REVIEW: The LEGO Movie (2014, Dirs. Chris Miller and Phil Lord)

First off, let me put this out there: The LEGO® Movie is heaps of fun! More fun than you are probably expecting. It's rapid fire comedy. It's cute. It's self deprecating. It's inventive. And it's a surprisingly touching piece of childhood nostalgia.

But...

I have to say that as delighted as I was, as much as I laughed, and as much as I marvelled at the effectiveness of the production's ability to navigate copyright, putting on my critic's hat (we have them you know), I'm not sure that the film is actually at peace with its own existence. If it is, it shouldn't be. As a piece of modern moralism, The LEGO® Movie is pretty whack.

The writing committee behind the film, fronted by its two directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, has moulded the film out of a curious mix of anti-groupthink subversiveness and the kids flick staple "believe in yourself and you can shit rainbows" messaging. On the first count, it appears the filmmakers are hoping that their audience will put aside the fact that their film is more marketing push than creative endeavour, and on the second, the attempt to pull a post-modern backflip doesn't come off. The film's desire to work the believe in yourself message and to comment on it at the same time ties it up in a thematic knot, one which is only tightened once the animated curtain is pulled back.

Take another step back from the film and it is difficult not to notice that we are being just as manipulated as our plastic heroes. LEGO® has become increasingly instruction-driven and proprietary over the years so it is a tad disingenuous for their film to push the "throw out the step-by-steps and let your creativity fly" line. This probably sounds like I'm over-thinking what is essentially a innocuous bit of fun, but the fact that the filmmakers are treating their audience, both young and old, as unthinking cash-cows, feeding it a message it clearly doesn't believe itself, doesn't sit well.

Putting that aside (which is actually quite easy when you're in the thrall of the film), The LEGO® Movie's frenetic comedy assault is wonderfully put together. With no "uncanny valley" to contend with, the animators have found impossible levels of detail in their little coloured blocks. The film has a plasticky feel but it's nicked, scratched and snapped to perfection. The voices too are spot on. It helps that the likes of Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams have come on board to voice the LEGO® versions of their famous characters. Will Arnett, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill deserve special mentions for their hilarious takes on Batman, Superman and Green Lantern.

Even though I'm cynical of the reductive consumerist mindset these cinematic product placement orgies represent, I'm sure that if you go in with your eyes open you'll get whipped up in it all anyway. It may not be as subversive or as anti-corp as it'd like you to think it is but The LEGO® Movie is still mighty hilarious. Just be mindful that if you're taking kids, you're going to have to shell out a lot more on the product in the ensuing weeks.

Random, genre-ripping fun that'll do wonders for the brand.

★★★☆

Trailer: