By Alan Yudman

2015’s LEGO MOVIE was such a surprising joy, the question was always, what’s next and what would it be like. The next choice was a slightly odd one I suppose. Focusing on BATMAN in the sequel was a risky choice. He was easily the darkest character in the original movie. How would his narcissistic heroism play over 2 hours?
The answer is awesomely! THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE is nearly as much fun as the original, but in a completely different way. The original had a sweetness to it. This is a little edgier. It also helps if you have a working knowledge of BATMAN and his cadre of villains. I’m not deep into the mythology, so I was surprised to find that every villain mentioned is absolutely real.
BATMAN is still the self-centered, lone wolf, Dark Knight of Gotham. He fights the bad guys but never admits to needing any help, or that he cannot live without them. Then Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon worm their way into his life and all bets are off.
Will Arnett is just fantastic as the voice of BATMAN. Michael Cera owns Robin and the villainous voices include Zach Galifianakis, Doug Benson, Conan O’Brien, Jenny Slate, Billy Dee Williams, Zoe Kravitz, Kate Micucci. And that’s not the whole list. Oh, and Ralph Fiennes as Alfred.. just perfect.
The jokes are brilliantly funny and come flying at you faster than a Bat-A-Rang. So fast I think I missed about 30%. That’s kind of frustrating, but now I can’t wait to go back and watch it again for the nuggets I missed. I also understand there are a ton of Easter eggs for those deep in the BATMAN lore. So, THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE has something for everyone, adults and kids alike.

Sent from my iPad