Despite my generally childish nature, I couldn’t help but approach this film sceptically. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking LOVE Lego; on my 21st birthday a close friend of mine bought me a Lego cutlery set and I haven’t used regular cutlery ever since (bare in mind this was three years ago)… but it’s for this exact reason that I felt somewhat cheated; Lego is made for building, décor even, but definitely not for the big screen. How can we expect our children to remain the imaginative creatures they’re supposed to be, if even Lego doesn’t require them to use their hands and imaginations?
… Then I clicked play, and every preconception I held evaporated into the atmosphere, never to be seen again.
Maybe children these days have a shorter attention span, because this film wastes no time delving into the plot, with a pace that moves at light-speed – it doesn’t feel rushed, not at all, but you’ve no choice but to be sucked into the madness. It begins zooming past pools of molten Lego lava (LOVE IT!!!), into the depths of an underground layer concealing the world’s most powerful super weapon – the Kragle – protected by an old wizard named Vitruvius. Within seconds, an evil super villain named Lord Business explodes through the door, revealing his ploy to steal the “Kragle” so he can gain unlimited evil power… and that’s exactly what he does. His plans are not without flaw, however. Vitruvius prophesises that “The Special” will discover the Piece of Resistance, the only thing capable of stopping the Kragle, but you know how super villains are… always too arrogant to take heed.
Eight years into the future, we are introduced to (who obviously is, but not yet revealed to be) The Special AKA Emmet; he’s a happy-go-lucky, far from extraordinary, entirely thoughtless construction worker, who lives life following instruction manuals down to a T. After hard days work, one of his manuals are blown away to an area where he discovers an unknown girl named Wyldstyle who seems to be searching for something. Without warning, she takes her leave and, after trying to follow, Emmet falls into a hole, leading him to discover none other than the Piece of Resistance. It glows a deep, foreboding red, hissing the words “touch me” repeatedly, so he does; after experiencing detached visions of the prophecy, he passes out and awakes in the custody of Bad Cop. Just when things are about to get sticky, Wyldstyle comes to Emmet’s rescue and the real adventure begins.
Aside from the hilarious dialogue and killer graphics, what gripped me most about this film is how fun and serious it was simultaneously. Though not exactly subtle, it’s a beautifully honest parody of life, as we seem to live it, blessed with the innocence of a child’s distinctive storytelling touch. I’m sure it wasn’t actually written by a child, but the plot is so intricate and outlandish that it really feels as though it could have been. It reminds us to stay true to our inner child, our creativity, and whatever else keeps us from becoming the mindless drones that society trains us to be.
I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the top 3 kids movies of this decade, alongside Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. It’s a complete package; romance, action, comedy, drama, adventure and a whole load of silliness. I do really hate that “everything is awesome” theme tune, but it’s a small price to pay for such excellence. Now excuse me while I go back and watch it all over again.
The Lego Movie gets a 5/5.
[★★★★★]
N
The Lego Movie at CeX
Get your daily CeX at
