SPLICED MOVIES /\r\nREVIEW \r\nTHE LEGO MOVIE\r\n\r\nPersonally I have found in the past that movies based on toy lines are pretty crap (I am talking to you Michael Bay, Transformers was overblown, unoriginal and pompous). So even though the buzz on the LEGO movie was mostly positive I did walk into it with a pinch of apprehension, which was immediately washed away by the opening scene. The LEGO movie is mixture of a frenetic overload of amazing CGI and stop motion animation, great humour, as well as a satirical comment on big business and following the rules or living your life to the beat of your own drum. It’s a pretty tall order to get right whilst being a very long exercise in product placement which I know most film lovers hate, but somehow Chris Miller and Phillip Lord (creators of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) manage to make a movie exactly like its theme song where “Everything is Awesome”! \r\nThe plot follows every day Joe “Emmett Brickowski” (voiced by Chris Pratt), a construction worker who always follows instruction until he accidentally finds a magic brick and is enlisted into the rebel forces against “President Big Business” (voiced by Will Ferrell). It emerges because of this discovery that he has fulfilled the prophecy of “the special”. With the help of his fellow “Master Builder” rebels, Emmett embarks on a dangerous mission through all of the various LEGO worlds that have been demarcated ala Apartheid style by President Big Business; everything in its place and time and no delineation! President Big Business, as all super villains do, has a larger more insidious plan to gain even greater control of LEGO Land. Emmett must save them all from the tyranny of their totalitarian President.\r\nWhat also makes the LEGO movie so special is it’s not so subtle nod to “The Matrix” but with a huge amount of humour and way more interesting characters (hopefully no really shite sequels will be made to spoil the awesomeness of this film). Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) is one of the highlights of the film and takes the piss of the recent portrayal of the masked super hero in the Christopher Nolan trilogy; it is in no uncertain terms, genius. Uni-Kitty from “Cloud Cuckoo Land” is the embodiment of that girl or guy you know who is always happily positive and bubbly but you secretly believe is the first person who would go on a record-breaking mass murder spree. Elizabeth Banks has the swishy hair (you have to see the swishy hair), and is a kickass heroine, an honest portrayal and not nearly as irritating as most leading ladies written in this genre. The Prophet of the prophecy, Morgan Freeman, is so much more humorous than any of the God-like characters that Mister Freeman has unashamedly been type cast as in the last few years. Then of course there is Good Cop, Bad Cop (voice by Liam Neeson) which was my favourite of the film. I cannot explain the sheer hilarity of this character, you just have to go and see it. \r\nThe LEGO Movie, all in all, is a great ride. The theme song “Everything is Awesome” is an earworm of astronomical proportions! No seriously, that song will be on repeat in your head for a couple of weeks, it is diabolical! My ten year old self would have loved this film but my 30 something year old self truly gets how special and funny this movie really is. It is an exercise in being creative and crazy whilst still playing in the well-constructed LEGO world with a thoughtful but unforced message to boot. I did not roll my eyes once, and believe you me I love a good eye roll; this is really hard to pull off in the genre which is usually riddled with forced, unfunny jokes and twee life lessons. Emmett’s journey of self-discovery, bucking the status quo and standing up for individuality is as about as exciting, irreverent and brilliantly executed as a script can be when geared towards the family entertainment genre.\r\n