pants” daily and all sing the same work tune “Everything is Awesome” – becomes more of a Orwellian nightmare than a truly inviting and endearing place to live (even though the city does look rather inviting…but maybe that’s the frightening point).  The film also has a ball twisting and lampooning the image of some classic comic characters (that have, incidentally, become mighty Lego merchandise juggernauts in their own right), like Batman, who comes off less as a prowling and vengeful vigilante and more of a preening douchebag that’s in love with his own image as a justice seeker.  Neeson himself also has a field day playing up to his recent image as a shoot first, ask questions later action hero in his role as Bad Cop/Good Cop.  He’s never been more positively unhinged and deranged in a performance.