How good could a movie based on Legos possibly be? Well actually, quite good. Chris Pratt voices Emmet, an everyday Lego construction worker, who is happy going through his everyday life. But when he is believed to be the subject of a prophecy, he joins a quest to save the Lego world from an oppressive villain. Over the past number of years, Lego has built an entertainment brand on witty humor in their screen and video game properties. This makes a very easy transition to the big screen. The Lego movie is the culmination of such an approach.
Beyond Pratt, the voice cast is incredibly deep with Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson and a host of other big names contributing their spoken talents. Arnett plays Batman who is one of many popular properties to make an appearance. There are also Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Harry Potter characters featured. These familiar faces keep the audience’s attention, looking for their favorites to make a cameo. But beyond that, the film is very conscious of the real process of children playing with Legos. Using a lollipop stick as a staff, broken accessories and the mismatching of characters from different “worlds” brings back memories from playing with the brick toys.
Ultimately the stream of consciousness format of the story telling is explained in a funny way with one of the well-known voice contributors making a real life appearance. It’s one of the final successful moments in a movie that has one after another for its full running time. Obviously, the intended audience is children, but the references are probably better understood by adults who have lived through more of Lego’s long varied history. And good luck getting Teagan and Sara w/ The Lonely Island’s “Everything is Awesome” out of your head. There aren’t many songs catchier than that.
Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.
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