First, the Recap:
Gotham will never be the same again. As the Dark Knight (voiced by Will Arnett) resumes his duties as protector of the city, he seems to still be unable to truly think about anyone else but himself, complete with wise-cracking, egotism-driven quips, to the extent of even dismissing his traditional arch nemesis, The Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), as no longer BEING his arch nemesis. But, Batman’s internalized issues also begin to surface, despite his reluctance to share them openly with loyal butler Alfred (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), and soon compound when having to face being a mentor/father figure to Dick Grayson aka Robin (voiced by Michael Cera) or genuinely opening his heart and sharing his crime fighting duties with newly appointed commissioner Barbara Gordon aka: Batgirl (voiced by Rosario Dawson). As The Joker assembles his rogue’s gallery to take over the city, Batman must learn that teamwork and just easing up a little (or a LOT) is the key to victory–and smiling!
Worth Seeing: Yes
It’s witty, totally silly, off-the-wall insanity that one would expect from the scene-stealing incarnation of the Dark Knight first viewed in 2014’s fantastic effort, “The LEGO Movie”, and director Chris McKay certainly loads the effort up with plenty of guffaw-worthy moments. The only thing one has to determine, however, is if it’s perhaps JUST a bit TOO much to see the character carry an entire film, or if you ultimately think he’s better as part of an ensemble “cast” via the 2014 film. It’s like “The Penguins of Madagascar” or “Minions” as well. The voice cast here is once again talented and amazing, with not only those mentioned above, but a multitude of other familiar names like Conan O’Brien, Eddie Izzard, Billy Dee Williams, Zoe Kravitz, Jenny Slate, and others. The animation is great, the mood and tone is wonderful, it IS funny, and filled with plenty of “over-the-kid’s-heads” humor to please the adults, along with many references to/playful pokes at the other live-action “Batman” efforts.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
