THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE ■ More than the sum of its bricks
THE LEGO MOVIE is an incredibly tough act to follow. THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE learnt that the hard way. That’s not to say that LEGO BATMAN was bad, but it did disappoint because it wasn’t as all-round amazing as the preceding big-screen LEGO movie that paved the way for its existence. While not as flawless as THE LEGO MOVIE, THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE comes damn close to recapturing the lightning of the movie that started it all.
LEGO NINJAGO follows the exploits of Lloyd (Dave Franco), who’s part of a teenage ninja troupe self-tasked with defending the city of Ninjago. In a mature twist, Lloyd’s nemesis is also his dad. It doesn’t play out in a secretive STAR WARS kind of way, as the filmmakers, instead, lean into it from the start. Put simply, Lloyd has daddy issues. Big ones. The problem is that his issues cloud his judgement when it comes to protecting Ninjago from his father’s frequent attacks.
That might sound pretty heavy for a movie primarily aimed at kids, but it’s all wrapped in a delicious comedic exterior which, after a couple of dud jokes at the start, gets into a groove that’ll have you laughing a lot. There’s some simpler humour there for the young ones, and if LEGO NINJAGO does anything wrong, it might be that the humour is arguably more effective for adults than it is for kids. What this means for the cinemagoer who loved THE LEGO MOVIE or is being nagged into taking kids to see this latest LEGO movie is there’s fun for the whole family.
The kids get to enjoy the slapstick parts and LEGO pieces, while the adults can sink their teeth into a story that drifts between dramatic beats and effective laughs. It doesn’t fall into the trap of taking the mickey out of its more dramatic moments, either, while simultaneously remembering that it is, at its heart, a comedy more so than a heavy family drama. It’s not essential viewing on the big screen, but THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE is absolutely worth watching for movie fans of all ages (even if you don’t know a lot about the LEGO Ninjago toys).
