The Lego Batman Movie review: Insanely hilarious film is almost the Deadpool of the year

Are you tired of clichéd superhero movies? Are you frustrated by the horrible DC universe films from last year? [caption id=“attachment_3286314” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Still from The Lego Batman Movie[/caption] Are you increasingly bored by the dark, gritty and brooding nature of Batman? Are you wondering when the storylines of this genre would change? Are you waiting to be surprised by something in a big blockbuster movie? Then prepare to welcome the superhero of superhero movies — The Lego Batman Movie. It’s the perfect antidote to everything that was going wrong with the Batman brand lately, and also a vastly fun time at the theater. Much like in The Lego Movie from three years ago, The Lego Batman Movie is rife with self aware humour and revels in poking fun at not only itself but at the genre as a whole. The film is a sequel of sorts to the 2014 film — Chris McKay returns to the director’s chair and goes all out with tongue in cheek quips and giant spectacular action set pieces. In a deliberately clichéd fashion we’re introduced once again to Gotham City — the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) plans an attack with his gang of super villains only to be thwarted triumphantly by Batman (Will Arnett). The film then changes its gears as Batman returns home a hero, only to find himself completely alone, and with no real purpose in life apart from negating the Joker’s evil plans. The laughs come thick and fast as the film skewers every single ‘serious’ stereotype of the Batman character by replacing it with his goofiness and self-obsession. Everything you’ve ever questioned about how Batman functions alone is answered with hilarious takedowns of the character’s internal struggles with identity crisis. The film in fact plays out like a kid playing with Lego toys, excitedly waving the toy figures around and mumbling the story to himself. The results are insane— it’s hard to keep up with the ADHD riddled rapid fire moves from one scene to the other. Even the characters talk like an over excited kid on speed, maneuvering their voices and actions. Because the execution is done in this fashion, it’s easy to simply embrace the increasingly ridiculous action sequences and over the top ‘master plans’ of the villains, and also the guffaw inducingly silly reactions from Batman towards the danger. Those who have grown up with the Batman action figures will have a total blast watching the film seeing as pretty much every supervillain, from the A grade ones like Bane to the C grade ones like Killer Croc and even some hilariously fictional ones, categorised by Batman himself as Z grade villains show up in droves. The opening scene is so epic in scope with a giant cluster of villains teaming up to defeat Gotham and Batman you wonder how the rest of the movie will top such a large scale in the rest of the film, but surprisingly it does happen when the Joker unearths an even more evil plan to gang up against Batman. It’s best for you to not know the details of the plans before you see the film — so make sure you go to the nearest IMAX screen and watch the entertaining mayhem unfold. This is almost the Deadpool of the year, and also the superhero film we need, but probably not deserve. Watch the trailer here: