I was a Lego child. I didn’t have
a yellow head or detachable legs, but traveling through my bedroom was like a
trip through a field in Angola. Tread carefully. Now this interlocking brick
column of my childhood was being elevated to the silver screen. Things look good.
We have a Pitbull tune on the trailer plus the comedy of Will Ferrell and a
Lego Batman. What could go wrong? Short answer – lots could go wrong. I am
wary. Everything feels like it will work but there is always that chance for
disaster. Tread carefully, Warner Brothers, tread carefully.
The Story
Emmet (Chris Pratt) is a normal
everyday Lego man doing Lego things in a world where everything is awesome.
Things are always awesome because if someone makes them less awesome then
President Business (Will Ferrell) will have them put to sleep. While working on
his construction site, Emmet falls thousands of feet (which is fine – he is
made of Lego so won’t be hurt) and wakes up as ‘The Special,’ a being of
unmatched potential who can bring balance to the Lego world by destroying
President Business. With the help of Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks), a beautiful
but sassy lady Lego person, he must unite the Builders to destroy the Kragle –
a substance that locks Lego pieces together forever. Adventure insures as Bad
Cop (Liam Neeson) does his best to hunt our heroes down. They must strike the
evil baddy in his evil lair to destroy the threat to the Lego world
forever.
Or…
A kid called Finn (Jason Sand)
has snuck into his Dads Lego basement. Thousands of dollars of models have been
constructed into massive displays which his farther (Will Ferrell) is currently
gluing into place so they can’t be damaged. Finn acts out the story of Emmet
and the Builders by rebuilding elements of his father’s collection. Horrified
by what his son has done, ‘the farther’ begins to unmake his son’s
constructions. Realising that he may have missed the creative foundation of
Lego (and the fact it IS a toy) he bonds with his son. Lego soon becomes the
glue that will strengthen their own relationship, if only the new constructions
can survive contact with Finn’s younger sister.
 |
| Our heroes. Plus a giant robot pirate. Because Lego. |
The Grizzly bits
Block after block of nostalgia
For any Lego child it’s hard to
lose the grin on your face from the opening moments. Even the background of the
credit screen is made of black Lego blocks! Our eyes are swished through a
universe where everything (EVERYTHING!) is made of Lego. Roads, birds,
explosions, water, bubbles, smoke and space ships. This might be such a simple
realisation but it’s kind of like the Matrix. No matter how many friends said
“I think the whole film is made of Lego” it wasn’t until you see it that it honestly
impresses. While you take this all in then suddenly you feel compelled to point
at the screen and almost shout “I had that model!” This happened to me several
times through the screening. It’s amazing how this movie can be such a nostalgia
enema. I could almost feel the little blocks of plastic shifting through my
searching hands accompanied by that satisfying cascading rumble of interlocking
joy. A genuine treat.
 |
| Yep. Even the lazer blasts are made of Lego. |
Big names having big fun
Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks,
Will Arnett, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and a host
more. Each voice can be divided into one of two groups. We have the ‘I can’t
believe they did this movie’ and the ‘I totally recognise that voice…’ Getting
to hear Morgan Freeman say ‘dude’ or listen to Batman explain how he has just
installed new speakers in his Batmobile are as memorable as they are
ridiculous.
 | ||||||||||
| Respect to one of the hardest working voices in cinema! |
Visually beautiful. Just
beautiful
Did I mention it was pretty? Well
it is. Animated movies have become rather visually bland over the last few
years. A mixture of greater exposure and frankly mediocre story telling has let
the genre down. “The Lego Movie” harkens back to the glory days of “Toy Story”
where an entirely animated film felt special. It is amazing how a world of
little blocks can be represented so stylishly while at the same time adding
pace and peril to action scenes. But this only works with great story telling –
and this movie has a wonderful and thought filled story to tell. Honestly,
about thirty minutes in you might even forget that you are watching little
yellow headed toys that cant bent their elbows.
 |
| Elizebeth Banks with stunt double from day four on set |
The Squidly bits
Kind of lost its balls
Which isn’t hard to do in a world
of blocks! (Hashtag Lego pun!) But seriously, this was one of my very few and
very weak criticisms. You see, it turns out that it was all in some kids head.
Which left me feeling a little… deflated. Just a little. They journey of Finn
and his farther through the medium of Lego is a wonderful tale with a great
message for everyone, not just parents and children. But after about an hour of
our Lego hero/idiot bumbling around the different Lego worlds I felt a little
dispelled to find out it wasn’t all real. They story stays good and it all
works! Trust me this is not a damming indictment. I just felt that it syphoned off
some of the magic from a magical film.
 |
| Not sure if it counts as a true Lego movie without any children crying |
It’s all a big commercial – which
is fine
Like, it’s totally fine. I have
no problem with this at all. We all expect movies to make money off of
merchandise but “The Lego Movie” throws all that into the air – only for it to
land in the proper order. This is a film about a toy which has now spawned new
toys based on the toys in the movie which is about toys. Like I said, this is
totally fine. I want successful films to make lots of money so that the people
who make said films will make more. Just don’t take it to heart. This isn’t
just nostalgia. Its business. Big business.
 |
| Did you like the toy? Now see the movie! No... wait...?!? |
The Verdict
“The Lego Movie” is a laugh out
loud film with great story telling and a warming message. It is genuinely funny
and not just for the kids. I look forward to the sequel in 2017.
I give “The Lego Movie” four
Brian faces out of five. Space Ship!!!!
Random Fact – If you give a room
full of monkey’s infinite time and an infinite supply of Lego bricks,
eventually they will all choke to death.
