(spoiler free)
Building on the success of ‘The LEGO Movie’ & ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ the latest film in the LEGO film franchise is here. Based on the Ninjago toy line, ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’ is the first of the LEGO movies not to feature any pre-established characters from popular culture. Often one of the best elements of these films is enjoying so many different well known characters being LEGO-fied, so would the lack of this be an issue for ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’?
The film’s plot follows a young ninja, Lloyd Garmadon, and his fellow ninja team mates who have to protect their city, Ninjago, from Lloyd’s villainous father, Lord Garmadon. For anyone who was disappointed with the ‘Power Rangers’ movie earlier this year, this kind of felt like a LEGO version of that, but a lot better. It’s full of energetic action sequences which are a lot of fun. There are plenty of awesome LEGO creations here which serve as transport/weapons for our ninjas, much like the zoids from ‘Power Rangers’. Lord Garmadon even has weapons that fire live sharks at the innocent citizens of Ninjago. It definitely possess the fun and imagination that the LEGO toy range is all about.
The narrative itself isn’t anything particularly original but everything else surrounding it is so good that this doesn’t really matter. Much like ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ earlier in the year this film holds a surprising amount of sentiment. I didn’t mind this though, considering the savage amount of abuse Lloyd receives throughout most of the film! My one gripe with the story is the blending of this LEGO world with the real world. This same issue was jarring in the original ‘The LEGO Movie’ but here it just feels stupid. Thankfully this isn’t a major element of ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’ and shouldn’t detract too much from your enjoyment.
The amount of comedy included makes sure that the narrative never becomes tiresome. The highlight of the humour is most definitely in the dialogue, there are countless hilarious interchanges between characters which are written with such comical influence. The best example of these is easily in the dynamic between Lloyd and his father. I’ve already touched upon the harsh comments that Lloyd has to put up with throughout the film and it’s often these that create the biggest laughs. It’s relatively dark comedy for a kids movie but it certainly offers something for an older audience which is greatly appreciated.
Dave Franco & Justin Theroux provide the voice performances for these characters, they do a tremendous job of making this comedy land and they have a wonderful chemistry which anchors the film. Other voice talents recruited for the film include; Jackie Chan, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani & Olivia Munn. All of these performers contribute to the great sense of fun created by the action and comedy showing that there’s plenty of steam in this film franchise.
‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’ certainly presented more of a challenging premise for this franchise but the finished product shows little sign of this. With no well-known characters or pre-existing narrative and being based only on a specific range of toys appeal might have been limited. Despite this a lively film has been produced full of boisterous action and joyful comedy. Whilst maybe not quite as good a time as ‘The LEGO Movie’, ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’ is a definitely a welcome extension to the franchise!
Written by Hamish Calvert
Rating – 7.5/10
Question: How would you rank the three LEGO movies in the franchise so far?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)
Thanks for reading this review and please let us know what you thought about the movie! Leave a comment below or drop us a tweet over at @HCMovieReviews.
HCMovieReviews 
Leave a comment