It’s been so long since a big-screen Batman wasn’t a total bummer that “The Lego Batman Movie” feels like even more of a fresh air simply because it has any jokes at all. Following the continued adventures of Gotham City’s favorite brooding brick-toy superhero after his introduction in 2014’s terrific “The Lego Movie,” this spinoff is a bright, fast-paced and quick-witted animated adventure with a healthy respect for nearly 100 years of Batman lore and a steadfast refusal, unlike the Caped Crusader’s recent live-action appearances, to take itself too seriously. How remarkable that following DC Comics’ miserable attempts to launch its own cinematic universe, the jokey parody based on a toy line actually understands the character far better.
“The Lego Batman Movie” continues with the same herky-jerky faux-stop motion animated aesthetic of the 2014 original, generating entire landscapes filled with and populated by elements made from computer-generated Lego toy bricks. The more cynical may see these “Lego” movies as little more than brand extensions — feature-length advertisements for how cool Lego construction sets are, and here, how cool Batman-branded toys are in particular. That’s not exactly wrong. Though “The Lego Movie” went the extra mile and crafted a moving story about the power of imagination and creativity in a conformist culture (that had a surprisingly anti-corporate bent for a toy movie), “The Lego Batman Movie” is about, well, fun Batman stuff in Lego form. The result is never as surprising or complex as the family-friendly brilliance of the 2014 film. But when you’re spending this much time with the arrogant hilarity of Will Arnett’s interpretation of Batman and virtually the entire Gotham City rogue’s gallery, who could complain too much?
The meticulously and colorfully animated take on Gotham City does justice to decades and decades of comic book, film and cartoon history, weaving a story about the heroic but desperately lonely Batman, here voiced by Arnett as an overconfident spoiled brat too damaged to make lasting relationships even with his most hated rivals. Addicted to the adulation of Gotham’s populace and the thrill of effortlessly besting every supervillain around, Batman is content to be a one-man show, much to the dismay of long-time butler Alfred (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), his overeager and accidentally adopted son Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), and Gotham City’s new police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson). Even Batman’s chief rival, The Joker (Zach Galifianakis), can’t get Batman to admit they’re most hated enemies. “You’ve never once said ‘I hate you,’ ” The Joker cries.
Wounded by constantly being snubbed by the Dark Knight, The Joker concocts his most evil plan yet to unleash all-out war on Gotham City — eschewing his typical band of fellow rogues for far more dangerous potential allies locked away in the prison dimension known as the Phantom Zone. It’s in the third-act melee that “The Lego Batman Movie” comes closest to the fast and furious barrage of surprises of the 2014 original film, as these villains come from outside the Batman mythos, drawn from many of Lego’s other licensed properties to hilarious effect.
“The Lego Batman Movie” is filled with a murderer’s row of hilarious voice performances. Jenny Slate pops up as Harley Quinn (keep an ear out for a hilarious joke at the expense of last year’s horrible “Suicide Squad,” by the way — a movie leaps and bounds worse than this). Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill reprise their “Lego Movie” cameo roles as Superman and Green Lantern. Mariah Carey features as the mayor of Gotham City, Billy Dee Williams finally gets the chance to play Two-Face, and every great comedian you’ve ever heard on a podcast pops up as a villain. The jokes, whether silly and broad gags or sly references to Batman’s history, fly at a fast pace.
As a comedy, it works. As a raucous action movie, it’s just as good. There’s something about the colorful chaos of Lego constructions doing battle that’s a lot more fun to watch than the less obviously pixelated creations of most Hollywood entertainments. And as a deconstruction of the Batman character, it nails the psychology while recognizing it’s OK to be silly and, unlike so many recent iterations of the iconic superhero, outright fun.