Review

'The Lego Batman Movie' overwhelms with too much humor, action

Batman (Will Arnett) works alone. He is used to living in world where he isn’t dependent on others. He takes this so far that he won’t even commit to the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and say that he is his main enemy and that he hates him.

Life suddenly changes when he accidentally adopts an orphan, Robin (Michael Cera). Is there possibly room in Batman’s life for family, or is he destined to only work and be alone for the rest of his life?

Trying to follow in the success of “The Lego Movie” made in 2014, we have the next installment of what is sure to be many more films down the line ("The Lego Ninjago Movie" coming out later this year, for example). I was big fan of “The Lego Movie” so I had big hopes for what the creators could do with one of the most beloved superheroes of all time. This movie has been No. 1 in the box office two weeks in a row now and has been looked very favorably upon by the critics. However, I really was not too impressed, and here’s why.

The first reason is this movie tries to be too funny. Don't get me wrong, there are some extremely funny moments! The relationship and the chemistry that they give Batman and the Joker is excellent. The voice and mannerisms by Arnett’s Batman make for some good laughs, and the surrounding cast members all chip in for some good humor.

However, this good humor is drowned out by the constant desire for the writers to tell jokes nonstop. I was laughing quite a lot at the beginning of the film, but toward the end, I was like, "Enough is enough already," and wasn’t really laughing anymore. Pace yourselves and focus on a few really good jokes instead of saturating the script with nonstop joke after joke. This leads me into a similar critique.

Along with the nonstop joke telling is the nonstop pace of the film. Right off the bat, action is thrown your way. It really never stops after that. Yes, there are a few scenes of dialogue and minor plot building, but it is blown away by the "hurry, hurry, go, go!" feeling this movie gives off.

At over two hours long, this starts to get draining after a while. Coupled with the constant action and hurrying of the movie, to the constant joke telling, it becomes a little much after a while and I was ready to be done toward the end.

It sounds like I must’ve hated this film or something, right? No, that’s not what I'm saying. I really did have a fun time throughout the film, but after a while, it became a little taxing to sit through and watch. A lot of the jokes were really well done and were targeted for both kids and adults.

They did an excellent job of that in the original “Lego Movie,” as well. However, compared to the original, this movie just doesn’t connect with me as well as the first one did. The characters aren't quite as good, the humor and pacing take a turn for the worst and the emotional tug just isn’t as strong as the first.

I might very well be in the minority with this one, so take my words with a grain of salt. You might have a great time! For me, I just thought it could’ve been so much better.