When I heard there was going to be a "Lego Ninjago Movie," I didn't quite know how to feel. I was a big fan of the 2 previous Lego movies, but a big part of my interest in those was because of the intellectual properties being utilized: Batman, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.
Apparently, Ninjago is a famous brand in Lego and has its own TV series and short-lengthed films and I've never seen those. I heard this movie was a complete reboot of that story and it’s able to be viewed to a more mainstream audience who had no knowledge of the property so I was on board. I love the style of humor these Lego movies have created and "The Lego Ninjago Movie" didn’t disappoint on that front. While there were significantly less laugh-out-loud jokes, there was still a lot of clever visuals and one-liners throughout.
I really liked "The Lego Ninjago Movie" despite thinking it’s easily the weakest of the three Lego movies to be released. Just because it’s the weakest doesn’t mean it’s bad, just not as innovative.
"The Lego Ninjago Movie" follows Lloyd Garmadon (Dave Franco), son of Lord Garmadon who is an evil warlord who constantly attacks the city of Ninjago. Lloyd is an outcast at school because of his father’s reputation and fights undercover as The Green Ninja to fight Lord Garmadon whenever he comes to attack. Garmadon, voiced by Justin Theroux is the standout character in this movie. Every line he delivers is absolutely hilarious and has perfect comedic timing. The relationship between Lloyd and his father echoes other famous father-son relationships like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
Before we’re halfway through the movie we’re introduced to the true threat of "The Lego Ninjago Movie," a housecat by the name of Meowthra (like the Japanese monster Mothra, get it?) Meowthra is portrayed as a live-action cat and I don’t know why but it’s just so funny to see these little animated bricks running in absolute terror as a cute cat plays with the buildings. This joke was spoiled in one of the movie’s more recent trailers and I thought they could’ve definitely held off on showing the threat of Meowthra so that it could induce a lot more surprised laughter.
The majority of the movie is spent outside the city looking for a way to stop Meowthra, Lloyd is accompanied by Garmadon and his other ninja friends. These side-characters are pretty forgettable and are only there to deliver some funny lines by comedians like Michael Pena, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods and Fred Armisen, these ninjas are led by Jackie Chan's character.
They probably could’ve been taken out of the movie halfway through to show more focus on the father-son relationship, but they’re still there in the background. Despite their distractions, the real heart of the movie comes from Lloyd and Garmadon reconnecting as father and son. I don’t know what it is about Legos and bad fathers, but each of the three movies feature conflicts between fathers and sons. Dave Franco delivers a really great monologue about being neglected by his father and it’s some solid voice acting on Franco’s part. Even kids in the theater I was in needed a break from “butt” jokes and focused in on the character development between Lloyd and Garmadon.
While not being as emotionally strong and groundbreaking as "The Lego Movie" or referential and funny as "The Lego Batman Movie", "The Lego Ninjago Movie" still has something to offer to its audience. The action scenes are cool to look at and harken back to the days of "Power Rangers" with their huge mech suits. Younger fans may be disappointed that the characters have been rebooted with different voice actors, but I think the final product can stand on its own.
Unfortunately, this movie has not been doing so well at the box office, but I'm going to say it's because this was more of a childish movie compared to the surprisingly adult elements present in the first two Lego movies. This was aimed at fans of a children's television show and I could understand why one's lack of knowledge regarding Ninjago would cause them to not show up in theaters to see it.
With all the Warner Bros. IP there are countless ways to take this franchise. A re-telling of the Harry Potter story but with a humorous Lego twist would be hilarious, a Justice League Lego movie would be great as well. There are so many directions and I hope audiences don’t get tired of these movies, the kids will always enjoy them but the first two Lego movies really found its adult audience with the clever humor.
