One of the most creative and refreshing movies of the decade.

Rating: 10/10 (23 May 2017)

When I first saw the trailers for the Lego Movie, I scoffed at it, thinking that it would be nothing more than a gigantic toy commercial for Legos, but much to my surprise, when I sat down to watch it earlier this year, what I got was a thoroughly creative and fun movie that seemed to resonate more with adults than with kids.
In a world populated by Lego figurines, the malicious Lord Business discovers a weapon known as the "Kragle", but the wizard Vitruvius tries to stop him only to be left vision-less by Business's robots; he foretells of a being called "the Special" will acquire a block known as the Piece of Resistance and stop the Kragle. Some years later, an ordinary construction worker named Emmett Brockowski encounters a woman named Wyldstyle at his job and while trying to follow her, falls into a pit and locates the Piece of Resistance, proceeds to touch it then wakes up with the piece fixed to his back, in the captivity of Bad Cop. Wyldstyle then saves Emmett, certain that he is the Special, takes him to meet Vitruvius in the Old West. Now, Emmett, Wyldstyle and the rest of the master builder community must untie in order to stop Lord Business from executing his plans.
Given that the story does follow the Matrix in a lot of ways, it would seem like it would be retreading the plot of the 99' movie a bit too much, yet when you see the Lego world, everything in it feels original and hot off the press, something I wish more kids movies would do rather than rehash the same ideas over and over again and it seems that Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the two guys who gave us "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and the Jump Street films, and the writers really knocked out of the ballpark with this one.
When it comes to the animation, The Lego Movie has some of the best seen in the last few years and is great enough to rival Disney or Pixar. Not only does it have the look of a beginners stop-motion movie with a high budget, but the magnitude of the detail and the imagination put into the animation is nothing short of amazing rather than just using some cheap CGI. At some points throughout the movie, there's simply so much going on that it's pushing overwhelming limits, yet if one is a careful observer, they might see that every single little item from the people to the sky are built in Lego pieces. The numerous ways the Lego world moves, crumbles, is built again, crumbles apart and changes is just a delight to see. The usage of items from the real world being used in the Lego universe is guaranteed to get a massive chuckle out of anyone watching the film, and the aftereffect is a movie that looks so unlike any other movie we've seen before.
The script is a non-stop thrill ride of one sidesplitting gag after another not to mention the jokes often come at you so quickly that it's impossible to get them all the first time you watch the movie, and blink and you'll-overlook-it quips that litter the screen. No joke ever seems to overstay it's welcome or is overdone or overstated with some of the best jokes come from Emmett and well as from other characters throughout the film. One thing that the movies so expertly well is how it pokes fun at the whole prophecy story line that has been such a mainstay in big Hollywood movies and the way that they handle it is both hilarious and yet feels new. There are also quite a few pop culture references ranging from Star Wars to The Terminator and The Dark Knight sprinkled thought-out the movie too.
The characters of the Lego Movie are a lot of fun to watch and the assemble cast is one of the best in an animated film since Toy Story: Chris Pratt is the prefect choice for Emmett, playing the eager and innocent sides of the character with ease, manages to be in incredibly funny often getting some of the movie's best jokes and also shows quite a lot of character growth as he learns how to think for himself rather then conform. While I'm not a big fan of Elizabeth Banks, she is awesome in this movie as Wyldstyle, hurling out plenty of sharp quips and kicking ass when she needs to, but she is also so much more than that by being more of a symbol of individually which is an interesting take on a female lead in this kind of movie and certainly better than having her hook up with Emmitt at the end. Morgan Freeman is always excellent is anything he's in and here, he brings the same wise-man vigor as Vitruvius while almost making fun of the other mentor roles he's played in other movies and is truly a delight to watch. Will Ferrell is completely devilish and threatening as Lord Business and yet is a complete laugh riot, channeling his Mugatu character from Zoolander with ease. Charlie Day is a joy as the Lego spaceman Benny, Nick Offerman is great as Metalbeard, Alison Brie is enchanting as Unikitty, Liam Neeson is down right hilarious as Good Cop/Bad Cop, but it's Will Arnett as Batman who steals the movie as there are simply too many times in the movie where he has a line of dialog that makes every intentional funny scene even more laugh-out-loud funny.
I really don't have any negative things to say about the Lego movie, it's just superb with great characters, top-notch animation and voice acting, wonderful jokes, and one hell of a catchy song. Definitely a movie worth checking out.