By Bryan Scheidler
Before I get started with this, let me just say: I love Legos! I love the tiny little blocks, I love the games, and I love the movies. So, when a new Lego movie was announced, and it would team up with the folks at DC, I was immediately sold. How could I possibly resist the combination of two of my favorite things into a new movie? With such high expectations, did it live up to my fan boy love? The short answer is yes! It’s a great film, overall, but it really is all of the little things that make the movie truly fantastic.
Before I talk about the film itself, I need to point out the quality voice casting for this film. The entire cast fits their respective roles perfectly. It helps that the cast is made up of voice acting veterans, and their performances are all top notch. A particular highlight is Khary Payton as Cyborg. Khary is no stranger to the role of Cyborg as he currently voices him on Teen Titans Go, and as a current fan of that show it felt like a natural choice to use him here as well. The other stand out member of the cast is Kari Wahlgren’s Wonder Woman and Bizarra. Kari’s take on Wonder Woman/Bizarra is absolutely fun. Michael Jelenic’s script is due a lot of the credit for that, but Kari nailed these two characters right on the head. I really hope we get more of Kari’s take on Wonder Woman in future animated features.
I mentioned the script written by Michael Jelenic, and it’s clear Michael understands these characters well. Everything about his script comes from a long history with these characters. He knows them so well that he knows exactly how to write them into this Lego world. If you have ever seen a Lego movie or played a Lego game then you know there is a very unique style of humor involved. From the over the top physical gags to each character being a caricature of them, he knocks it out of the park. Each character acts and is treated exactly how I think they would in a world that is so tongue and cheek. Superman is perfect in actions and image, but to a fault. Batman is suspicious and mistrusting and narrates his investigation like an old black and white detective story. Wonder Woman is strong but still feels unique, she isn’t just written as a female Superman. Cyborg, newest to the team, is a total fan boy, just like any of us would be if we were now working with our heroes. Guy Gardner is the butt of all the jokes and is treated like a punch line.
The story for the movie is pretty straight forward: we meet the Justice League, Bizarro shows up and creates the Bizarro league, and they team up to fight the real bad guy Darkseid. It isn’t a complicated story but remember this is technically a kid’s movie. Don’t let that fool you, though, as much as this is a kid’s movie it is written with the DC fans in mind. Between all of the lines, visual gags, and references to other DC movies, it will please fans of all ages. If you haven’t ever seen a Lego movie, this is a great place to start. It is a fun film and totally worth your time and money. What’s more – if you purchase the collector’s edition, you get an awesome Batzarro Lego mini-fig - which alone is worth it!Verdict: 5 out of 5
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