Tuesday, 25 February 2014

The Lego Movie Review

The Lego Movie has already become a huge success worldwide, and you've likely already seen many rave reviews of the movie - but just in case you're not convinced just yet, let us add one more to the pile. The Lego Movie is a very fun time for all ages, filled to the brim with jokes, great voice acting, and a touching story. Overall, it is a must see.


I can't say huge amounts about the plot of the Lego Movie without spoiling it, so I'll keep these details brief and vague. The lead character, Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) is an extremely average Lego-man. He follows the instructions to life exactly, and it isn't until he stumbles upon the piece of resistance that he starts to explore his creative side. From here he is taken on a crazy journey with a group of "master builders" that range from original characters such as Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), to well-known faces like Batman (Will Arnett).
The story is full of laughs, surprises and emotional moments and is an absolute blast to behold. With that in mind, I'll say no more. The Lego movie is best watched knowing little about it beforehand.

What I will say however is that the voice cast in this movie is phenomenal. The aforementioned main cast made up of Pratt, Banks, Freeman and Arnett are the core protagonists and all of them do a great job. While some have more comedic experience than others, all of them are naturals in this genre and show some hilarious comic timing and tone. Other stand-outs in the star-studded cast include Liam Neeson as Bad Cop, a role that winks at his new action star status, while still being totally original in itself. Finally, Charlie Day was brilliant as 80s space-man Benny who, while not getting as much screen time as the other characters, is a very memorable and loveable character.


What is really great about this movie, and what separates it from many other animated films is its great messages. While on the surface the main message appears to be about being yourself, and being creative it actually goes a lot deeper than that. Through the use of a surprisingly sophisticated Lego dystopia, the film subtlety encourages the viewer to stand up to the suits and governments of this world, and take an active involvement in our own lives rather than letting the people higher up make our decisions for us. Not something you'd necessarily expect to see in a Lego Movie, but powerful and effective nonetheless.

I tried hard to think of something to fault this movie with, but I really can't do it. I have been criticised before in my review of The Avengers for singing its praises and not criticising it for anything. However, my view is a review is an opinion and when films like The Avengers and The Lego Movie come along - films that I love - that love will be shown in my review.


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