The Lego Ninjago Movie
Year: 2017
Director: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher & Bob Logan
Starring: Fred Armisen, Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjaini, Michael Pena, Justin Theroux & Zach Woods
Runtime: 101 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 14/09/22
Director: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher & Bob Logan
Starring: Fred Armisen, Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjaini, Michael Pena, Justin Theroux & Zach Woods
Runtime: 101 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 14/09/22
Following the success of 2014’s The Lego Movie, Warner Bros. and Lego rushed three follow up films into production to be released throughout 2017 and 2018. The Lego Batman Movie was still a fun time, but lacked the heart that made The Lego Movie so endearing. But up next was another spin-off, this time that would tackle Lego’s biggest original toy line since Bionicle…the legend of Ninjago.
The city of Ninjago has been terrorised by the evil Garmaddon (Justin Theroux) for sixteen years, always trying and failing to conquer the city. For a number of years now, Ninjago has been protected by a group of elemental ninja and their mechanised robot suits. Lloyd (Dave Franco) is the target of ridicule everywhere he goes as he is Garmaddon’s son, but little to the city’s knowledge, Lloyd is the green ninja. When Lloyd tries to use the ‘Ultimate Weapon’ against Garmaddon against the wishes of Master Wu (Jackie Chan), Ninjago is left in even greater danger. Now the elemental ninja must join forces with Garmaddon to save Ninjago, and finally bring peace to the city.
What held The Lego Batman Movie back was a distinct feeling of it riffing too closely on the original Lego Movie, it never really carved out an identity for itself, and whilst batman was funny, he definitely wasn’t leading man material.
The Lego Ninjago Movie falls at exactly the same hurdles, and arguably harder than Lego Batman did. The entire plot feels like a mash up of the most cliché moments from The Lego Movie and Lego Batman, paired with a property that nobody under the age of ten would have been familiar with. Of course, this film is primarily aimed at younger audiences familiar with Ninjago, but I’m not even sure this would be particularly appealing to them as it feels so similar to The Lego Movie…even down to the plot being about a son reconnecting with his villainous father to save the world.
The city of Ninjago has been terrorised by the evil Garmaddon (Justin Theroux) for sixteen years, always trying and failing to conquer the city. For a number of years now, Ninjago has been protected by a group of elemental ninja and their mechanised robot suits. Lloyd (Dave Franco) is the target of ridicule everywhere he goes as he is Garmaddon’s son, but little to the city’s knowledge, Lloyd is the green ninja. When Lloyd tries to use the ‘Ultimate Weapon’ against Garmaddon against the wishes of Master Wu (Jackie Chan), Ninjago is left in even greater danger. Now the elemental ninja must join forces with Garmaddon to save Ninjago, and finally bring peace to the city.
What held The Lego Batman Movie back was a distinct feeling of it riffing too closely on the original Lego Movie, it never really carved out an identity for itself, and whilst batman was funny, he definitely wasn’t leading man material.
The Lego Ninjago Movie falls at exactly the same hurdles, and arguably harder than Lego Batman did. The entire plot feels like a mash up of the most cliché moments from The Lego Movie and Lego Batman, paired with a property that nobody under the age of ten would have been familiar with. Of course, this film is primarily aimed at younger audiences familiar with Ninjago, but I’m not even sure this would be particularly appealing to them as it feels so similar to The Lego Movie…even down to the plot being about a son reconnecting with his villainous father to save the world.
Whilst the voice cast is all round pretty good, the jokes also feel recycled from the previous two Lego films. The only real standout is Jackie Chan, but even then, he just feels like he’s playing Jackie Chan. For some people that’ll be fine, but in a film so filled with clichés and devoid of original ideas, it’s just another thing I didn’t particularly care for on a mountain of equally mediocre things.
Thankfully The Lego Ninjago Movie does look gorgeous. It really nails that sense of organised chaos that The Lego Movie did quite well in some of its busier moments. Just seeing all the moving Lego pieces so highly detailed and in such a large scale is something truly mesmerising. Ninjago also nailed the aesthetic of these things being toys that people play with once again with chipped paint, worn down edges, dented plastic, and visible fingerprint marks on various surfaces.
But I’m generally short on things to say about Ninjago. It fails to keep my attention for longer than five minutes, and whilst it looks gorgeous it’s nothing The Lego Movie hadn’t already achieved three years earlier. The Lego Ninjago Movie reeks of corporate greed, making a film for the sake of profit. What’s ironic is that this film was the weakest performing of all the Lego films at the box office, likely down to it having a relatively niche appeal. I’d forget about Ninjago in a day or so, there’s really not much point to seek it out. Whilst there are definitely worse family films out there, few of them are as bland or lacking in ideas as The Lego Ninjago Movie.
Thankfully The Lego Ninjago Movie does look gorgeous. It really nails that sense of organised chaos that The Lego Movie did quite well in some of its busier moments. Just seeing all the moving Lego pieces so highly detailed and in such a large scale is something truly mesmerising. Ninjago also nailed the aesthetic of these things being toys that people play with once again with chipped paint, worn down edges, dented plastic, and visible fingerprint marks on various surfaces.
But I’m generally short on things to say about Ninjago. It fails to keep my attention for longer than five minutes, and whilst it looks gorgeous it’s nothing The Lego Movie hadn’t already achieved three years earlier. The Lego Ninjago Movie reeks of corporate greed, making a film for the sake of profit. What’s ironic is that this film was the weakest performing of all the Lego films at the box office, likely down to it having a relatively niche appeal. I’d forget about Ninjago in a day or so, there’s really not much point to seek it out. Whilst there are definitely worse family films out there, few of them are as bland or lacking in ideas as The Lego Ninjago Movie.