The replacement title for The Lego Batman Movie (2017) should be The AD – Oh, Look, A Squirrel! – HD Movie. A frenetic flick about the selfish motivations of the legendary Batman, this is a cautionary tale concerning the dangers of narcissism. How narcissistic is Batman?
He’s more self-centered than his legendary nemesis, The Joker.
And he only begins to awaken to this fact when he discovers that he wasn’t invited to the Anniversary Party of the Justice League.
A movie that benefits when the audience is familiar with the DC Comics Universe from whence Batman comes, for the parental crowd there’s also the problem that the plot is fairly hackneyed. A hero with a flaw, the consequences of that flaw, his aching efforts to overcome the flaw, and a happy ending tacked on for good measure.
But a good story would have asked about the cost of overcoming that flaw. The answer might be greater emotional vulnerability, but this is merely theoretical in this context, and will the target audience comprehend it? Even as an adult, I had to think about it. A better story would have inflicted the cost immediately and then examined whether the remedy is worth the cost.
Or, the thoughtful viewer might ask about Batman’s investment portfolio. I mean, the psychological implications of someone accumulating this much cash, as evidenced by all his wonderful toys, are somewhat staggering. Does he pay his workers peanuts?
But these concerns are transitory. This is a very conventional story, dressed up in a riff on the potential silliness we’ve seen in the various incarnations of Batman. And that’s OK. The voices are good, the graphics are fun (although my Arts Editor didn’t care for the look), and it’s a professional presentation.
But it won’t stick to your ribs.
