The LEGO Movie still feels like a miracle.
It's a film that never, ever should have worked. It's a concept that feels like it's coming from the very bottom of the corporate "Bad Idea" barrel. It's an idea so mediocre that it seemed like even Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the guys known for turning adaptations of a children's book and an 80s TV show into hits, couldn't pull it off. And yet, the result was a masterpiece. The LEGO Movie is one of the finest animated films ever made, a funny, smartly written piece of comedy that displays a level of visual innovation practically unprecedented in the genre. Lord and Miller made a piece of social satire that is as sharp as it is hysterical, the rare non-Pixar animated offering that appeals to adults and kids alike. Three years later, it remains one of the best films of the decade.
But as Warner Bros. plotted to turn a genuine sensation into a multi-film franchise, my excitement was matched only by my skepticism. Could such a subversive piece of studio animation be replicated? Could a wide range of spin-offs and loosely connected adventures become more than just cookie cutter products? With The LEGO Batman Movie, my concerns proved to be unnecessary, as director Chris McKay delivered the kind of clever, anarchic thrills that made the original such a success. The film couldn't quite match the energy and displayed a few signs of over-stimulation, but it was still a great time. Enter The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the third entry in the franchise and the second of 2017. There's enough good stuff here to just chalk this up as only a mild misfire, but it's clear that the LEGO franchise is finally showing some weaknesses. It's deliriously funny, and yet, it flails around for much of its runtime in search of a story. Kids will be amused, but this is the first LEGO movie where it seems like they're truly the only audience in mind.
In the world of Ninjago, there's an order to the mayhem that is repeatedly kick-started by the nefarious Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), a warlord with the desire to rule the city. Garmadon attacks Ninjago City, the ninja force comes to save the day, and things start all over again the next day. Led by the wise Master Wu (Jackie Chan), the ninjas are a team comprised of Kai (Michael Pena), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Cole (Fred Armisen), Nya (Abbi Jacobson), Zane (Zach Woods), and Lloyd (Dave Franco), the green ninja who also happens to be the son of Garmadon. This causes some problems for Lloyd at school, but it's also clear that he has a pretty bad case of daddy issues. As Ninjago comes under attack once again, Lloyd will try to reconnect with his dastardly father, hoping to help him see a better way.
As you can see, that's a pretty flimsy story for a movie. A grand total of nine people were involved with writing the story and screenplay for this film, and boy does it show. The result is a project that is literally devoid of any semblance of narrative conflict or thrust. Sure, the movie tries to create some level of momentum, but it's primarily a film based on character and emotion where neither of those things are all that great (more on that later). Directors Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan have created a father-son tale that feels cliched at best and completely disjoined at worst, and the story takes so many detours that it's hard to piece together why things are happening sometimes. After two movies where frenetic pacing and wacky plotting became the hallmarks of this franchise, The LEGO Ninjago Movie takes things to a degree where nothing really makes sense anymore. The script is catering to the short attention span crew, and it's hard to justify this move.
I felt this problem coming on with this year's LEGO Batman, but Ninjago confirmed my fear that this series is beginning to suffer from a case of visual busyness, in addition to its fundamental issues of story and structure. It is legitimately hard to tell what is happening in any of the action scenes, an eye-popping headache of colors, shapes, and motion that looks like the animated equivalent of Michael Bay's earlier Transformers movies. Lord and Miller developed an unique style with the original film that blended stop-motion and CGI for a slick visual effect, but these latest movies have been seemingly obsessed with throwing as much as they can at the audience. More is not always more, and the curse of diminishing returns is beginning to strike this franchise in a particularly noticeable way.
And then there's the fact that the characters are virtually non-existent. Well, except for Lloyd and Garmadon. They're certainly well developed, and the latter gets a fair share of the laughs. This movie belongs to these two characters, and it's a fascinating choice considering the lore on display in the Ninjago TV show. My brother watched the show on Cartoon Network religiously, which meant that I caught strands of the overall arc on occasion. While the story of the Green Ninja was definitely a big part of it, in the context of both good storytelling and what my brother has told me about the show, it was really a bizarre choice on the part of the filmmakers to make this entirely Lloyd's story. He's not necessarily the most likable protagonist, and his story is very much a prototypical journey of self-discovery and familial connections. Garmadon is funny, but he's inconsistent and played for laughs nearly constantly, to the point that his character is drowned out.
But what about the other characters, the other five ninjas who make up the overall Ninjago team? If you're a kid who watched the show and loved Kai or Nya or Cole, prepare to be disappointed. They're just there. They fight. They stand around. They're voiced by funny celebrities. But you learn nothing about them beyond the most basic things. Even Sensei Wu is pretty much thrown to the wayside. There's no depth, no journey that these characters go on beyond a superficial adventure to find some weapons. I know that the filmmakers didn't want to merely replicate the story of the show, but this movie would have been much better off if it was the origin story of how these teenagers came to form a ninja-fighting squad. The Lloyd stuff is a good subplot, but it should never have been the main plot in a movie with this many characters.
Now that I've told you everything that The LEGO Ninjago Movie does wrong (and there's a lot), here's where this review gets tricky. This is by far the weakest entry in a franchise that has been incredibly impressive so far, but Ninjago is still very, very funny. This movie will make you laugh. There's no doubt in my mind about that. Even while working with a story that is the result of way too many cooks in the kitchen, the writers still found a way to tickle my funny bone on a regular basis. The humor here sometimes lacks the satirical sophistication of Lord and Miller's best work, but there's still a level of self-referential madness that satisfies. The jokes come fast and furious, and even if the film doesn't work, it delivers the gut-busting laughs nonetheless.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie represents a misstep for one of Warner Bros.' fastest-growing franchises, and if they listen to the critics, audiences, and box office receipts (this movie bombed), I don't think we have to worry about getting an installment this flawed again. They have the formula for humor down pat, but they forgot about what made the original smash so good in the first place. There's still a lot of good stuff in Ninjago, but it's undoubtedly a slip into formula, a kaleidoscopic journey of pop songs, bright colors, and manufactured insanity that's cooked up to delight little kids. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, after two films where clever filmmakers were able to elevate dumb ideas to the level of high art, a slightly mediocre chapter feels like a big letdown.
THE FINAL GRADE: C+ (6.2/10)
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
It's a film that never, ever should have worked. It's a concept that feels like it's coming from the very bottom of the corporate "Bad Idea" barrel. It's an idea so mediocre that it seemed like even Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the guys known for turning adaptations of a children's book and an 80s TV show into hits, couldn't pull it off. And yet, the result was a masterpiece. The LEGO Movie is one of the finest animated films ever made, a funny, smartly written piece of comedy that displays a level of visual innovation practically unprecedented in the genre. Lord and Miller made a piece of social satire that is as sharp as it is hysterical, the rare non-Pixar animated offering that appeals to adults and kids alike. Three years later, it remains one of the best films of the decade.
But as Warner Bros. plotted to turn a genuine sensation into a multi-film franchise, my excitement was matched only by my skepticism. Could such a subversive piece of studio animation be replicated? Could a wide range of spin-offs and loosely connected adventures become more than just cookie cutter products? With The LEGO Batman Movie, my concerns proved to be unnecessary, as director Chris McKay delivered the kind of clever, anarchic thrills that made the original such a success. The film couldn't quite match the energy and displayed a few signs of over-stimulation, but it was still a great time. Enter The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the third entry in the franchise and the second of 2017. There's enough good stuff here to just chalk this up as only a mild misfire, but it's clear that the LEGO franchise is finally showing some weaknesses. It's deliriously funny, and yet, it flails around for much of its runtime in search of a story. Kids will be amused, but this is the first LEGO movie where it seems like they're truly the only audience in mind.
In the world of Ninjago, there's an order to the mayhem that is repeatedly kick-started by the nefarious Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), a warlord with the desire to rule the city. Garmadon attacks Ninjago City, the ninja force comes to save the day, and things start all over again the next day. Led by the wise Master Wu (Jackie Chan), the ninjas are a team comprised of Kai (Michael Pena), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Cole (Fred Armisen), Nya (Abbi Jacobson), Zane (Zach Woods), and Lloyd (Dave Franco), the green ninja who also happens to be the son of Garmadon. This causes some problems for Lloyd at school, but it's also clear that he has a pretty bad case of daddy issues. As Ninjago comes under attack once again, Lloyd will try to reconnect with his dastardly father, hoping to help him see a better way.
As you can see, that's a pretty flimsy story for a movie. A grand total of nine people were involved with writing the story and screenplay for this film, and boy does it show. The result is a project that is literally devoid of any semblance of narrative conflict or thrust. Sure, the movie tries to create some level of momentum, but it's primarily a film based on character and emotion where neither of those things are all that great (more on that later). Directors Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, and Bob Logan have created a father-son tale that feels cliched at best and completely disjoined at worst, and the story takes so many detours that it's hard to piece together why things are happening sometimes. After two movies where frenetic pacing and wacky plotting became the hallmarks of this franchise, The LEGO Ninjago Movie takes things to a degree where nothing really makes sense anymore. The script is catering to the short attention span crew, and it's hard to justify this move.
I felt this problem coming on with this year's LEGO Batman, but Ninjago confirmed my fear that this series is beginning to suffer from a case of visual busyness, in addition to its fundamental issues of story and structure. It is legitimately hard to tell what is happening in any of the action scenes, an eye-popping headache of colors, shapes, and motion that looks like the animated equivalent of Michael Bay's earlier Transformers movies. Lord and Miller developed an unique style with the original film that blended stop-motion and CGI for a slick visual effect, but these latest movies have been seemingly obsessed with throwing as much as they can at the audience. More is not always more, and the curse of diminishing returns is beginning to strike this franchise in a particularly noticeable way.
And then there's the fact that the characters are virtually non-existent. Well, except for Lloyd and Garmadon. They're certainly well developed, and the latter gets a fair share of the laughs. This movie belongs to these two characters, and it's a fascinating choice considering the lore on display in the Ninjago TV show. My brother watched the show on Cartoon Network religiously, which meant that I caught strands of the overall arc on occasion. While the story of the Green Ninja was definitely a big part of it, in the context of both good storytelling and what my brother has told me about the show, it was really a bizarre choice on the part of the filmmakers to make this entirely Lloyd's story. He's not necessarily the most likable protagonist, and his story is very much a prototypical journey of self-discovery and familial connections. Garmadon is funny, but he's inconsistent and played for laughs nearly constantly, to the point that his character is drowned out.
But what about the other characters, the other five ninjas who make up the overall Ninjago team? If you're a kid who watched the show and loved Kai or Nya or Cole, prepare to be disappointed. They're just there. They fight. They stand around. They're voiced by funny celebrities. But you learn nothing about them beyond the most basic things. Even Sensei Wu is pretty much thrown to the wayside. There's no depth, no journey that these characters go on beyond a superficial adventure to find some weapons. I know that the filmmakers didn't want to merely replicate the story of the show, but this movie would have been much better off if it was the origin story of how these teenagers came to form a ninja-fighting squad. The Lloyd stuff is a good subplot, but it should never have been the main plot in a movie with this many characters.
Now that I've told you everything that The LEGO Ninjago Movie does wrong (and there's a lot), here's where this review gets tricky. This is by far the weakest entry in a franchise that has been incredibly impressive so far, but Ninjago is still very, very funny. This movie will make you laugh. There's no doubt in my mind about that. Even while working with a story that is the result of way too many cooks in the kitchen, the writers still found a way to tickle my funny bone on a regular basis. The humor here sometimes lacks the satirical sophistication of Lord and Miller's best work, but there's still a level of self-referential madness that satisfies. The jokes come fast and furious, and even if the film doesn't work, it delivers the gut-busting laughs nonetheless.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie represents a misstep for one of Warner Bros.' fastest-growing franchises, and if they listen to the critics, audiences, and box office receipts (this movie bombed), I don't think we have to worry about getting an installment this flawed again. They have the formula for humor down pat, but they forgot about what made the original smash so good in the first place. There's still a lot of good stuff in Ninjago, but it's undoubtedly a slip into formula, a kaleidoscopic journey of pop songs, bright colors, and manufactured insanity that's cooked up to delight little kids. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, after two films where clever filmmakers were able to elevate dumb ideas to the level of high art, a slightly mediocre chapter feels like a big letdown.
THE FINAL GRADE: C+ (6.2/10)
Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
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