LEGO has been a big part of growing up
for me, as I would play with various sets a lot, and I would even play some
LEGO games on PC (and, later, other systems). While LEGO has become less a part
of my life over time, I still like seeing well-crafted LEGO creations and
certain available sets pique my interest. The closest I have come to actually
playing with them again lately is through Hasbro’s Kre-O Transformers sets, but
we’re not here to talk about the competition; we’re talking about LEGO here.
With my history with LEGO in mind, I was surprised to learn about The LEGO Movie
through a trailer. I wasn’t sure about seeing it at first, but after the movie’s
premiere, I decided I needed to see it after hearing about its positive
reception, in addition to it seeming like a movie people would be talking
about. While my experience with the movie wasn’t exactly the best (I don’t
think the theater I went to had the movie loud enough), I nevertheless ended up
enjoying it.
The movie begins with Lord Business
(Will Ferrell) attempting to get his hands on a weapon known as the Kragle as a
wizard named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) tries to stop him. Vitruvius is blinded
by Lord Business in the process, allowing Business to get away with the weapon,
but Vitruvius suddenly states a prophecy about the “Special” who will stop
Business’ plans using an item called the Piece of Resistance. Not believing
him, Lord Business kicks Vitruvius down a chasm. 8 ½ years later, in the city
of Brickberg, ruled by President Business (Will Ferrell), an ordinary
construction worker named Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) goes about his day by
following instructions along with everyone else in the city, though while the
instructions mention spending time with others who care about him, it becomes
evident that he is, in fact, a rather lonely individual. After the construction
site Emmet works at has closed for the day, he sees a hooded figure digging
through the site. When he is about to report them according to instructions,
Emmet sees the figure is a woman and hesitates; Emmet then chases after her as
she begins to leave, causing him to fall into a pit. After he lands, he sees a
strange red object and, not knowing what instructions say, gives into his temptation
to touch it, causing him to see a strange vision. Soon afterwards, Emmet wakes
up in a strange room where he is interrogated, causing him to find out more
than he ever knew about President Business and what he has just gotten himself
into.
I wish not to delve too much into the
movie itself, especially in regards to the story, since doing so will create
major spoilers about what happens, although I will say that the story is
actually pretty well-written and was better than I expected it to be. The
animation of the movie is very interesting, in that it is done in CG while
still (rather realistically) styled as if it was in stop-motion. This is
especially amazing since everything is made up of LEGO bricks and accessories,
which leads to a lot of very impressive effects and some creative use of the
LEGO setting (I am not spoiling how). The voice acting is also good, with every
voice actor displaying a good range of emotion and helping their respective
character stand out and become memorable (they are also really good at bringing
out certain emotions in you at times). The music also helps with this and is
really good in general, including the song “Everything Is Awesome!!!” by Tegan
and Sara with The Lonely Island, which is a very catchy song and will not leave
your head for a while after you hear it.
The LEGO Movie is not only a good LEGO
movie, it is also a great movie in general. The visuals are very interesting to
look at, the story and characters are written well, and the movie gets really creative
with its setting, which can lead to a great deal of hilarity at times. LEGO
fans will definitely have a good time with this, no matter their age or reason
for watching it. Even if you’re not a big fan of LEGO, just watching the movie
may make you want to play with a set or two afterwards. My experience with the
movie probably wasn’t the best, so I will likely be trying to watch it again on
home video to make sure I catch everything, but despite that I had a really
good time with it and I wouldn’t mind wanting to see it again. In short, as the
movie says, everything is awesome.
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