Lego Batman proves that the people that can make fun of you the best, are the ones that love you the most. While the Dark Knight gets made fun of plenty in this film, you can tell it is by a cast and crew that know and love the character. This movie brings up all of his filmic past, while telling an engaging and well done Batman movie.
Lego Batman takes place at some point after The Lego Movie, but they have gone back to their normal Lego lives, and for Batman that means saving the day and being awesome. Of course while being Batman is great, Bruce Wayne is lonely and scared of commitment and family, so things get awkward when he has to work with the new commissioner Barbra Gordon, and he accidentally adopts fellow orphan Dick Grayson.
This of course plays to the main gag for Batman: He has always been thought of as a loner, but he has had sidekick, Robin, since 1940. Meaning he was a lone wolf for a year, but not being able to trust people and have relationships has always been a central plot point for him. Even though he has always had them. Of course in this movie they play it up for laughs (and surprisingly tears). His fear of being in a relationship even keeps him from being able to say he hates the Joker. Which of course drives the Joker crazy (crazier).
Much like The Lego Movie, this film is chock-full of pop culture references and movie crossovers, but they make sure to keep the focus on Batman’s universe. I mean they got all the bad guys in this flick. Polka-Dot Man and Crazy Quilt both make an appearance, as do many, many more. Even some of the best side gags are references to other Batman movies that I didn’t even know were references until looking them all up later online.
It is not very often there are two people playing one character at the same time in cinema, but so far Will Arnett is better than Ben Affleck, but I hope they both keep playing the Caped Crusader for years to come, and Zach Galifianakis’ needy take on the Joker was hilarious.
There aren’t really too many family superhero movies out there, but The Lego Batman Movie is a pretty darn good one. It might not be quite as good as The Lego Movie, but it is pretty close, and if you love DC Comics, it is a must watch. I know that after The Lego Ninjago Movie they are doing The Lego Movie 2, but I will be patiently waiting for The Lego Batman Movie 2.