Surprisingly good, animated film is a triumph

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2014)

A very entertaining, wildly imaginative animated film based on a seemingly terrible material: the Danish brand of toy interlocking bricks. Emmet is an everyman construction worker who works for the Octan Corporation, the only company in the very conformist Legoland and whose president is the evil Lord Business (for a movie that includes a brand in its title, its tone is surprisingly anti corporate). When Emmet unexpectedly finds a piece called the Piece of Resistance (whom a Gandalf-like wizard called Vitruvius has prophesied would be found by the chosen one who would overthrow the tyranny of Lord Business), he is sought by the henchmen of Lord Business, while he is helped in his escape by the rebel girl Wildstyle. Funny and entertaining (the movie includes an extended part of a Lego Batman), surprisingly profound at times (the movie in some way is a paean to common man Emmet) and with nods to such films as The Truman Show and The Matrix. The dazzling computer animation and the intelligent script help a lot. Among the actors giving voice to the animated characters are Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman. Towards the end, two human actors (including Ferrell) appear to give the plot a tight ending.