Movie Reviews

In an effort to post the reviews in a more timely manner, I've created a simple blog of just my movie reviews. Let's hope I can keep current. Make sure to check Robin's World (thebigfatcat.com) for the complete list.

Friday, March 14, 2014

March Movie #2: The LEGO Movie

Starring the voices of: Chris Platt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman
Directed By: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Run Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

In this world, everything is made from Legos. The people who inhabit the town are Lego characters. Every day is the same - build. Emmit (voiced by Platt) is an ordinary guy who lives to follow the rules. When he deviates from the norm after being awe-struck/smitten by Wildstyle (voiced by Banks), he stumbles into a role that he is not designed for. He uncovers the Piece of Resistance. He's then mistaken as the Chosen One, a MasterBuilder, and his life suddenly becomes out of the ordinary.

The LEGO Movie has been out for weeks, if not months, and I just finally saw it. I heard it was hilarious. I do not agree.

It's not a bad movie. There are many fine points to it. Hilarity is not one of them. Cute. Interesting plot. But
not knee-slapping funny. I giggled a few times but I did not laugh my ass off. Perhaps it was over-hyped for me.

Perhaps it just is an okay movie with a great concept. I think some of the Lego action figures could have been used better. The writers didn't quite capture what their personalities would be like. They were under used. I did like Superman's "I super hate you" line (although perhaps not in character with the "real" Superman but appropriate for the limited character they created).

It started off great. I really enjoyed the "Everything is awesome" mentality. It fit quite well with the LEGO
characters that all look the same. But once we hit Cloud Cuckooland, I was not impressed. I get that Cloud
Cuckooland is another LEGO set so they were simply incorporating that builder set into the movie, but it seemed to lack imagination. It was very stilted.

And yes, I figured out what the Piece of Resistance was very quickly.

I liked the live-action portion towards the end... but then I didn't. Again, it started off with great promise but fell flat quite quickly.

Although this movie has a 3D version, I don't think it's necessary to see it in 3D. I saw it in 2D and don't think I missed anything special.

Things I loved: Everything's awesome (the song)! I loved that they played it over and over again. It made me
smile. I even downloaded two versions of the song and play them back to back. Hee hee hee. I loved Liam Neeson's high pitched Good Cop voice. It really seemed like he was playing with a kid and that's the voice he'd use then. It was funny. I liked the ending with the baby Lego pieces.

This movie is cute, I'll give it that. The concept is hilarious, however, the execution is not as great. It's not
a bad movie. It's just not a fabulous movie. I was expecting more. I won't buy it when it comes out on DVD, and that probably says the most about it.

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