The LEGO Movie Review

Rating: 10/10 (12 February 2014)

LEGO was a big part of my childhood as it was for many others, but that wasn't the main reason I was interested in seeing this film. I wanted to see it because of the excellent cast and because of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who directed my second favourite movie of 2012, "21 Jump Street"). I had little to no expectations, which was perhaps for the best because I really enjoyed The LEGO Movie.
One of the most enjoyable things about The LEGO Movie is it's bizarreness and just how strange a lot of the plot is. It's very over the top, silly and often hilarious. Some of the jokes fall flat, and the humour becomes tiresome at a few points but the rest of the movie is so damn good that it's forgivable. Characters are very well developed, with more depth and emotion given to minifigures than I ever thought would be possible. This is a movie about LEGO that actually manages to illicit an emotional response. As unbelievable as this may sound, it's true, and the filmmakers deserve some serious applause for it. The film is very fast paced and rarely slows down, which may be a problem for some viewers but I didn't mind it. The movie manages to showcase lots of different branches of LEGO without feeling like an advert or promotion, which is a major problem that the movie could have easily fell subject to. There was a point where I became worried the film was turning into something not dissimilar to the Spongbob Squarepants movie (which I hate) but there was no need to worry, as the movie took this reason for worry and turned it into possibly the best thing about the movie.
The voice cast is excellent as well. Chris Pratt is continuously climbing the ladder into Hollywood stardom and The LEGO Movie will only help push him up further. He proves he has a great voice for animation and does an excellent job leading the movie. Supporting cast members including Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Charlie Day, Will Ferrel, Allison Brie and Nick Offerman are also great. Will Arnett deserves a special mention for delivering one of the most memorable Batman performances ever, and Jonah Hill does a better job as Green Lantern in a minor role than Ryan Reynolds did in a full movie.
Arguably the most impressive aspect of The LEGO Movie is it's animation style. A someone who has made a lot of LEGO stop motion videos in the past, I found some of the visuals in the movie absolutely mind blowing. I know that the movie is CGI mixed with stop motion, but there aren't any obvious CGI sections, it all blends together flawlessly. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller do an incredible job directing and deserve all of the praise they will inevitably receive, I wouldn't be surprised to see them receiving some huge projects in the near future. The soundtrack is excellent, and at it's core The LEGO Movie has a wonderful message, which I won't spoil but I will say this; while watching The LEGO Movie, all your worries disappear and you're taken back to your childhood, a time when everything was simpler, and everything was awesome. If that's not a good enough reason to see The LEGO Movie, then I don't know what is.