Netflix Superhero Comedy Is The Best Comic Book Parody Of The Decade
Sometimes, I look at the state of modern superhero media and I channel my inner Joker by asking “why so serious?” Comics have always had a silly and irreverent side, but tights-and-flights films from the MCU and particularly the DCEU have very rarely embraced that silliness, instead giving us overly grim films in a desperate bid for Hollywood legitimacy. Fortunately, one hit superhero film embraced the funny side of these funny books in the best possible way: The Lego Batman Movie, which is now streaming on Netflix.
The Lego Batman Movie
What is The Lego Batman Movie about, though? It all started with the Caped Crusader snubbing Joker during the fiend’s latest scheme, informing the Clown Prince of Crime that he’s just not that important.
This kicks off a bizarre Joker plan where he wishes to be exiled with the multiverse’s worst criminals to the Phantom Zone, and when he returns with an army of multidimensional allies, Batman must stop him while dealing with two big distractions: his new ward Dick Grayson and the new Chief of Police Barbara Gordon, someone who doesn’t think this city needs a vigilante protector.
One Of The Funniest Superhero Parodies Out There
Based merely on that description, you might think The Lego Batman Movie is your general bit of superhero fare, but what separates it from the crowded pack of MCU and DCEU films is its hilariously oddball sense of humor.
Batman is presented as a kind of parody of himself, someone whose vanity and ego are the real mask for a hero otherwise struggling with isolation and insecurity. In an excellent twist, the Joker is just as neurotic, and the drama of the film is presented as fallout from two messy foes who are more like friends than they realize.
Perfect Casting
An animated comedy needs a suitably funny cast, and The Lego Batman Movie delivers in spades, with Will Arnett giving a chiseled, gravelly voice to the Caped Crusader and Zach Galifianakis giving a manically menacing voice to the Joker.
Michael Cera is pitch-perfect as the naive Dick Grayson, and Rosario Dawson fully understands the assignment as Barbara Gordon. Some of the voice choices are both surprising and inspiring, including Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth and even Mariah Carey as Gotham’s mayor.
Everyone Agrees: The Lego Batman Movie Is Pure Gold
As it turns out, audiences were more than ready for a funny superhero film: The Lego Batman Movie earned $312 million against a budget of only $80 million. The film similarly impressed critics, as it currently has a 90 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For the most part, critics praised the film for being as beautiful as it was funny, delivering a rare superhero film that is family-friendly and appeals to both adults and children alike.
Honestly, I have to agree with the majority of critics: The Lego Batman Movie is easily a 5-star film, one that manages to perfectly parody the Dark Knight while coming from an obvious place of love. Almost every frame is filled with Easter eggs and in-jokes, but none detract from an impossibly tight script and one killer line delivery after another.
The only real downside to watching this 2017 film is that you’ll start wondering why Warner Bros. couldn’t imbue this kind of heartfelt comedy into the bleakness of the DCEU and, furthermore, if more such comedy could have saved DC’s first attempt at a cinematic universe.
Stream Again And Again On Netflix
REVIEW SCORE
On that note, I can only hope James Gunn learned from the success of The Lego Batman Movie and will give the Caped Crusader of the DCU more of a sense of humor. If not, though, we’ll always have this great animated film as perhaps the ultimate love letter to all things Batman. Next time I watch it on Netflix, I’ll be quoting the titular hero when he chows down on lobster thermidore: “I deserve this today, today I deserve it.”
