I Wish I Could Go Where Everything is Awesome

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2014)

Everything is awesome in the new film, The Lego Movie. The film is exactly as it sounds, it's a film about Legos, set in a world made entirely of Legos. It's quite simple in all honesty, but it's in the satire and the surprising depth that this film has that makes it awesome.
The Lego Movie follows Lego construction worker, Emmett, who is as normal as anyone can be. Emmett always follows the instructions, until one night he comes across this thing known as the relic, and the relic is the only thing that can stop the evil Lord Business from using Krazy Glue and gluing all of the Lego pieces of the world together.
The film is a very witty satire in the way that it pokes fun at just about every movie convention you've seen in major Hollywood blockbusters over the past 10-20 years. There are pointless prophecies, chosen ones, evil world-ending machines, even a character who is Good Cop and Bad Cop. When Good Cop-Bad Cop spins his head, the back of his head has a different face, and depending on which side he is showing, he is either good or he is bad. There is a lot of ingenious humor in the film, even if every joke doesn't always land because there are just so many packed in there. However, what really impressed me with this film was the thematic depth it has.
Anyone going to see The Lego Movie is expecting a comedy, and the film is that, even in its more serious moments, but there is a very clever twist in the final third of the film that really makes this a unique, one-of-a-kind animated film. It is this twist that really gives the film weight. While the traditional idea of being an individual and not always following the traditional flow seems to be the big idea that the filmmakers are wanting you to believe in at first, once this twist occurs, you realize that the film is saying something even deeper than that. I'll say no more, other than the fact that Will Ferrell, who voices Lord Business, really shines in the final act of the film, shedding his man-child persona to adopt one of seriousness.
Overall, The Lego Movie is about as good of a time as you can have with any movie out there. It's like a weird blend of Pixar meets Monty Python and Mel Brooks. The CG animation replicates the look of those stop motion Lego cartoons you can find on YouTube, but better. I am not gonna lie and say my jaw didn't drop a few times at the technical perfection on display here, but it's the humor and the heart that really makes The Lego Movie an awesome experience. Even when the film has a slight case of ADD, you are still charmed.
I give The Lego Movie a 9 out of 10!