Writers: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Starring: Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson
Review written by: Arnaud Trouvé (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Directors: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Starring: Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson
Review written by: Arnaud Trouvé (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
The Lego Movie is 100 minutes of fun at the speed of light. Based on the beloved toy property, you enter a Lego world where every little plastic character seems to live a happy life, while following the guidelines and enjoying its daily routine. Emmett Brickowski is a random construction builder whose whole world may come upside down as an ancient prophecy tells hims he's the chosen one: the only one able to save the world from the evil Lord Business.
That's all you need to know to enjoy to the fullest this freewheeling animated feature, one of the most exhilarating from the past years. Yes, the Lego Movie may work as a giant ad for the Danish toy maker but, no, it can not be reduced to that. The directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller were the helmers of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (2009), a CG animated feature that I was surprised to find laugh-out-loud funny. It worked as a homage to the old school cartoons with its non sense dialogues and slapstick humor, and was genuinely heartfelt and tender. Both directors then showed their strength on live-action direction with "21 Jump Street" (2012) and the pilot of TV sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2013). It seems like "Lego" is now a huge opportunity for them to blend those skills learned on these shows, and create what may be the ultimate pop experience.
With plenty of cameos, punchlines and arresting action sequences, the film may seem hyperkinetic at times, and it's my only negative feeling towards it. The sets and lighting are gorgeous: Australian animation studio Animal Logic did a tremendous job replicating the "real" aspect of this plastic world. They even say that you could freeze frame anytime in the film, and entirely replicate the world depicted in the image with only Legos. I immensely enjoyed the score by Mark Mothersbaugh: light, fun, mixing orchestra and electronics. It contains what may be the most catchy tune of the year: "Everything is AWESOME !!!" whose use and covers in the film are hilarious.
With this and the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy", 2014 may be the year of the Chris Pratt breakthrough. He is impeccable as Emmett, the lead character. I have a tenderness for Charlie Day's character, as well as Cobie Smulders, Channing Tatum and the ubiquitous Jonah Hill.
In the end, the film displays that it can sometimes get rid of its tongue-in-cheek humor and references, and be more of an earnest tribute to the fun of creating things. That's maybe what's most heart-warming in this whole operation: among their dozens of video games adaptations of franchises and now that they've stepped to the big screen, Lego people would sure like to sell us more toys, but they would also love to see us play more and think freely, without boundaries. Like imagining a world where a kitty-unicorn teams up with Batman.
That's all you need to know to enjoy to the fullest this freewheeling animated feature, one of the most exhilarating from the past years. Yes, the Lego Movie may work as a giant ad for the Danish toy maker but, no, it can not be reduced to that. The directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller were the helmers of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (2009), a CG animated feature that I was surprised to find laugh-out-loud funny. It worked as a homage to the old school cartoons with its non sense dialogues and slapstick humor, and was genuinely heartfelt and tender. Both directors then showed their strength on live-action direction with "21 Jump Street" (2012) and the pilot of TV sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2013). It seems like "Lego" is now a huge opportunity for them to blend those skills learned on these shows, and create what may be the ultimate pop experience.
With plenty of cameos, punchlines and arresting action sequences, the film may seem hyperkinetic at times, and it's my only negative feeling towards it. The sets and lighting are gorgeous: Australian animation studio Animal Logic did a tremendous job replicating the "real" aspect of this plastic world. They even say that you could freeze frame anytime in the film, and entirely replicate the world depicted in the image with only Legos. I immensely enjoyed the score by Mark Mothersbaugh: light, fun, mixing orchestra and electronics. It contains what may be the most catchy tune of the year: "Everything is AWESOME !!!" whose use and covers in the film are hilarious.
With this and the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy", 2014 may be the year of the Chris Pratt breakthrough. He is impeccable as Emmett, the lead character. I have a tenderness for Charlie Day's character, as well as Cobie Smulders, Channing Tatum and the ubiquitous Jonah Hill.
In the end, the film displays that it can sometimes get rid of its tongue-in-cheek humor and references, and be more of an earnest tribute to the fun of creating things. That's maybe what's most heart-warming in this whole operation: among their dozens of video games adaptations of franchises and now that they've stepped to the big screen, Lego people would sure like to sell us more toys, but they would also love to see us play more and think freely, without boundaries. Like imagining a world where a kitty-unicorn teams up with Batman.
Summary: Containing a catchy soundtrack, gorgeous animation and stunning designs, the Lego Movie may be the funniest film of recent times. It is, simply put, just AWESOME.
Movie Parliament Rating: MAJORITY GOVERNMENT
By Movie Parliament Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Arnaud Trouvé
Agree/Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below !
Movie Parliament Rating: MAJORITY GOVERNMENT
By Movie Parliament Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Arnaud Trouvé
Agree/Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below !
RSS Feed
