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#159 - The Lego Movie
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, 2014
A gormless everyman is broken out of his everyday routine by a freedom fighter who wants to defeat a ruthless tyrant.
It still astounds me that The Lego Movie not only manages to be as good as it is but it also holds up well after multiple viewings. Though it definitely covers familiar territory as it weaves a chosen-one narrative into another family-film setting about the fantastic lives of inanimate objects (in this case, the little yellow people from the eponymous plastic toy brand), it manages to provide a very well-balanced approach to the various levels of humour that can be gleaned even from such an outwardly predictable set-up. There are flaws in the deconstructive yet affectionate approach to the material (such as the shifting power dynamic that develops between the hypercompetent Wyldstyle and hapless Emmet, which goes relatively unscathed amidst the rest of the film's relentless barrage of satirical gags) but they don't significantly detract from the overall experience. The tightness of the film's comedy manages to sell even the most rudimentary of jokes, but they all feed organically off a fairly chaotic approach that can more than justify its jumping around between various settings and characters. The aesthetic provided by the obviously artificial nature of Lego pieces is also a pleasantly distinctive one that not only influences the plot and jokes but also looks amazing even as it constantly draws attention to the sheer blockiness of everything. Though I don't consider The Lego Movie to be perfect, it's just such a blast time and time again that it doesn't really matter.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, 2014
A gormless everyman is broken out of his everyday routine by a freedom fighter who wants to defeat a ruthless tyrant.
It still astounds me that The Lego Movie not only manages to be as good as it is but it also holds up well after multiple viewings. Though it definitely covers familiar territory as it weaves a chosen-one narrative into another family-film setting about the fantastic lives of inanimate objects (in this case, the little yellow people from the eponymous plastic toy brand), it manages to provide a very well-balanced approach to the various levels of humour that can be gleaned even from such an outwardly predictable set-up. There are flaws in the deconstructive yet affectionate approach to the material (such as the shifting power dynamic that develops between the hypercompetent Wyldstyle and hapless Emmet, which goes relatively unscathed amidst the rest of the film's relentless barrage of satirical gags) but they don't significantly detract from the overall experience. The tightness of the film's comedy manages to sell even the most rudimentary of jokes, but they all feed organically off a fairly chaotic approach that can more than justify its jumping around between various settings and characters. The aesthetic provided by the obviously artificial nature of Lego pieces is also a pleasantly distinctive one that not only influences the plot and jokes but also looks amazing even as it constantly draws attention to the sheer blockiness of everything. Though I don't consider The Lego Movie to be perfect, it's just such a blast time and time again that it doesn't really matter.