Very well executed

A Brilliant Conflict

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Let me tell ya - Had one more violent explosion taken place in this 70-minute, LEGO, Batman movie - Then - I think that my brain would have probably exploded, too (out of sheer exasperated boredom), right along with it.I mean - Talk about explosion overload! - Like - Is this really what the screenwriters of this kiddies' film thought was all that the viewer wanted to see?And, speaking about these LEGO superhero characters - For such pipsqueak, little toys - They certainly all had mighty big, over-inflated egos. (I guess that accounts for all of the explosions - They had to vent some of that egocentricity, somehow)Anyway - IMO - Since LEGO Batman's story truly lacked any real substance - The best that I can say about this juvenile film is that it was just "OK", and that's all.

This movie feels like a "draft version" compared to the other Lego Batman / Justice League movies made since 2013. Everything about it - the characters, the editing, the pacing, the story - make it look like it was made 30 years ago, even though the animation is modern. It doesn't grab your attention like Gotham Breakout, Bizarro, Brainiac, or Batman 2017.

Having seen The Lego Movie, I expected this to be similar but found it to be a more serious rendition of the Batman tale, and probably nothing like the more recent Batman Lego Movie which I've yet to see. Beginning with the titles sequence in Legos copying the opening of the live-action Batman the Movie, and the use of the Batman and Superman themes from those films, the intent is immediately obvious that the story is going to proceed along those lines and not the more lighthearted and satirical tones of the latter.There are some amusing moments, however, in the depiction of the characters. Unlike the adult Robin portrayed in the live-actor movies, Robin is here a youngster, impatient to join in the mayhem while Batman continually forces him into the background. He also sleeps with a teddy bear.It's an enjoyable movie and the Lego constructs are interesting, and it definitely opens the way for the later, more ambition presentations.

This is based on the video game Lego Batman 2 and the cynic in me was expecting the film to be *just* the FMV sequences from that game all edited together, maybe with the odd inter-title to explain actions that took place during the playable levels. I'm glad to say that I was wrong and that the original animators from the game created a series of visually entertaining sequences to tie the original FMV footage together, vastly increasing the runtime and creating a finished product that's exciting and surprising even if you've already played the game through and know the story.The DVD also comes with a good selection of extras. There's a collection of very high-end fan-made Lego stop-motion animation shorts. There's a featurette about the process of stop-motion animating Lego that's very sweet in a 'Being Elmo' way at times but also the part of the package that's most evidently just pushing Lego products on the viewer. There's also a well-chosen set of episodes from Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Teen Titans that focus on the Justice League members featured in this film: "Triumvirate of Terror!" with Superman and Wonder Woman, "Scorn of the Star Sapphire!" with Green Lantern and Wonder Woman and "Overdrive" featuring Cyborg (no Flash or Martian Manhunter, though). I hadn't seen any of these episodes before and they're quite enjoyable, especially the Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman episode, the epilogue of which shows the trio of heroes still working together as a team well into their old age. Awww.