The Lego Ninjago Movie
Dir: Charlie Bean, Bob Logan, Paul Fisher
2017
**
Just like a million other kids, I grew up with Lego, love Lego and like what Lego have done in recent years – to a point. I’m at an age now where there are loads of kids within my family and among my friends but Lego, as much as it is asked for, is not a gift I buy them for birthdays. Have you been to a Lego shop recently? You’d have to remortgage to buy some of the larger sets. That aside, I love the Lego Star-Wars computer games and The Lego Movie was great fun as it captured the nature of how kids play with the classic toy. Lego for me was about a mix of different genres and creativity. No other toys of mine interacted, He-Man and Action Force were kept separate from one another, but in my Lego play Astronauts and Pirates would interact. I didn’t go in for sets, I just used to mix up all the bricks and make up my own stuff, Lego is an expanding company I know, so sets are the way forward but I’m afraid with Lego Ninjago they’ve completely lost me. I don’t get it, not surprising really as it isn’t marketed at me but I do think the Lego magic is lost on this odd little venture. The oriental clichés are so strong it is almost offensive. Just how many mysterious little Japanese shops are there really in America? Did Jackie Chan know what the film was about? What is it with Lego and their obsession with the bad father and needy son dynamic? Lego should be about originality and about creativity and at the very least any Lego film from now on should be as good as the previous Lego films and should try and keep up with the distinct level of humour now synonymous with the franchise. In this Lego scenario, there are several school kids who twilight as ninjas, all who have their own colour and giant animal robot suit. It’s Power Rangers with bricks basically. The film starts as a cross between Gremlins and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and becomes a weird sort of Mega-Mind Power Rangers mash up. The humour wasn’t strong and the jokes were all recycled. I liked the bit with the cat but again, this was a rehashed idea from the Lego Movie. Without wanting to sound like an old and miserable man, it gave me a headache. I’ve seen kids transfixed by the TV show but when you ask them to repeat what had happened in the episode they can’t tell you. Colour and movement, that’s all it is. I think I might have had a stroke if I had watched it in 3D. The voice actors were nothing special either. Dave Franco has openly admitted that during the process of interacting with co-star Justin Theroux (who played his father) he found himself uncontrollably crying while recording some of his lines. Franco stated "I found myself getting caught up in the moment and basically crying harder than I have in any live-action movie I’ve ever been in". What? Seriously? For the UK release of the film, Good Morning America hosts Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan are replaced with Good Morning Britain hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard. As breaking news unfolds, Shephard and Garraway try their best to convey concern and dismay but end up sounding forced and over the top - like how kids sound when they are made to read Shakespeare in the middle of class. If there is ever breaking news in Great Britain, Shephard and Garraway are the last people asked to report on it. Familiarity breeds contempt, I didn’t hate the film, it’s just not for me but I would have hoped for more from Lego, although this is only their first big misstep in my opinion. I won’t give up on them just yet.