The Lego Movie
Go! A well-built, colourful hoot.
Toy story meets the Matrix!
Lego is a Danish brand of interlocking plastic bricks, invented in 1949. The LEGO Movie is an American animated film, released in 2014.
Em, WHAT?!
OK, so let's try to fathom a neatly interlocking connection. The important thing about Lego is that you can build just about anything with it. With this attitude behind them, writers/directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the men behind new US hit comedy Brooklyn-Nine-Nine; the mediocre but popular How I Met Your Mother and the cracking animated romp Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) have developed a film that is worthy of the love that so many people have for Lego, and the sheer fun and versatility that those little Scandinavian choking hazards stand for.
Em, WHAT?!
OK, so let's try to fathom a neatly interlocking connection. The important thing about Lego is that you can build just about anything with it. With this attitude behind them, writers/directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the men behind new US hit comedy Brooklyn-Nine-Nine; the mediocre but popular How I Met Your Mother and the cracking animated romp Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) have developed a film that is worthy of the love that so many people have for Lego, and the sheer fun and versatility that those little Scandinavian choking hazards stand for.
Having said all that, this could have been an absolutely honking film (which in Glasgow means "positively underwhelming"). But the release of a trailer that has so far amassed nearly 14 million hits on You Tube suggested otherwise. Regardless, I had still braced myself for the worst when I tucked myself into the into the soft velvet envelope in front of the brightly lit storytelling rectangle. Thankfully, by the time we hit about three minutes into the movie, and the thumping, repetitive pop theme of the film ("Everything is Awesome") kicked in, I was sold. It turned out that the film was stonking (which in Glasgow means "quite marvellous").
The story is about a run-of the-mill Lego character named Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) - a construction worker in the Lego universe who loves to follow the building instructions and be a team player! That is until the day that he stumbles upon the "Piece of Resistance" and is accosted by Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) - a Lego "Master Builder" who has been trying to find the Piece of Resistance in order to save the Lego universe from the nefarious "Lord Business" (Will Ferrell). Lord Business is the ruler of the Lego universe (and CEO of the Octan Corporation) who intends to use his top secret weapon (the "Kragle") to take away the freedom of all Lego peoples. It turns out - according to a prophecy told by the blind, white-bearded wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), that by finding the Piece of Resistance, Emmet has revealed himself to be the "Special" and the saviour of the Lego world. He then attempts to lead the Master Builders (including Batman, Dumbledore, Abraham Lincoln and Shaquille O'Neill) to the rescue. It is the Toy-Story-meets-The-Matrix movie based on a plastic Scandi plaything that you have always wished someone would make.
Em,WHAT?!
The story is about a run-of the-mill Lego character named Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) - a construction worker in the Lego universe who loves to follow the building instructions and be a team player! That is until the day that he stumbles upon the "Piece of Resistance" and is accosted by Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) - a Lego "Master Builder" who has been trying to find the Piece of Resistance in order to save the Lego universe from the nefarious "Lord Business" (Will Ferrell). Lord Business is the ruler of the Lego universe (and CEO of the Octan Corporation) who intends to use his top secret weapon (the "Kragle") to take away the freedom of all Lego peoples. It turns out - according to a prophecy told by the blind, white-bearded wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), that by finding the Piece of Resistance, Emmet has revealed himself to be the "Special" and the saviour of the Lego world. He then attempts to lead the Master Builders (including Batman, Dumbledore, Abraham Lincoln and Shaquille O'Neill) to the rescue. It is the Toy-Story-meets-The-Matrix movie based on a plastic Scandi plaything that you have always wished someone would make.
Em,WHAT?!
In many ways, there was very little point in telling you any of that; other than to demonstrate how wacky the film is and that to grasp it, you will really need to see it yourself. As you can see, the story is equivalent (quite deliberately) to the made up ramblings of an imaginative and perhaps slightly attention-deficient eight-year old sugar addict. But the film's creators somehow give reason and purpose to that ludicrous creativity and layer it with the knowing wit and humour of a comic smartypants. The result is a high intensity, satirical gag-fest that uses every flexibility and freedom offered by the Lego concept to its maximum. The pace of this film is unrelenting; and the laughs come thick, fast and from all directions. All of this is all rendered in wonderfully glossy and flowing 3D animation; and without spoiling it, the film somehow even crowbars in a poignant and meaningful message.
So go. Open your gullet and drink down the sweet and delicious fizzy pop of The LEGO Movie. It is one of those excellent films that speaks to adults and children simultaneously. If it's not helping you to be a child, it will certainly make you feel like one...and that, my friends, is the magic of Lego.
So go. Open your gullet and drink down the sweet and delicious fizzy pop of The LEGO Movie. It is one of those excellent films that speaks to adults and children simultaneously. If it's not helping you to be a child, it will certainly make you feel like one...and that, my friends, is the magic of Lego.
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