WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven't seen it, TURN AWAY NOW.
With that said...
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME.
I was incredibly impressed by this movie. Lego always surprises me with their good sense of humor about their own company, and this film shows that in a few "meta" (i.e. self-referential) ways that amused me.
The film is about a simple Lego construction worker named Emmet (played by Chris Pratt, who I love on Parks and Recreation). He's simple and kind, but he doesn't really stand out in any way. One day at work, however, he runs across a girl named Wyldstyle (played by Elizabeth Banks) who is looking for a specific Lego piece; the "Piece of Resistance". Emmet stumbles upon it and learns of a prophecy in which he is the "Special" that is destined to stop Lord Business (played by Will Ferrell) from using the "Kragle" (a dangerous super weapon) against the world.
I didn't expect to cry when I saw this. And I mean... I'm a huge crybaby. I'm very emotional and I swear people should use me in focus groups for films if only for my deep empathetic nature. But towards the end of the film, it REALLY takes a turn that I should've expected but somehow didn't. This starts as a silly comedy about Legos and turns into a film about the relationship between a son and father. The child's perception of his father is completely heartbreaking and sobering, and though I have no children yet I still shuddered at the thought of any of my future children seeing me in such a light.
I was also kind of surprised by how dark some of the turns in this movie were. I mean when (SPOILER ALERT) Bad Cop's parents were frozen in the Kragle and (SPOILER ALERT) Vitruvius was BEHEADED? Oh wow. I kind of just gaped at the screen in shock. I mean I know they're Legos, but damn.
The movie was filled with MANY wonderful cameos, and I'm about to ruin some of them for you (although if you're still reading and haven't avoided the spoiler alert warnings, then you obviously don't care if I ruin them). Will Arnett was glorious as Batman, Liam Neeson was delightful as Bad Cop/Good Cop and I kept giggling at the thought of him in the recording booth. And I love Charlie Day so when I realized he was Benny the "1980-something space guy" and he kept screaming "SPACESHIP" at the end, I lost it (along with the last of any dignity I had). There are quite a few notable voices in this and I won't give a shout out to all of them, but hopefully this gives you a bit of an idea of what to expect.
I don't care if you're an adult or a kid, you should give this film a shot. There are many jokes that are obviously pointed at the Lego company in general, and then they talk about those who can build things with any Legos and those who need instructions (meeeee).
If you have any requests or suggestions, leave a comment or send me an email! We're expected to get some more snow around here tonight so if I end up not having work tomorrow I may have a bit of a slow day. (And I'm already planning a nice movie review for tomorrow anyway; it'll actually be a double-movie madness day!)
xo, Kate
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