The Lego Batman Movie may perhaps be the best DCEU movie thus far - if it was canon - but where The Lego Movie was original and funny and new, The Lego Batman Movie felt more like a parody of the DCEU (and to a lesser extent, MCU and the superhero genre) than a standalone product. Nonetheless, this film was loads of fun for its whole 104 minutes (credits to credits, seriously...don't miss the beginning!). It was irreverent, ridiculous, silly, laugh out loud funny, loud, noisy, colourful...and forgettable.
The film was at its best when it was aware that it was parodying itself. The self-referential remarks and punchlines were hilariously funny, as were the digs at the whole Batman franchise itself. However, the incessant pop culture references stretched too much and got to the point of reference-for-reference sake and look-at-us-we-are-so-cool-and-hip.
The voice-cast was excellent, especially Will Arnett and Ralph Fiennes. They both had a good audio rapport and was believable. Michael Cera continues to grate and Rosario Dawson's should stick to being Claire Temple.
However, the characters themselves were uninteresting. Unlike The Lego Movie where we had Emmet who was an engaging protagonist for whom we were actively rooting for, Batman bordered on annoying and was such a flat, two-dimensional character. And seriously, despite all the awesomeness of the final act, the Joker barely existed as a thread. Although, perhaps, children might find it different?
In all honesty, The Lego Batman Movie felt like the Scary Movie version of the superhero genre. And that is something that we should be scared about if this franchise continues on. I can just imagine a The Lego Justice League Movie...yikes!
A bit about the songs: the original songs were fun, but not as catchy as Everything is Awesome. They are funny to listen to, and hilarious to watch on screen, but they do not stick...everything is awwweesoooommmmmeeeeee....!
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