Directed by Chris McKay
Starring Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zack Galifianakis   

Before this blog properly kicks off you should probably all know that I'm an absolutely massive Batman fan. I adore him, his world, his adversaries, everything about him. As this blog continues you'll learn some more about that I'm very sure, but from that you would presume I'd be looking forward to this movie coming out. And of course I'm a massive Lego fan too, a fan since I was a kid and I still am to an extent. 'The Lego Movie' (2014) was a masterpiece, so you'd think that putting these two things together after the success of the last film would leave me with only good things to say. True, but a film is a film and I have to assess it on that aswell. The verdict straight off the bat? (No pun intended, like genuinely) Everything is awesome about the 'The Lego Batman Movie.'

The film revolves around Will Arnett's Batman/Bruce Wayne, being a very different kind of Batman to ones we've seen before. He's a spoilt child, stubborn and arrogant, who, as his faithful butler Alfred (Fiennes) tells him, he's afraid of being part of a family again, after he lost his parents as a child. With this, Batman adopts Dick Grayson/Robin (Cera) to kickstart him to take some responsibility, and along with Barbara Gordon (Dawson) the new bat-family join together to fight the evil Joker (Galifianakis) and foil his new master plan.

McKay, the animation co-director and supervisor of the first film, comes in to direct, and with these animation skills he carries over, he well and truly impresses. This is a man who truly knows his Batman too, the amount of easter eggs and references (Michael Keaton's 'let's get nuts' line from Tim Burton's 'Batman' (1989) being a highlight) are endless and the films deserves a few rewatches to spot them all. I found the Tom Hardy style Bane in this film especially funny. McKay brings in a plethora of famous and classic Batman villains, including my favourite, the Riddler. I have to comment on the inclusion of Billy Dee Williams as Two Face in this, who was originally supposed to play Two Face in Burton's almost third Batman film. Others included Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Mr Freeze, Eraser, Kite-Man, the Condiment King... yeah those last ones may have been a little bit of a throw, but it all adds to the comedy.

And the comedy is witty, clever and very quirky. This is a parody afterall, so humour is a-plenty. There's something for everyone here, I appreciated a few jokes that were made when Wayne meet's Grayson for the first time, jokes which may grow some smiles from many of the older audience. If the humour is the same as it will be in this years upcoming 'The Lego Ninjago Movie' then I'm sold for that too. The animation is on point, actually even better than the previous film, probably because of McKay's increased involvement. The stop-motion look is to die for, and really gives a good look to the Lego-ness of the film, and is candy for the eyes during the 'master-build' scenes that return from 'The Lego Movie.'

The cast have to be praised as well, Arnett is on his way to be my favourite Batman next to Kevin Conroy and the previously mentioned Michael Keaton. You can tell he enjoys the role so much, and he should do, he's a brilliant choice and one of the best voice actors going today. Cera and Fiennes are just ideal choices for Robin and Alfred, ones I'd support seeing in a live action Batman film. I have to especially praise Zack Galifianakis for his role as the Joker, and might I say he's the best Joker we've had in a while. In Lego form, he still does a batter job than Jared Leto's embarrassment, and the comicalness to the character, and his longing for Batman's hatred of him is hilarious.

If you're wondering if I have any problems with this film, there aren't many. I will say that things seem to slouch a little in the second and third acts, but not by much. Without spoiling too much, the film does go to lengths to expand their Lego movie universe a little further when this is a Lego Batman based film, but it still works fine, and doesn't take away too much from the experience.

So there you have it. This is the first of many reviews on this blog, and its a fantastic one to start with. 'The Lego Batman Movie' has something for everyone. It's an ideal homage to the caped crusader and one that I've seen more than once, and I suggest you all do too. Considering DC's track record, you might be expecting this to be a little sour... don't expect anything but greatness. This is the best DC movie in a long long time, and long may it hold that title.


 8/10
 This one gets 8 Billy Dee Williams' out of 10. That's a lot of Billy Dee.