Bricking It. The Lego Movie

This was going to be so easy....

I was going to start by paraphrasing Stewart Lee's Harry Potter skit: 

"Have you seen 'The Lego Movie'?"," Have you seen The Lego Movie?". "No. I haven't seen The Lego Movie because I'm a grown man who enjoys the films of Kurosawa, Goddard and Kubrick. So fuck off!"

But then I saw it....and I have to say that for a 90 minute toy commercial...it's pretty bloody good.

You know those guys that collect Lego minifigs and stand around in shops for hours fondling the little foil bags. I'm not that guy. 

You know those people that go on about how you should see some kids' film because it's full of really grown up jokes and it's clever because it's full of cinematic references and catchy songs.  Nope, I'm not really that guy either.

You know those people that like to be surprised by something even if they think they've seen it all before. People who go on about pure cinema and subversive messages and then ramble on about alchemy and allegory and deconstructing and reinventing myths. I'm more that sort of guy.

So there's something for everyone.

Even kids.

Actually, kids will probably enjoy it least of anyone. Kids just want to skip around the cinema and shout out loudly and go the toilet every 5 minutes. That's why we invented DVDs.

Anyway....where were we? Ah yes, 'The Lego Movie' a film that had me laughing all the way through its perfectly constructed 100 mins. It's charming and playful and inventive. It stands tall with Pixar and Aardman but has a distinct flavour of its own. It feels less focus group targeted than you'd expect and is surprisingly freewheeling. It has a better Batman than 'Batman', more wisdom than 'The Matrix' and the best good cop/bad cop routine ever. It's fast and funny and family friendly. It's also full of strange Illuminati symbols and masonic messages about master builders but don't let that kind of subliminal mind-control stuff put you off.

Is it preachy? A bit, but then I'd rather that than have it be mindless. Big business is evil, we are all special but don't know it, we need to restore our need for play and creativity. What's to argue with?

It's hard to dismiss it as a cynical marketing exercise because the merchandise is already out there and doing very well nicely thank you without any help needed. It's just a big, fun, goofy idea that has clearly been developed with real talent and care and a belief that it's worthwhile.

If you have any little kid left in your heart go see it. It's awesome!