Following the immense popularity of Will Arnett’s plastic incarnation of the Caped Crusader in the surprisingly brilliant The Lego Movie, he was given his own spin-off in the form of The Lego Batman Movie. This could’ve been a cheap cash-grab that fundamentally misunderstood the character, but director Chris McKay turned it into one of the best Batman movies ever made.
In addition to being a fun family comedy, The Lego Batman Movie is one of the best big-screen stories about the Dark Knight. It’s a hilarious spoof of Batman lore, but it’s also a poignant character study of an iconic superhero.
10 It Captures Batman’s Duality While Poking Fun At It
Batman’s duality is the most interesting thing about his characterization. He feels the most comfortable when he’s dressed as a bat— the real mask he puts on is that of billionaire socialite Bruce Wayne.
The Lego Batman Movie pokes fun at this, like when Bruce tries to attend an event with the cowl over his tuxedo, but it also expertly captures the dichotomy of his psychology.
9 The Roles Are Perfectly Cast
In addition to Will Arnett’s brilliant comedic take on Batman, the roles in The Lego Batman Movie are perfectly cast. Zach Galifianakis hysterically spoofs Cesar Romero’s iconic Joker, Michael Cera brings a delightful childlike innocence to Robin, and Ralph Fiennes gives a hilariously dry comic performance as Alfred.
What's more, Billy Dee Williams finally got to play Two-Face, Conan O’Brien’s Riddler was wonderfully goofy, and Zoë Kravitz debuted as Catwoman ahead of her live-action appearance in The Batman.
8 It’s The Perfect Antidote To The DCEU’s Doom And Gloom
When The Lego Batman Movie hit theaters, the DC Extended Universe was still in full swing as a shared franchise. It arrived in the year or so between the introduction of "Batfleck" in Batman v Superman and his ensemble team-up in Justice League.
The campy comic tone of The Lego Batman Movie arrived as a refreshing counterpoint to the DCEU’s bleak and dreary tone, reminding audiences that Batman stories can be fun.
7 It’s An Origin Story For The Batman Family
Ever since the critical panning of Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, the Batman movies have avoided depicting the Batman "family" and emphasized the Bat as a lone wolf. But that’s a shame, because it has some fantastic characters.
At the beginning of The Lego Batman Movie, the Bat is a lone wolf, and the movie’s arc acts as an origin story for the Batman Family, introducing Robin, Batgirl, and even Alfred’s previously unseen fighting abilities.
6 Batman And The Joker’s Relationship Takes Center Stage
A hero is only as good as their villain. Batman’s greatest foe is the Joker, his ideological opposite in every way, and The Lego Batman Movie puts their relationship in the spotlight.
Their dynamic is hysterically satirized as a romcom in the mold of Jerry Maguire, as the Joker desperately wants Batman to accept that the pair "complete" each other as adversaries.
5 It Combines All The Eras Of Batman Stories
Director Chris McKay’s basic vision for The Lego Batman Movie was to combine all the different eras of Batman stories– from the campy early stories to the gritty recent movies– into the same movie.
This helped to create a rounded portrait of the Caped Crusader. It was also a lot of fun to see the back-and-forth between an excitable Burt Ward-esque Robin and a grizzled Batfleck-esque Batman.
4 It Has Plenty Of Heart
Heart is often missing from Batman movies, especially when the character is Batman himself. The Nolan trilogy’s message was ultimately a hopeful one, but it took a long, bleak, cynical journey to get there.
Tackling Batman’s troubled psychology with a sympathetic slant, The Lego Batman Movie is an incredibly sweet story with a huge heart and shows some of the character's normally overlooked warmth.
3 It’s Full Of B-List And C-List Villains
Although the Joker is the main villain in The Lego Batman Movie, it features just about every Batman villain out there, from somewhat obscure antagonists like Clayface, Hugo Strange, and Man-Bat to complete unknowns like Calendar Man, Killer Moth, Zebra-Man, and the Condiment King.
There are also plenty of classic villains, like Catwoman, Bane, the Riddler, the Penguin, and Harley Quinn. The movie even faces Batman against non-canonical villains like Sauron and King Kong.
2 It Cuts To The Core Of Bruce Wayne’s Loneliness
The key theme in The Lego Batman Movie is Bruce Wayne’s loneliness. He refuses to accept it, but Alfred can see that living in a giant mansion on his own, watching movies by himself and eating dinner alone, is making him miserable. The movie also digs into the reasons for this.
The last time Bruce made emotional attachments– to his parents– they were killed and he was traumatized forever. Ever since then, he’s avoided getting close to people, and the movie is about his journey toward opening up to others.
1 It’s A Celebration Of Batman’s History
In a time when Batman’s movie franchise gets rebooted with a new Bruce Wayne every couple of years, filmmakers are constantly trying to reinvent the character, ignoring his history in the hopes of creating new history.
What makes The Lego Batman Movie such a delight for Batman fans is that it’s a celebration of the character’s decades-long history, rather than trying to go out of its way to pretend previous incarnations didn't happen.
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