Warner Bros.(NEW YORK) — The LEGO Batman Movie is a love story — if you love to laugh, you’ll love this story.
First introduced in 2014’s The LEGO Movie, this version of Batman (again voiced by Will Arnett) is super-cocky and self-absorbed, and also lonely. It’s a flaw that will be exploited by the Joker (Zack Galifianakis), who, no matter how hard he tries, can’t defeat the Dark Knight. Making matters worse, The Joker is crestfallen when Batman reveals the Joker’s not his greatest enemy.
Back in the Bat Cave, Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) can’t help but notice his boss, who’s like a son to him, is lonely. But it’s about to get worse. When Commissioner Gordon retires, his daughter Barbara (Rosario Dawson) takes over but wants to rein in Batman, positioning him as a partner in fighting crime, not just a lone vigilante. Batman doesn’t like the idea but at the same time is blinded by Barbara’s beauty.
Enter an orphan boy named Dick (Michael Cera). Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, accidentally adopts Dick, something that could only happen in the silly, surreal LEGO universe. Dick, of course, becomes Batman’s sidekick, Robin.
The LEGO Batman Movie is pure joy, gut-busting and delightful. It doesn’t quite have the emotional impact of the The LEGO Movie but there’s no shortage of belly laughs and callbacks to every TV and film iteration of Batman. Much of the parody here is other-level, most notably some of the villains the Joker procures to defeat Batman.
Good for Warner Brothers to recognize that Will Arnett’s brilliant voice performance in The LEGO Movie was worthy of its own film — one that’s impossible not to enjoy.
Four out of five stars.
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