The Lego Ninjago Movie Review

"Hey, Mom, um... could we talk about... Dad? So, when you guys got together, was Dad always an evil warlord?"


The Lego Ninjago Movie is the third entry into the every expanding Lego movie franchise, but this time around the film focuses on the secret ninjas of Ninjago battling the evil forces of Lord Garmadon. The film was co directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan, and stars the likes of Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Michael Pena, Fred Armisen, Kumail Nanijiani, Abbi Jacobson, Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux. 

Whilst I have enjoyed both the original Lego movie and this years The Lego Batman Movie, I was not too sure about how well the ninjas of Ninjago would work on the big screen. Whilst Lego Ninjago has a fan base from Lego's own products and the TV show produced around the Lego theme, it has not got the same awareness that the original Lego movie did or even how widespread and popular the Lego Batman Movie was. In comparison to the other entries into the Lego franchise, I have got to say that this is my least favourite film in the film franchise (so far that is!), but that does not mean that it is a awful film (there are still good things about it too!). One of the strongest aspects about the film was the relationships and character dynamics between Lloyd (The green ninja if you were wondering!) portrayed by Dave Franco and Lord Garmadon portrayed by Justin Theroux. Whilst it is no secret that Lloyd is the son of Lord Garmadon (thank you trailers!), but the relationship between the two characters on screen is great to watch and both characters feed off each other's energy to produce quick witted humor and some really heartfelt scenes. One of the most consistent elements (or should I say bricks!) of the franchise is the high standard of animation and the level of detail that the filmmakers have put into the films, and The Lego Ninjago Movie certainly does not disappoint in terms of its stunning animation and creativity when it comes to visual locations (that will make a kids imagination go wild!). 

Whilst The Lego Ninjago Movie is certainly a fun filled adventure, in my eyes it doesn't live up to the heights of the two previous entries into the franchise. One of the most interesting differences between the films is the fact that The Lego Ninjago Movie is much more of a deep and more meaningful film then the previous entries into the franchise. Whilst this is not normally a problem in films (it is always a good thing!). But when you have the seriousness of the film clashing with the comedic silly jokes and set pieces that we have come to love and expect in these films, it just clashes too much and reduces the impact of the jokes onto the audience. The Lego Batman Movie managed to balance this in a way that allowed it to be funny whilst having some deep moments, but The Lego Ninjago Movie seems unbalanced in that sense. I also would of liked to have seen more of the back story with the other Ninjas in the film and even some more back story of Jackie Chans Master Wu. With the film being so heavily focused on the relationship between Lloyd and Lord Garmadon, all important supporting characters are left on the sidelines and reduced just to stand ins to support Lloyd on his quest, which ultimately reduces the characters to side characters that you won't really remember after seeing the film (you really wont!). Another very small complaint would be the fact that in the film not everything is made out of Lego. Since the Lego Movie there has been a small decline in each film in terms of using Lego elements, such as in The Lego Batman Movie the water and in The Lego Ninjago movie in terms of the water and the nature elements are all real plants. Isn't the point of a Lego movie to have everything made out of Lego, whilst this does support the idea that every child's imagination is completely different, but it goes against the point that Lego can be made into anything you want it to be (maybe that is just me!) 

Overall if you or your children are into Lego Ninjago whether that be in terms of the Lego products or the TV show then I am certain there are elements of the film that you will absolutely love. But for me this is not one of the best films in the franchise and the franchise certainly needs to up its game in terms of its future instalments. 

Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars