The Lego Batman Movie

This review may contain spoilers!

I was surprised when I didn't like The Lego Movie all that much but I'm even more shocked to thoroughly dislike this film. I would give The Lego Batman Movie a 4/10.

This film thrives on it's comedic aspect, it's a film that knows exactly the right jokes to make and how to draw on classic Batman and DC Comics content in order to spin a good punchline. This wouldn't be possible if it didn't feel like the writers really got the character of Batman, not only his history but the fundamental aspects of his character and the relationships (or lack thereof) that he forms with other characters. The soundtrack for the film is especially brilliant, the feature really thrives off music being used for comedic purposes and songs like 'Forever' by DNCE are very well used.

Michael Cera, who voiced Robin, has the whimsical light-hearted tone that was needed for this role; his completely camp delivery gives this character that classic feeling. Ralph Fiennes, who voiced Alfred Pennyworth, is a very wise father figure role; the emotional exchanges between him and Arnett are very well done. Zach Galifianakis, who voiced Joker, presented quite a broken-hearted and scorned version of this role; Galifianakis does a great job of capturing the mania of this role but also exploring his deep connection to fighting Batman. Doug Benson, who voiced Bane, really plays up the more comedic qualities of this role that we've seen in past features; I really liked how Benson seemed to take several perfectly executed digs at Tom Hardy's portrayal of the role. Channing Tatum, who voiced Superman, has the macho bravado that a lot of fans would associate with this role; in Tatum's hands Superman feels like this popular icon compared to Arnett's brooding loner. Hector Elizondo, who voiced Jim Gordon, had the stern authority figure of Gordon down; yet Elizondo really played up the dependence on Batman which resulted in a fun parody of the Gordon/Batman dynamic.

However the best performance came from Will Arnett, who voiced Batman. Arnett must have so much fun voicing this role, it certainly sounds like he does. Every scene takes the misery and rage associated with the character and then just plays it up tenfold, this makes some of the more emotional moments in the film all the more fun to watch. Arnett really provides a Batman who is quite arrogant and vain, yet it's a fun way; it's the knowledge that there is no superhero quite like Batman.

This film throws around a lot of pop culture references and at first this is quite fun but as you go along the feature becomes bogged down witht hem, it's all about creating punchlines and less about the story. I also thought the film used a lot of niche references or plot devices that weren't all that accessible to many movie-goers, this means the film feels like one big in-joke. I also couldn't really get on board with the emphasis put upon relationships and forging some big meaningful emotional journey for Batman, these moments all felt very disingenuous and over the top. Frankly it's a film that you can laugh at but that lacks heart and the ability to tell a very coherent story. The animation for the film is as ugly as I've come to expect from Lego films; it's not quite proper stop motion and not quite proper 3D animation but rather some weird thing caught in-between.

Rosario Dawson, who voiced Barbara Gordon, has quite an indistinctive voice for the size of her role in this film; a character this important should be a lot more memorable than this. Jenny Slate, who voiced Harley Quinn, doesn't really display any qualities of this famous character; plus her playing an emotional aid to Joker over relationship troubles is probably the dumbest use of this character they could have gone with. Eddie Izzard, who voiced Voldemort, is one of those voice actors who did not fit the character they were voicing; it's even more cringeworthy when Harry Potter spells are being announced and the action associated with them isn't actually happening. Ellie Kemper, who voiced Phyllis, has a really annoying voice that will pull you right out of this film; Kemper has quite a perky high energy pitch that is a bit too much for the tone of the Lego Batman film. Mariah Carey, who voiced Mayor McCaskill, has one of the worst pieces of voicework in the film; Carey does not sound like someone of authority and thus doesn't fit the mayor role.