The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) Reviews

• Fun to watch, not groundbreaking, but entertaining nonetheless

  bementar2017-10-01

  First off, this wasn't THE LEGO Movie (And few movies likely will live up to that accolade). The Ninjago Movie was just a movie made with LEGO. If you've ever touched a brick you'll likely enjoy this movie. If not, you're less likely to. This isn't a groundbreaking film. I doubt it's cannon for those who are familiar with the Ninjago story line, this is a big rewrite of events. But it fits that cozy realm of watchable and entertaining. You don't have to be a LEGO fanatic to get every inside joke, but having the childhood experience of play helps. It'll make you laugh a few times, and there are indeed lots of colors. Why professional critics think that's a bad thing is beyond me. This movie likely isn't for everyone. And I doubt it was intended to be. It's a kids film and stays comfortably in that realm while not boring adults to death - which is more than can be said about a number of other films for 'grown ups' in 2017.

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• Not the best Lego Movie But Cute

  ShelbyTMItchell2017-09-29

  It may not be the best Lego movie but it is cute and go and see it as really it should had been released possibly in the late spring there Lloyd is the protagonist and is the outcast due to being the son of the main antagonist Garmadon and how that just because one person is bad does not mean the other person is not as he and the only friends that are ninjas like him. And how that he struggles to defeat as well as not to really be the son of the villain. But when they fail to save the town, the wise teacher and mentor played by Jackie Chan is not just teaching them martial arts but the way of life and how Lloyd needs to get through being the son of a villain. Must task them in saving the town and Lloyd getting respect. As throughout the film it is not just about fighting. But about looking at two sides to every story. And even though the main villain really is not bad. Just really lonely. But as he follows the team to find out how to save the city and world, he and Lloyd connect in a strange but reliable way As you do not need weapons or martial arts, but need to find who you are as a person and with heart. Will Lloyd and his estranged father be able to reunite and put aside their differences and the young boy gaining respect from the town. As the town regardless must rely upon him and his friends. Not the best Lego movie but it is cute.

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• Everything The Lego Movie isn't

  machinepieman2017-09-20

  I think The Lego Movie is not only a masterpiece, but probably the greatest animated movie ever made. The movie is filled to the brim with fun characters, hilarious jokes, a surprising amount of sociopolitical commentary, and to top it all off it makes fun of all the tropes you see in Hollywood blockbusters and children's movies today by USING THOSE TROPES WITHIN THE FILM TO MAKE FUN OF IT. It's a genius film that kids enjoy because they don't realize what it's doing and see it as a regular kids movie, and adults can enjoy it because they can see what they're ACTUALLY doing. The Lego Ninjago Movie is none of those things. The Lego Ninjago Movie is, in fact, everything that the original Lego Movie was making fun of. The characters here are exactly what you'd expect: loner high school students that are made fun of constantly that are also actually heroes and no one knows it. They're fighting the bad guy who is actually the dad of the main hero and if you've seen any family movie ever made, you know the rest of the plot. It's the most cookie cutter kids movie you could make, unfortunately, and it seems as if the directors here never even watched The Lego Movie or understood the actual complexity of the film. Even comparing it to The Lego Batman Movie, which also drops a lot of the complexity of The Lego Movie and just tries for a hilarious and fun movie for adults and kids, The Lego Ninjago Movie still can't compare. The jokes within here will make kids laugh for days, but for adults will fall flat on their ears, save one or two good lines. The emotional moments feel completely forced and don't carry the weight you expect from the previous Lego movies. Even the action scenes are boring, existing only to fill the 90 minute run time. Compared to other kids movies, The Lego Ninjago Movie is fine. There are times where it doesn't take itself seriously, and those moments are actually great and will remind you of the previous Lego movies. The environment is also very well done, and I'll go so far as to say they did a better job designing Ninjago City than Gotham from The Lego Batman Movie. It's an average movie that kids will definitely enjoy, but when you've made two great Lego movies so far that shows how you can create unique animated and children's movies, it's disappointing to see them turn their backs on those lessons and create something so mediocre.

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• It'll please the little tykes and meet with their approval

  dfranzen702017-09-30

  Fresh off the success of The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie comes The LEGO Ninjago Movie, about an elite ninja force fighting an evil warlord by night and existing as unpopular high schoolers by day. The kids are sort of like the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, in that each of them has a distinct color scheme and elemental theme going for them, like fire, water, ice(?), earth, and lightning(?). The de facto leader of this young crew is Lloyd (Dave Franco), whose color is green and whose theme is…also green. (It's explained later.) Together, the team fights the ever-invading forces of Garmadon (Justin Theroux). The name of the city Garmadon wants to conquer is Ninjago, which looks like it should be pronounced like "Ninja Go!" but really is pronounced with the emphasis on the middle syllable: "NinJAgo." Anyway, the big secret that Lloyd and the gang hide, aside from their real-life identities as high school students, is that Green Ninja is – dun dun DUN – the son of Garmadon. Lloyd the teenager, on the other hand, is well known as the warlord's kid, and man does he bear the brunt of their ire. Kids sit on the opposite side of the bus from him. People boo him. He just has to deal, because it's what being a kid is all about, right? Now Lloyd, being a teenager, is just slightly resentful that he has had an absentee dad, so after one of the many battles with Garmadon, he takes things personal and unleashes holy heck on his nemesis. Oh, I should mention that although each of them calls himself a ninja, they're just kids in mech suits. Totally not ninja like at all. This leads to Garmadon coming back with a vengeance, and…well, I think you get the idea. Someone is going to learn a Very Important Lesson here. And if that were all that was to this movie, I'd say let's leave it to the kids and never watch it, fellow grownups! But the movie does inherit a bit of the sly humor from its predecessors. Remember how, when guns were fired in The LEGO Movie, the characters would make "pew pew pew" sounds? During one long battle scene, Garmadon actually fires sharks from (presumably) a shark cannon, and each time a shark is shot one hears "dun dun dun" aka the theme from Jaws. Later on, a bigger enemy is revealed, one that dwarfs Garmadon in destructiveness – a tabby. As in a real cat. If you've ever wanted to see a cat demolish LEGOs that you didn't have to pick up, now's your chance. I found a lot of The LEGO Ninjago Movie to be entertaining. What it lacks in creativity it makes up for in sincerity, as it never gets terribly maudlin. The characters are fun, and both Franco and Theroux really sell them well. Movie's good for kids. Rest of us can wait for home video, if at all.

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• a seven... point... arm ripped off..

  merelyaninnuendo2017-12-12

  The LEGO Ninjago Movie It's strength lies within the earthiness and a sense of amusement towards the outer reality; that a regular LEGO movie consists, along with the runtime which helps the movie flow but it still doesn't make it a smart movie with anything new to offer except for some relationship drama; which frankly the audience is familiar with. Justin Theroux shines all over the movie as Garmadon; the evil lord whose son i.e. Dave Franco as Lloyd, apparently battles against him. But the Jackie Chan here plays as a masterful trump card as Dave Franco's mentor Master Wu who is also the creator of the LEGO world and has a perfect comic timing with some good one-liners. The LEGO Ninjago Movie is barely standing on the script and more on the mockery which leads to the disappointment if taken the previous LEGO movies in account but still it's amusing screenplay and fast pacing won't let you regret any of it. It had a smart idea and a great cast but a disappointing climax.

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