The LEGO Movie (2014) review

(As you can tell, this review was a little late but, sadly, there is a big reason for why it took me a while to write this. My dad was injured in an accident a couple days ago and, at the time I am writing this, he has just passed away as a result of his injury. As such, I dedicate this review in memory of him because I know that he knew how big of a LEGO fan I am. Love you Dad!)

Sometimes, there is a movie that, in one way or another, will directly appeal to your childhood. For me, ‘The LEGO Movie’ is one of those movies. When I was growing up, LEGOs were probably my favorite things in the entire world and while I’m not as big of a LEGO fan now as I was when I was a kid, I still have a general passing interest in the brand. As such, this was the first major movie of 2014 that I was anticipating because I was really excited to see an actual ‘LEGO Movie’ on the big screen (this being the first official theatrical LEGO movie). However, at first glance, one might view this as a cynical marketing gimmick done by Hollywood with the main purpose of selling LEGO products which would make sense considering that these are construction toys we’re talking about here. But then you take into account the two men directing this film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their previous two films, 2009’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and 2012’s ‘21 Jump Street’, were some of the best films of their respective years and in the end, ‘The LEGO Movie’ will most likely end up being one of the best films of 2014 for a few good reasons. It’s certainly the first great film of 2014, that’s for sure.

Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) is just your average guy (or ‘minifigure’ if you want to be precise) who lives a very ordinary life as a construction worker in his hometown of Brickville. However, things begin to change when he comes across an object known as the ‘Piece of Resistance’, which is the only thing that can stop a powerful weapon known as ‘the Kragle’ (in reality, a tube of ‘Krazy Glue’). Emmet soon finds himself at the center of a prophecy where he is believed to be ‘The Special’, the only one who is capable of stopping the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who plans to use the Kragle to take over the world by freezing it in place and bringing an end to the idea of ‘creativity’. Emmet joins forces with the ‘Master Builders’, people who are capable of building anything without the need of ‘instructions’, unlike people like Emmet. With the help of allies like freedom fighter Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), wise old wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), and even the ‘Caped Crusader’ himself, Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet sets off on his journey to save the LEGO universe as he tries to prove to everyone (including himself) that he truly is ‘The Special’.

At first, this story may seem like your traditional ‘unexpected hero’ story and that would seem like that’s the case here… or is it? I say that because, without giving anything away, this film pulls one heck of a plot twist near the end that I guarantee a lot of you will not see coming (on that note, I applaud Warner Bros and everyone involved on the project for not giving this key part of the movie away in the marketing). Not only that, but this twist is a really good one as well as it does a fine job of representing the legacy and popularity of the LEGO brand through the eyes of its fan base. The story itself speaks to both the LEGO builders who always follow the instructions (I’m not afraid to admit that I’m one of them) as well as those who like to go ‘outside the box’ and by doing so, this movie will appeal directly to both groups of fans. As directors, Lord and Miller certainly fall into the latter group as proven by some of the creative decisions that they have made in their films, which is once again evident because of this film’s unexpected turn of events.

Also, the animation in this film is fantastic. From what I hear, this film was a mix of computer animation and stop-motion animation. With that in mind, I now want to know what parts of this movie were actually done in stop-motion. I mean, sure, the majority of the film clearly must be computer animated but part of the reason why it’s so good is because, in execution, it really feels like stop-motion animation. It’s quite amazing to see how everything in this movie, even special effects like fire and water, is made to look like they were really made out of LEGOs. Of course, like with a lot of great animated films, this one also boasts an excellent voice cast. Everyone is well cast in their respective roles and this film has a great cast of characters, including the no-nonsense Bad Cop who has a split personality where he’s also sometimes a Good Cop (Liam Neeson in a rare comedic turn) as well as a great comedic interpretation of Batman as done by Will Arnett. Also, be sure to be on the lookout for some pretty cool cameos along the way.

My friend Augie made a good point recently about how Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been very successful at taking projects that wouldn’t seem to be good ideas at first and turn them into something that ends up being far better than what we initially expected. I mean, I’m pretty sure that none of us were thinking that ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘21 Jump Street’ would turn out to be as good as they were, but they were. The same can definitely be said for ‘The LEGO Movie’. On the surface it does look like a ‘marketing gimmick’ to sell products and in the end there’s part of it that no doubt feels like a feature-length LEGO commercial (it was unavoidable). But then this film pulls one of the best twists in recent memory and as a result, it turns out to be a very well-made animated film. It has excellent animation, a terrific voice cast, and a story that may seem simple at first glance but in the end it turns out to be one that has a lot of heart. This film does a great job at representing the LEGO brand and its dedicated fans. For LEGO fanatics, this is an absolute must-see but even if you aren’t, this is still one that I highly recommend because it truly is one of the best animated films in recent years.

Rating: 5/5!