Chantel JohnsonWe all enjoy a little bit of humor every now and then. But what about in a violent, brawl-like action film?
Director Chris McKay steps up to the challenge in his spin of the Lego franchise, “The Lego Batman Movie.”
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Not only does the character of Batman, played by Will Arnett, attempt to save the day against The Joker’s will, but he brings to the table a tiny bit of wit, sarcasm, and overall comedy to the character of Batman.
But aside from the comedy, the movie delivers another important characteristic that Batman seems to be struggling with – vulnerability.
As we all know, Batman’s parents are deceased, but what this movie depicts (that sets it apart from any other Batman film, where he always seems stoic) is how that negatively affects him.
Besides his father figure and butler Alfred, Batman has no one by his side.
To compensate this, he is very vocal about him not needing anybody – even making the Joker cry when he tells him that their rival relationship means nothing to him.
But behind the façade, Batman is incredibly lonely and miserable.
He lives on a massive island by himself; he eats a plate of lobster at dinner time by himself, and repeatedly laughs at Tom Cruise’s line of “you complete me” in the film “Jerry Maguire” by himself.
The only sense of comradery he feels is when saving Gotham City from its treacherous villains.
But that is threatened once Detective Barbara says that Batman has done more harm than good, and that they only way to truly save the city from its villains is for him to team up with the police department.
Although Batman would rather work and keep to himself, he is forced to team up with Detective Barbara, Alfred, and his new adopted son (courtesy of Alfred), Richard (whom Batman nicknames Night-wing) to stop the Jokers plan of unleashing all the dangerous villains to Gotham City from the “phantom zone.”
In the mist of working with them, Batman is forced to understand the blessing of comradery, vulnerability, and relationships even when he is afraid to.
He even teams up with the Joker to help stop the city from splitting in half when a bomb explodes in the middle of the city.
In the end, Batman finally has the family (Detective Barbara, Alfred, and Richard) he has secretly dreamed off – they all live together on Batman’s island, can now eat lobster together at dinner time, and even laugh together at Tom Cruises line of “you complete me” in his film “Jerry McGuire.”
The film’s Director Chris McKay should be given credit for his ability to contribute a sense of wit to the serious character that is Batman.
But what should also be applauded is McKay’s ability to include a goal that Batman was able to achieve that we as humans simply long for – to belong.
