The Lego Batman Movie is full of bat puns, mindless jokes

During his journey, Batman (Will Arnett) needs to work with other people, including Robin (Michael Cera) (photo from http://www.legobatman.com/).

In the satirical spirit of fun that made The Lego Movie, Lego Batman stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are new changes stirring in Gotham, and if Batman wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and, maybe, learn to take a joke.

The creators of the movie decided to throw everything into it, from Batman to Superman with a chaotic jumble of product placements in between, leaving a big mess in the end. When the quirky humor that the Lego Movie introduced stopped, around 10 minutes into the movie, it got really old, really fast.

The Lego Batman Movie was good in displaying aspects not usually seen in Batman movies. However, this decision was executed terribly and the whole movie was based on lame jokes. For example, Batman eating lobster and generic, boring scenes such as the pep-talk that every hero gets in their “darkest hour” that did not make sense or move the plot forward. The movie should have been a hard-edged Batman movie or a parody, not some weird thing in-between.

Another aspect that may be argued as good is the fact that this movie includes a lot references that original, die-hard fans of DC products will get. However, the movie is so insincere, satirical and watered-down that it undermines all the work and seriousness that the DC Universe has tried to put into their products.

This movie was a huge mess and all the jokes and randomness ruined all the intended character moments, especially during the part when Joker calls Batman his worst enemy and Batman responds by saying Superman is his worst enemy, which makes the Joker cry.

The reason people enjoyed watching The Lego Movie was because it was a new brand of creative animation and non-stop humor. The reason people wanted to watch The Lego Batman Movie was to find a new side to Batman. However, quite ironically, the film is as loud and obnoxious as the previous Batman movies. They also put in subtle references and we, the viewers do not need to be reminded of the torture commonly known as “Batman V. Superman.”

Lego Batman was a character from The Lego Movie, which came out in 2014. Lego Batman will also return for The Lego Movie Sequel, which will be released in 2019 (photo from http://www.legobatman.com/).

The movie also had intense scenes where the directors  would call attention to the irritating Hans-Zimmer music that every movie uses, which was annoying especially because at least 500 other movies have used the same song for the same moment. Some other songs were also very irritating. The comparable theme song is a bright, original and flashy song just like “Everything is Awesome.” Guess what? Nothing is awesome about rehashed ideas.

The humor was a problem as well. The jokes were just fillers, potentially mindless, and occasionally did not make sense. They do not contribute in any way to the theme or storyline; they just left the viewers hanging. Even when people get the comedy, there is no staying-power that makes the movie or the comedy good. None of these jokes saturate Batman as a character just like the movie promises. All the jokes were downright bad.

For a movie that desperately wants to understand and deconstruct Batman, it has surprisingly little to say about him as a character. In the beginning of the movie, it is shown that Batman’s biggest flaw is that he cannot be with people. The movie gets repetitive as it goes on, taking away from Batman’s character. Before, Batman’s character was rich and deep, but after it turned into something a three-year-old could construct.

In the words of the character Vitruvius from The Lego Movie, “That idea… is just the worst,.” “That idea” being the idea of a Lego movie for Batman. In all sincerity, this movie is horrible and is straight out not worth your time and money. Normally, a Batman movie would excite me but the creators try so hard they end up destroying Batman as a character and his universe. This movie’s trailer and title makes the film seem like a blast yet, like all other DC movies, the trailer misguides and leaves viewers with a bat taste in their mouth. So, hop in the Batmobile and go far, far away from any movie theater showing this insult to all movies.

About Rohit Venuturupalli ('21)

Staff Writer

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