The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) review

In 1934, Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen renamed his toy company LEGO, a name that was derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning ‘play well’. In 1949, two years after they started producing plastic toys instead of wooden ones, LEGO would begin to develop what would end up becoming the company’s most famous product, interlocking bricks. And thus, over the next few decades, LEGO would quickly become one of the most iconic toy brands of all-time, allowing its customers to create all sorts of unique objects out of these plastic bricks. Over 650 billion LEGO pieces have been produced since 1958, and the company has developed a wide variety of themed sets ranging from original franchises like Bionicle and Ninjago to popular IPs such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Aside from the toys, LEGO has also expanded into other facets of media, including numerous video games and their own chain of theme parks a la Disney and Universal. It’s a different story, however, when it comes to films. Prior to 2014, almost all official LEGO films were direct-to-video releases, with most of them being based around the company’s now-discontinued Bionicle franchise. But then, in 2011, Warner Bros. announced that they would be making the first theatrically-released LEGO film, which would serve as the first project from the studio’s recently revived animated film division, Warner Animation Group. In the years leading up to its release, however, some were rather skeptical about how the film would turn out. Given the franchise’s worldwide success and appeal, many assumed that it would end up being nothing more than a massive cash grab and one big toy commercial. And then Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were announced as its directors.

Ever since they made their directorial debut in 2009, Lord and Miller have very much made a name for themselves as a duo who have managed to make excellent films out of seemingly disastrous concepts. Their exploits have ranged from directing two hilarious comedies based on a previously obscure 80’s television series to producing/writing what many now consider to be the best Spider-Man film of all-time. And sure enough, when The LEGO Movie hit theaters in February 2014, it was a smash hit with critics and audiences. The film grossed over $469 million worldwide and was widely praised for its gorgeous animation, witty dialogue, and emotionally poignant story that genuinely celebrated LEGO’s devoted fandom. Because of its success, several spin-offs were then announced, with two of them being released in 2017. One was a spin-off about the original film’s breakout star, Will Arnett’s hilarious take on Batman, and the other was an adaptation of LEGO’s popular Ninjago line. But now we return to the LEGO world that started it all with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. This time, however, Lord and Miller aren’t back to direct, though they are still involved as producers and the film’s primary screenwriters. It was originally reported that the film would serve as the directorial debut of Rob Schrab, who had previously directed episodes of the cult classic series Community. Ultimately, though, Schrab was replaced by veteran filmmaker Mike Mitchell, who’s no stranger to animation having previously directed Shrek Forever After and Trolls for DreamWorks. And even after half a decade and three whole LEGO films, that LEGO charm is still on full display.  

At the end of the original LEGO Movie, the citizens of the town of Bricksburg, led by the seemingly ordinary construction worker Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), banded together to stop the evil Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) from destroying their world. Unfortunately, the city is then overrun with invaders from the planet Duplo, effectively turning it into a wasteland, Apocalypseburg. And yet, while everyone else in the city has embraced their new apocalyptic lifestyle, Emmet continues to remain upbeat despite his girlfriend Lucy AKA Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) wishing that he’d mature just like the rest of them. Things only manage to get worse when a new invader arrives in the form of the Duplo army’s leader, General Sweet Mayhem (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). Sweet Mayhem proceeds to capture Lucy, Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), 1980s astronaut Benny (voiced by Charlie Day), MetalBeard the Pirate (voiced by Nick Offerman), and Princess Unikitty (voiced by Alison Brie) and brings them to her homeworld, the Systar System. There, they meet the galaxy’s ruler, the shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), who seeks to marry one of them (which ends up being Batman) in what Lucy believes is a blatantly evil scheme. Meanwhile, back in Apocalypseburg, Emmet embarks on a journey to the Systar System himself to rescue his friends. Along the way, he ends up meeting the badass Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt), a galaxy-defending archaeologist/cowboy/raptor trainer who agrees to help him out while also showing him what it takes to truly be a hardened warrior.

As is the case with all these recent LEGO films, The LEGO Movie 2 boasts gorgeous animation provided by the Australian animation company Animal Logic. While technically a computer-animated film, the implementation of stop-motion animation aesthetics helps to give the film the same charm that can be found in the numerous LEGO fan films that have been made over the years. Plus, these animators deserve a lot of credit for their impressive attention to detail when creating a world that’s entirely made from LEGOs. This brilliant animation is then matched by the film’s equally terrific screenplay, which perfectly blends its heartfelt narrative with its riotous humor. Thanks to Lord and Miller’s excellent comedic sensibilities, this film arguably surpasses its predecessor when it comes to its sight gags, snappy dialogue, and hilarious cameos. But, of course, just like the first film, there’s also a lot of heart to this story thanks to its wonderful messages and themes. The original LEGO Movie served as a celebration of creative thinking and expanded upon its seemingly traditional ‘hero’s journey’ storyline to show that everyone is special in their own, unique way. The sequel then proceeds to take that even further by highlighting the importance of cooperation and seeing things from a different perspective, which is best exemplified through the expansion of the first film’s biggest plot twist that revealed that everything in the LEGO world was being manipulated by a human kid named Finn (Jadon Sand). Going off the first film’s ending, the sequel brings in Finn’s younger sister Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), which ends up affecting both their world and the LEGO world in interesting ways.

Almost all the major players from the first film’s cast return and are all great once again in their respective roles. It all starts, of course, with Chris Pratt, who continues to make Emmet one of the most endearing main protagonists in recent animation history. Emmet also benefits from having another solid character arc in this one based around the apparent necessity for him to grow up, which he mainly does through his interactions with Rex Dangervest AKA an amalgamation of Star-Lord, Owen Grady, and Faraday from The Magnificent Seven remake. Simply put, it’s a lot of fun to witness Chris Pratt playing these two roles that respectively represent his comedic roots and the charismatic leading man status that he holds today. Elizabeth Banks also gets a lot of great material to work with as well as Lucy/Wyldstyle, with the film continuing to follow the overall arc of cutting through her tough exterior (which, without spoiling anything, leads to a subtle yet very satisfying payoff at the end). And, of course, Will Arnett continues to be hilarious as LEGO Batman, even if he already had his big character arc in The LEGO Batman Movie. After that, there are the usual supporting players; Nick Offerman as MetalBeard, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny (“SPACESHIP!!”), etc. They’re then joined by the big newcomers to this film, Tiffany Haddish as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi and Stephanie Beatriz as General Sweet Mayhem. Haddish continues to prove why her star’s been on the rise these past few years and the film takes full advantage of her character’s shape-shifting abilities. And while Beatriz doesn’t necessarily get as much to work with as her co-stars, she works off Elizabeth Banks incredibly well in the scenes between Lucy and Mayhem.

So, can we just all agree that the LEGO Movie franchise is one of the best around? Thanks to the continued involvement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (even when they’re not directing), this series has delivered time and time again with films that boast gorgeous animation, fun characters, and excellent emotional poignancy. As such, I’m genuinely surprised that some are saying that The LEGO Movie 2 isn’t as good as the first film (it’s that damn ‘not as fresh’ argument that long-time readers know I’m not a big fan of). On the contrary, I’d say that it’s just as good as its predecessor. Is it the better of the two? Well, that one’s legitimately up for debate, but I’d argue that this one tops the original when it comes to its humor. Whatever the case may be, though, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is an absolute must-see. Even though it’s been years since I was in the big LEGO craze that defined my childhood (still waiting for that LEGO Bionicle film…), I’m still very much drawn to these films because they continue to do a wonderful job paying tribute to their fandom by matching their creativity with the LEGO brand. After all, one of the main lyrics to the original film’s classic tune ‘Everything is Awesome’ states that ‘everything is better when we stick together’. And sure enough, this film directly addresses the importance of unity while also providing some timely commentary on the dangers of toxic masculinity. In short, it’s yet another carefully constructed masterpiece (pun intended).

Rating: 5/5!

Teen Titans Go to the Movies (2018) review

In 1964, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani created the latest addition to DC’s long line of superhero teams, the Teen Titans. While the roster of characters has changed numerous times over the years, many members of the Titans have been known for being sidekicks of other DC heroes and are usually led by Batman’s most famous sidekick, Dick Grayson AKA Robin. And while the Titans have been a part of the comic landscape for years, folks of my generation primarily recognize them via the anime-inspired animated series Teen Titans, which ran for five seasons on Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2006. The show, which followed a Titans group consisting of Robin, alien princess Starfire, half-human/half-robot hybrid Cyborg, gothic psychic Raven, and animal shape-shifter Beast Boy, was lauded for its mature storytelling, layered characters, and vibrant animation. In 2013, nearly a decade after the original show’s arguably premature cancellation, a new ‘spin-off’ of the series debuted on Cartoon Network titled Teen Titans Go. While the show did feature the same cast of characters (along with the original voice cast) as its predecessor, Go took the concept in a more comedic direction. And while the show has been a hit with its target audience, fans of the original Teen Titans series have been highly critical of it due to its radically different take on the characters, which they feel is vastly inferior to that of the original series. Nevertheless, the show continues to be one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows to the point where it has even outlived the original series with an episode count of over 200. Thus, this iteration of the Teen Titans has now been given the opportunity to grace the franchise’s first feature film (not counting the original series’ 2006 TV film Trouble in Tokyo), Teen Titans Go to the Movies. And to those who are still fiercely vehement about Teen Titans Go… well, you may be surprised to learn that this film is quite an entertaining flick.

Despite all their various crime-fighting adventures, the five members of the Teen Titans (Robin (voiced by Scott Menville), Beast Boy (voiced by Greg Cipes), Raven (voiced by Tara Strong), Cyborg (voiced by Khary Payton), and Starfire (voiced by Hynden Walch)) are constantly told by other superheroes that they aren’t taken that seriously due to their childish behavior. To prove that they’re worthy of being superheroes, Robin realizes that their best chances of accomplishing this are to get the one thing that every great superhero has, a film adaptation. Thus, the team heads directly to Hollywood to try and make it big in the film industry, where basically every major superhero has gotten their own film. Once there, though, they learn from famous superhero film director Jade Wilson (voiced by Kristen Bell) that it’s unlikely that anyone would watch a film about them. In response, the Titans try and find the other big thing that every great superhero has, an iconic arch-nemesis. And as luck would have it, they soon find a potential candidate for that position in the form of Slade (voiced by Will Arnett), a gun-wielding, sword-wielding mercenary who seems to be a lot like Deadpool despite his insistence that he came first. Regardless, the Titans vow to stop his dastardly plan to take over the world via mind control, hoping that it’ll prove to the rest of the world that they’re truly worthy of a feature film.     

The biggest selling point of the Teen Titans Go film is that it ultimately serves as a huge satire of the superhero genre. Obviously, this puts it in line with the Deadpool films in terms of its overall execution, with the primary difference being that this superhero satire is geared towards younger audiences. But even with this in mind, Teen Titans Go to the Movies isn’t that far off from Deadpool when it comes to the overall quality of its sharp satire. Plus, this isn’t just a spoof of DC films, including everything from their apparent necessity to be dark to the infamous ‘Martha’ moment from Batman v Superman. There are also quite a few jabs at Marvel (e.g. a familiar cameo) as well as some self-aware shots at Teen Titans Go itself, specifically the fact that most people view the Titans as, to quote Superman (voiced by Nicolas Cage, who finally gets to play the character after previously being set to play him in the canceled Superman Lives), ‘goofsters’. And with that said, while there are a few instances where the film delves into some of the same sophomoric toilet humor from the TV series that its critics intensely despise, these moments are generally downplayed in favor of all the great satirical bits of humor. To top it all off, the animation is quite solid. While I’m aware that the ‘cartoony’ redesigns of the main characters compared to the original Titans series has been a contentious topic amongst its critics, it ends up working quite well on the big screen, resulting in a lot of bright, fast-paced action sequences.

Arguably one of the nicest things to come from the newer series was that the five voice actors who portrayed the Teen Titans in the original series (Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, Tara Strong, Khary Payton, and Hynden Walch) returned to reprise their respective roles, which isn’t always the case when an animated series like this gets rebooted. However, that doesn’t mean that this was entirely a good thing for many fans, because from what I’ve read, quite arguably the biggest complaint about Teen Titans Go from fans of the original show was its drastically different portrayals of the main characters. Specifically, many people feel that the newer renditions of the Titans are a lot more immature to the point where they can even be a bit unlikeable at times. Thankfully, though, as someone who hasn’t had a lot of experience with the TV show, it didn’t seem like this was as big of an issue in the film. Despite a few instances here and there where the characters tend to mock each other, you do get a nice sense of unity between them, allowing for some decent heartfelt moments. Meanwhile, this film also sees the return of a classic villain from the original Teen Titans series, Slade. In the original series, he was voiced by Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman, but in this new film, he’s voiced by LEGO Batman AKA Will Arnett (Jimmy Kimmel, meanwhile, portrays this franchise’s rendition of the Caped Crusader). And while I think it’s safe to say that quite a few people will ultimately prefer Perlman’s serious take on the character, Arnett (who’s also one of the film’s producers) does get quite a few great laughs as the self-aware mercenary, making this the second great animated superhero film role of his career.      

In conclusion, I want to make it clear that I do not have any major connection to the ongoing conflict surrounding the continued success of Teen Titans Go. For the record, I did watch the original Teen Titans show growing up; in fact, you could say that it was one of my first major introductions to the superhero genre in a time before the MCU was ever a thing. But at the same time, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen any of its episodes in full. As such, I also haven’t watched any full episodes of Teen Titans Go; at the time that I’m writing this, I’ve only watched a few clips of it online, and from what I’ve seen, the show honestly doesn’t look ‘that’ bad. And because of this, I found Teen Titans Go to the Movies to be a very entertaining animated flick. No, I’m not saying that it’s the best animated film or the best superhero film ever made, but it more than does its job of being a delightfully wacky satire of the superhero genre that isn’t afraid to pull a few punches at its own source material. Thus, for fans of the show, this will basically give them everything that they love about it. And dare I say it, this may even entertain some of its biggest haters because it does tone down some of the more ‘obnoxious’ aspects of the series. I mean, to be perfectly frank, it’s truly saying something when this film has fared far better with critics than 80% of the currently-released installments of the DC Extended Universe save for Wonder Woman. And if this film’s mid-credits scene means anything, the haters might want to see this film just to ensure that the one thing that it’s teasing ends up happening.

Rating: 4/5

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) review

2014 gave us the unexpected smash hit that was The LEGO Movie. The reason why I say that it was an ‘unexpected smash hit’ is because, going into it, many feared that it would be nothing more than just a soulless cash-grab with the sole intent of capitalizing on the LEGO brand. But, under the direction of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, a duo who are well-known for delivering Grade-A hits out of risky ventures (e.g. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 and 22 Jump Street, and, hopefully, the upcoming Han Solo film), it ended up being a charming and excellently animated story that served as a love letter to both sides of the LEGO fandom; those who played ‘by the book’ and those who dared to experiment with the iconic bricks. And because of that, while it may not have been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars that year (easily the most controversial ‘snub’ of that year’s ceremony), it ended up being one of the most well-reviewed films of the year and grossed over $469 million worldwide. Thus, a new line of LEGO films will be on the way in the next few years under the supervision of Lord and Miller. The first of these to come out is one that is based around a character who many felt was the ‘breakout star’ of the original LEGO Movie: LEGO Batman, voiced by Will Arnett. Arnett’s hilarious take on the Dark Knight now takes center stage in his own film, The LEGO Batman Movie, directed by Chris McKay, who served as an animation co-director on The LEGO Movie. And just like The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie is a highly entertaining screwball adventure that manages to find the humanity within its plastic protagonists.

In Gotham City, Batman (Will Arnett) is the most popular figure around. Beloved by Gotham’s residents, the Dark Knight spends most of his time taking down the many villains that make up his iconic ‘Rogues Gallery’. However, it soon becomes clear that despite all this fame, Batman is also quite a lonely figure, who spends the rest of his time alone in his luxurious mansion and whose greatest fear is, as noted by his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth (Ralph Fiennes), being a part of a family again after the death of his parents all those years ago; the exact moment that led to him becoming Batman. Thus, Batman (or, to be more specific, his ‘real identity’, Bruce Wayne) unknowingly ends up adopting a young orphan by the name of Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) from the local orphanage. With some encouragement from Alfred, Batman begins to take the young man under his wing as his new sidekick, Robin. And, as it turns out, Batman is going to need all the help he can get, as the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), eager to prove to Batman that he truly is ‘his greatest enemy’ after a fight between the two ends with Batman telling the Joker that he means nothing to him, unleashes a sinister plot that threatens everyone in Gotham. The sheer magnitude of this plan forces Batman to do something that he normally doesn’t do; team up with others, which he does with Robin, Alfred, and Gotham’s new Police Commissioner, Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), who takes over the job from her father, Jim Gordon (Hector Elizondo), with the goal of getting Batman to team up with the Gotham police force to help make the city a safer place. 

Just like The LEGO Movie, this film features terrific animation as done by the Australian animation studio, Animal Logic. While the film is computer-animated, it manages to achieve a great stop-motion feel to it all, which fits perfectly with the LEGO brand given all the fan-made films that have been made over the years. It’s fast-paced, bright and colorful and full to the brim with little Easter Eggs thrown in here and there. And of course, being a film about Batman and DC Comics, this film is CHOCK-FULL of Easter Eggs. I’m not joking; this film basically covers every major era of Batman in the span of 104 minutes, from the campier days of the 60’s TV show to the more serious and grounded storylines of the more recent films, namely Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Heck, this film features arguably every villain who’s ever appeared in a Batman comic, even the obscure ones like King Tut and Condiment King which, yes, are in fact real. Even the film points this out (“Probably Worth a Google!” – Joker). But, of course, this film isn’t just a bunch of references for eagle-eyed fans of Batman to notice. That alone would’ve made it an enjoyable film on its own merit but there’s also a solid arc in this for Batman, as he learns the value of teamwork instead of him just trying to act like the entire world revolves around him alone. The problem, though, is that he’s reluctant to start up a new family because of what happened to his old one, and, for the record, no, they don’t show that incident again; the film is very much aware that we’ve already seen that dozens of times. This is what ultimately gives the film its heart and thus, provides us with an endearing cast of main characters to latch onto on an emotional level.

As stated earlier, Will Arnett’s take on Batman truly was one of the best parts of The LEGO Movie. Arnett basically riffed on the usual characterization of the generally dark superhero by making him a superficial celebrity who constantly reminds everybody about how awesome he is. And yet, through it all, Arnett still managed to make his Batman likable, basically the opposite of his character from another 2014 animated film, The Nut Job. This time around, of course, Arnett is the star of the show and he is great once again, especially thanks to the great character arc that Batman has in this. And just like how Batman ends up finding an excellent team to work with, this film has an excellent supporting cast as well. Zach Galifianakis brings the right amount of manic energy to the role of the Joker while also getting a fun villain arc in which he’s just trying to get Batman to notice him, which… actually, makes him the most sympathetic Joker to date. Michael Cera exudes the proper eagerness and wonderment for the role of Robin and the film relishes its many opportunities to joke about how weird it is for Batman to have a ‘ward’ working alongside him. Rosario Dawson’s Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, is also a great addition to the cast and a great female lead who’s arguably more capable of taking down the bad guys than Batman. It’s also good to have an actual ‘good’ Barbara Gordon story after her disastrous characterization in last year’s The Killing Joke. Rounding out the main cast is Ralph Fiennes, who’s quite awesome and hilarious in the role of Batman’s trusty butler Alfred. Heck, Fiennes would’ve been a great Alfred in the live-action Batman films but, of course, Jeremy Irons is currently in that position so we’ll have to settle for him being the LEGO version of the character. And just like The LEGO Movie, there are plenty of fun voice/character cameos here and there.   

The original LEGO Movie helped revitalize Warner Bros’ animation division after the studio’s hand-drawn animation division, Warner Bros Feature Animation, was dissolved after a series of box-office flops in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Clearly, the LEGO films have become Warner Bros.’ most dominant animated franchise and rightfully so as they’ve been great takes on the LEGO brand. First, there was The LEGO Movie and this year that streak continues with The LEGO Batman Movie. For fans of the character, this film is ‘geek nirvana’. There are references galore that cover every major facet of the character’s long history, so much so that it’ll probably require a second viewing to catch them all. And the film does indeed warrant a second viewing (heck, I saw it twice this weekend) because aside from all the fun Easter Eggs, the film also has a charming story with an endearing cast of characters portrayed excellently by a pitch-perfect voice cast. Pair all this with excellent animation and you have a highly entertaining animated film that will please both Batman fans and those who are total newcomers to the franchise. And no, I’m not going to compare this to the current DC Extended Universe films, something that a few other critics have been doing, because they’re completely different entities. What I will say is that thanks to this film, Warner Bros.’ LEGO franchise is still going strong two films in. Up next, we have The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the second LEGO film of 2017 and based off the company’s highly successful franchise of the same name, and then followed by the official LEGO Movie Sequel in 2019. If all goes well, we may get more LEGO films in the years to come, though I must ask… where’s my LEGO Bionicle film, damn it?

Rating: 4.5/5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) review

The 2014 reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was certainly one of the most controversial films in recent memory. Pretty much ever since it was first announced, every major bit of news surrounding it was subjected to major scrutiny from fans of the franchise. First off, the fact that it was to be produced by Michael Bay made many fans worry, even though he was only producing it, due to his heavily derided work on another popular 80’s franchise, Transformers. But then in March 2012, the backlash towards the film peaked when Bay claimed that the new film would give the Turtles an alien origin. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and the film ended up maintaining the Turtles’ traditional origin. However, upon release, the film ended up exactly like the Transformers films and was savagely decimated by critics. Though that ultimately didn’t stop the film from grossing nearly half a billion worldwide. So because of that, we now have a sequel; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. This time around, Dave Green (director of 2014’s found-footage family film Earth to Echo) is behind the director’s chair for a sequel that actually showed promise, as crazy as that might seem to those who were highly critical of the first film. The primary reason for that was the sense that the film would stick much closer to the franchise’s roots, partially exemplified by the addition of classic franchise characters like Bebop and Rocksteady. And ultimately that is very much the case with this new TMNT film. Sure, at the end of the day, it’s still very much like its predecessor in terms of being a rather mindless affair but at the very least it’s a film that I think fans of the franchise will be far more satisfied with as a whole.

A year after defeating their arch-nemesis the Shredder (now played by Brian Tee), Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello (portrayed through motion-capture by Pete Ploszek (who also voices Leonardo this time around after being replaced by Johnny Knoxville in the first film), Noel Fisher, Alan Ritchson, and Jeremy Howard, respectively) have continued to protect the city of New York but are still forced to live in the shadows unsure of how people will react to them. During this time, the Shredder manages to escape from prison with the help of the Foot Clan and scientist Dr. Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and briefly ends up within another dimension where he meets alien warlord Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett). The two plan to retrieve three pieces of a portal device that are scattered around the world so that Krang can unleash his unstoppable war machine, the Technodrome, upon the world. To help them collect the parts, Shredder enlists two street criminals, Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE’s Sheamus), and uses mutagen provided by Krang to turn them into a mutant warthog and rhinoceros, respectively. As a result, the Turtles, along with the help of their friends April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), as well as a new ally in former corrections officer turned street vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), are pushed to their limits but end up learning that the mutagen could work in reverse and turn them into humans, which could mean that they won’t have to live underneath the streets of New York anymore.

The best thing that I can say about this film is the fact that, at least when compared to the first film, this very much feels more like a proper TMNT film. Of course part of that comes from the addition of some of the franchise’s classic characters like the mutant duo of Bebop and Rocksteady as well as Shredder’s partner in crime Krang and his weapon of mass destruction the Technodrome. It should also be noted that none of these characters have ever appeared in a live-action TMNT film until now, having only appeared in the franchise’s numerous TV series as well as the comics. But another big reason why this film sticks closer to the franchise’s roots is that it benefits from having a much stronger atmosphere than its predecessor. The first TMNT film admittedly tried to be a bit too serious at times, which definitely didn’t feel right for a franchise called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This film, on the other hand, is very much aware of how silly it is and just goes with it. In fact, it could also be argued that this film has a much brighter look to it than the first film, especially in terms of the visuals (e.g. the design of the Turtles). And yes, like the first film, this is admittedly a pretty damn mindless film. But, to reiterate the point that I made in my review of the previous film, that’s pretty much this whole franchise in a nutshell. I mean to put it simply, there’s a scene in this film in which the Turtles are being pursued down a river in Brazil by a mutant warthog and mutant rhinoceros who are manning a tank. At this point in a case like this, you just got to do what this film does and just roll with it.

Like the first film, the Turtles are very much the best part of the film. The camaraderie between Ploszek, Fisher, Ritchson, and Howard is quite excellent and they all perfectly capture their characters’ respective personalities, from Mikey being the fun-loving/pizza-loving surfer dude to Raph being the aggressive and independent rebel. Even better, compared to the previous film, they’re given much more focus whereas in the first film the focus was arguably more on April O’Neil. But this time around, the filmmakers made the smart choice of relegating the human leads to supporting roles. As April O’Neil, Megan Fox is, well, about the same as she was in the first film. It’s by no means a ‘great’ performance by it’s also not the worst thing either and just like in the first film, it’s good that these newer films have given her more to do instead of just having her be a damsel in distress. The film does benefit from a pretty darn great new addition in the form of Green Arrow himself, Stephen Amell, as Casey Jones, who very much accustoms himself with the general silliness of the plot. The same can be said for Tyler Perry, who very much chews the scenery as Baxter Stockman, and the duo of Gary Anthony Williams and Sheamus who, like the Turtles, work off of each other quite well as the mutant warthog/rhino duo. But while Brian Tee is a much more memorable Shredder, if only due to the fact that his version of the character doesn’t spend the entirety of the film behind a mask or in shadows, without giving much away the character is rather insultingly written out of the film prior to the beginning of the finale.

I conclude with the same point I made last time in my review of Alice through the Looking Glass in that those who weren’t a fan of the previous TMNT film might not like this new film because it’s still just as mindless as one would expect from a Michael Bay-produced TMNT film. However, I actually think that, despite what critics might say, it’s very likely that fans of the franchise are going to be much more satisfied with this film. And that is because, at the very least, this does feel like a much more proper entry in the franchise, tonally speaking. And yes, at the end of the day it’s just as silly and stupid as its predecessor. But of course that’s what you’d expect from this franchise (not just the Bay produced films) and this time around the filmmakers are very much aware of that and just roll with it. In short, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a film that stays much truer to what fans of the franchise have always loved about it. Sure the first film didn’t go as far as to pull that ‘alien origin’ concept as was initially reported but this film definitely benefits from a much more appropriate light-hearted atmosphere. As a result, this is very much one of those cases of a sequel that is better than its predecessor. Obviously, for many that’s not really saying much considering the first film’s predominantly negative reception. Ultimately though, I think it’s a good thing in this case because, again, this film, unlike its predecessor, doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. There’s reportedly one more film in the works so hopefully that one ends up being more like this one and not the first film.

Rating: 3.5/5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) review

As we all know, there have been plenty of controversial films over the years, including ‘Passion of the Christ’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’, and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ just to name a few, each controversial for their own unique reasons. But the newest ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ film easily takes the cake as one of the most controversial films in recent memory. That’s because pretty much every major bit of news surrounding the film since the day it was first announced got heavily scrutinized by fans of the franchise. For those who weren’t aware of all this, here’s a general recap. First of all, the project was to be produced by Michael Bay and given his track record with audiences,  mostly in regards to his work on another extremely popular 80’s franchise, ‘Transformers’, it’s no surprise that a lot of TMNT fans got worried, even though Bay wasn’t even going to direct the film. But then it was none other than Bay himself who dropped a bombshell in March 2012 at a Nickelodeon press conference where he said that there was going to be a change to the turtles’ origin; now they are from an ‘alien race’. This really got the fans pissed off and it also didn’t help when a supposed early script utilizing that alien origin story-line was leaked online. In it, the focus was more on the character of Casey Jones than the Turtles themselves, which was similar to a problem that many people have had in regards to Bay’s ‘Transformers’; not enough focus on those who should be the ‘main’ characters. However, Bay later stated that this script was written before his company joined the project and that ultimately nothing was going to change regarding the Turtles (including their origins).

But that wasn’t the end of the ‘TMNT’ reboot controversy; it was then announced that Megan Fox, who apparently repaired her relationship with Bay after the whole incident where she compared him to Hitler, which resulted in her being booted off ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’, was cast in the major role of the Turtles’ main human ally, reporter April O’Neil… and really folks, I can go on and on in regards to the controversies that have surrounded this film because there are plenty. Pretty much everyone has been predicting that this was going to be an epic disaster. Well after seeing the film I can safely say this… this is ultimately not the disaster everyone was expecting it to be. Now let me be perfectly clear about this; I’m not saying that this is a masterpiece. In fact, compared to some of the other movies we’ve seen this summer, this one is kind of, shall I say, ‘light’ by today’s standards. But really… it’s frigging Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for crying out loud! You should seriously know what to expect from a movie like this just from that title alone. In the end, this is just a fun little action movie that at least manages to entertain with some fairly good action sequences and visuals. Also when compared to Bay’s other 80’s franchise, this at least feels like they’re staying true to what made TMNT as popular as it was in the first place.

The city of New York has been facing an increase in crime recently due to the rise of the criminal organization known as the Foot Clan, led by the mysterious Shredder. Hoping to investigate further into the matter, as well as trying to get away from doing nothing but puff pieces, Channel 6 reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) discovers that there is apparently a vigilante in the city that is fighting off the Foot Clan. She soon discovers, however, that this ‘vigilante’ isn’t alone; instead there are four ‘vigilantes’, more specifically four genetically-mutated talking turtles; Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael (portrayed via motion capture by Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, and Alan Ritchson, respectively (Leonardo is voiced by Johnny Knoxville)). These ‘Mutant Ninja Turtle Teenagers’, who used to be experiments in a lab where April's father used to work, live underground in the sewers with their master/‘father’ Splinter (portrayed via motion capture by Danny Woodburn and voiced by Tony Shalhoub), who trains them in the art of ninjutsu. April ends up befriending them as they look to stop the Shredder before he ends up taking over the city of New York.

Like I said, you really can’t take a film centered on a group of walking, talking, pizza-loving Ninja Turtles that seriously. The plot is pretty stupid and it even copies the ‘bad guy releasing a toxin into the city’ plot-line from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. Heck, this film even tries to attempt to connect April O’Neil to the Turtles more than ever before by having them be experiments in the laboratory April’s father worked at (in other words, they were once her ‘pets’) and having her be the one who saves them when a fire destroys the lab and releasing them into the sewers. But really I went into this knowing that it was going to be stupid and ultimately I thought it was pretty fun. The best parts in this movie are when the Turtles are on-screen because it really feels like this is staying true to the essence of the franchise; they’re wisecracking heroes in a half-shell and they do maintain the proper character traits that define each of them. However, that does mean that any of the scenes where they are not on screen are fairly weak by comparison. That does include the opening which kind of goes on a bit too long. Now for those who are really worried about Michael Bay’s involvement with this film, this actually doesn’t feel too much like a Bay film; if anything, it’s not like there are hundreds of explosions going off every minute. Plus, compared to Bay’s ‘Transformers’ films, I’d say that this film is actually fairly harmless towards kids even with a PG-13 rating because it’s less intense than those films.

I know I’m going to be in the minority on this, but I really don’t mind the new CGI designs of the Turtles. I mean I will admit that it did take me a little bit to get used to them but overall the CGI is actually pretty good, especially during the action sequences. I also have to give credit to the four guys who portrayed them through motion capture (and that also includes having Johnny Knoxville be the voice of Leonardo) as they did have really good camaraderie together. The biggest standout amongst them is easily Noel Fisher as Michelangelo as he gets the funniest lines in the movie. But what about Megan Fox as April O’Neil, the casting choice that has faced nothing but scrutiny ever since she was cast? Look… the role of April O’Neil hasn't always been the most ‘well-written’ in the world. The April from the 80's was known more as a 'damsel in distress' who always got kidnapped by Shredder and had to be saved all of the time by the Turtles and for the most part that was sort of the same scenario with the previous 3 live-action movies. With this film, I do have to give the writers a lot credit for having her be more involved in the action, more so than any of the live-action TMNT movies from the 90's. As for Fox herself... yes there clearly were much better choices to play the part but at the end of the day, she’s not THAT terrible. You can’t fault her for at least trying. As for some of the other members of the cast, Will Arnett gets a few funny lines here and there as April’s camera-man Vern and William Fichtner does a pretty solid job as well in the role of Eric Sacks, a scientist who used to work with April’s dad years ago. And for the record, he’s not playing the Shredder as it was reportedly supposed to be during pre-production; he’s actually Shredder’s ‘protégé’.

I’m not saying that the new ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ is a masterpiece… in fact, it doesn’t really stand out compared to some of the other films we’ve gotten this summer. But if anything, it’s still a fun little action movie. Yes, it’s stupid and silly but really that has always been the case with this franchise from the very beginning. I would be incredibly surprised if someone actually went into this film and tried to take it seriously because you really can’t. How can you with a franchise with a title like ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’? Still, the action sequences in this movie are pretty good as are the visuals (e.g. the Turtles themselves). The best scenes in the film are when the Turtles themselves are on screen. In the end, this film, compared to Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers’ films, actually does feel like a TMNT movie and is also less intense so it’s more family-friendly even with a PG-13 rating. Some people will say that this is a ‘severe mishandling’ of the franchise; in fact, I’m pretty sure some people already thought that before they even saw the damn film. Well, I can assure you folks that it really isn’t. It does stay true to what makes this franchise so memorable in the first place. Again, I’m not saying that’s a great film, but I at least managed to have fun with it.

Rating: 3.5/5

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!