The Lego Ninjago Movie Review
The Lego Ninjago Movie features the voice acting of Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Kumail Nanjiani, Abbi Jacobson, Zach Woods, Fred Armisen, Justin Theroux, and Jackie Chan.
No Kids-In-Mind link this time. This film is very much for the kids. It doesn't have anything inappropriate that makes it unsuitable for kids. Plus, if your kids saw the first two Lego movies, this is no different in terms of children eligibility.
Have you ever built a Lego set that took you the whole day to build, only to find out that you made a wrong step in the middle of the construction and thus had go take it apart and build it up again? That's what I would diagnose where this movie went wrong. It made bold decisions that were looking quite nicely for a while, but when you see the whole thing, things aren't what you expected. I mean that in a negative way.
In attempt to break from the established formula of the first two movies, Ninjago seeks to evolve and be different. Unfortunately, the film simultaneously got rid of some of the elements that made the previous movies so great while trying to be bold by taking a number of risks. The risks ultimately hurt the film rather than help it and without the elements that made the previous movies so good, Ninjago feels empty with very few positives coming out of the experience. As if it needs to be stated, what we end up with is a film that isn't as good as its predecessors.
Gone is the always present, laugh-out-loud humor, along with the gorgeous Lego landscapes, and engaging story that did right by the original two films. Instead, Ninjago turns out to be a film that has a dry story, with a lack of hilarious jokes, featuring too many characters, and while the buildings are impressive still, the overall landscapes and water doesn't have that unbelievable detail that was applied to the earlier films.
There's not only that, but also a feel of familiarity that this film has with other films/franchises. While Ninjago is based on the titular brand, not to mention the successful television show, the movie is reminiscent of brands like the Power Rangers. The similarities are bliss that the film doesn't even try to do anything different. There's the team of outcasts that are secretly a team of superheroes that work with mechs and fight all different types of evil. There's similarities not just with different brands, but the beat-by-beat story points give you a been there, done that feel that I assume the filmmakers weren't trying to do. With a severe lack of anything entertaining or exciting, Ninjago is delivered a huge blow that cripples it upon viewing. The first act is great, but once the film is at the end of that act and the team of ninja's start their journey of self-discovery, there's a lack of anything entertaining from that moment to the closing credits.
The Ninjas
There's quite a few reasons why there are too many characters. The main problem is that the team of ninjas are already formed when it starts. The origin story has been surely burnt out, but Warner Brothers, the same studio that made this film, proved that with Wonder Woman, the origin story had some life still in it. It's bold, but futile, that the makers of this film assume that the audiences that will watch this, are already familiar with the Ninjago brand. Thus, it doesn't bother to introduce these characters to those that have not heard of the brand before. As a viewer that watched the episodes of the television show, I was already prepared, but even I was questioning what was being done with the characters, since I am not a huge viewer of the television show.
With no origin or backstory to any of the characters, this leads to a severe lack of character arcs with any of the film's protagonist. Lloyd's dilemma with his father has been played out before, but while he does have his moments, I found a severe lack of anything to root for about him and the other five ninjas.. The other five, Kai, Nya, Jay, Cole, and Zane are just background characters. Though they are a part of Lloyd's quest, I could barely tell you anything about them in this film, without crossing over to material that originates from the television show. The five are more like tools to Lloyd's journey rather than actual characters themselves.
As for Sensei Wu, of course he's voiced by Jackie Chan. It was predictable from the beginning that he'd be cast as the wise old master/teacher of these six ninjas. He does the role incredibly role, but as I said already, he's nothing new. His character doesn't even have a lot of screen time in this film, thanks to his death fake-out almost halfway in the film. By the way, he has two of them and both times, they were obvious and uncompelling. I would be lying though if I didn't say that Jackie Chan did crack a few funny jokes here and there, but there was another character that was trying to be the one to crack all the jokes.
As for Sensei Wu, of course he's voiced by Jackie Chan. It was predictable from the beginning that he'd be cast as the wise old master/teacher of these six ninjas. He does the role incredibly role, but as I said already, he's nothing new. His character doesn't even have a lot of screen time in this film, thanks to his death fake-out almost halfway in the film. By the way, he has two of them and both times, they were obvious and uncompelling. I would be lying though if I didn't say that Jackie Chan did crack a few funny jokes here and there, but there was another character that was trying to be the one to crack all the jokes.
Lord Garmadon
Justin Theroux is the best thing about this film. He's the one to crack the jokes that are actually funny and he is likely the only compelling character in this mess. Unfortunately though, Justin Theroux seems to be channelling a mix of Will Farrell's Lord Business and Will Arnett's Batman. Trying his very best to be the funniest person in the movie as well as being the somewhat unsympathetic antagonist doesn't work at all.
He's the villain in this movie, but being the villain doesn't work when your characters trying to be funny. Some of you might say that Lord Business was the same way, but I'd point out that Lord Business was able to be both hilarious and villainous until his inevitable redemption at the end of that film. Here, Garmadon isn't much of a villain at all. The same way that the heroes are hurt because the film assumes that the audience is familiar with the title brand, Garmadon is the "bad guy" partially because the film says so and because he was the villain in the television series for a while. In this version of the character, there's absolutely nothing that explains the character's origins or his reason for being evil. He gets a plus for being the character with the least amount of problems, but problems will be problems and for that, Garmadon had quite a few.
Action, Animation, and Score
The action scenes are pretty cool, but other than the big opening to the film, there's very little elsewhere with sequences that aren't as good as that opening action piece. The finale doesn't have much of action to it. It's more about rushing to the end than giving one last great action scene that would've allowed me to leave on a better note since our characters are at their highest point where they have finally discovered themselves and what they can do, but we barely get to see them use that newfound ability. As good as it was in the beginning, it would've been way more exciting to see them fight without their mechs for the action sequences that were in the film. Interestingly enough, while I bring up the Power Rangers comparison, Ninjago runs into some of the same problems as that film. With the new Power Rangers film released earlier this year, I said that they fought in their Zords too much and that I wanted to see them use their newfound suits without all the machinery. The same thing applies here.
While this film manages to improve some aspects of the franchise's animation quality, there's a severe lack of unique detail given to each set piece. The oceans and mountains aren't nearly as impressive as when we saw them in both The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie. Ninjago opts for a more lazy look that simultaneously looses the uniqueness the franchise has, and links it to other animated films from different studios. Despite its lack of detail, the mix of live-action and animated elements was one of the better things of this film. The cat, Meowthra, fit into the animated elements incredibly well. That was one of the things that surprised me. One of the few positive things this film did in its hour and forty-one minute runtime.
Mark Mothersbaugh has done some pretty decent scores in recent years. The Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Hotel Transylvania films, as well as the first Lego Movie.
Unlike those scores which had a lot of presence throughout their films, Ninjago's score dwindles in the background for a majority of the feature. Often times, it's uninspired and brings a drowned out feeling to the rest of the film. The only enjoyable pieces of music were at the beginning of the film and the end credits song, Anywhere else, music may not be a hundred percent gone, but its energy is lost for the remainder of the feature.
This film is set in a fictional Asian city, so it's not a surprise that certain instruments are used to put you in that feeling, with Chinese guitars being the most prominent instrument that is used to immersive you in the world the film is set in. It got me all excited for a little while, but then it disappears on you and I was wondering where it all went and thus the energy is depleted.
Unlike those scores which had a lot of presence throughout their films, Ninjago's score dwindles in the background for a majority of the feature. Often times, it's uninspired and brings a drowned out feeling to the rest of the film. The only enjoyable pieces of music were at the beginning of the film and the end credits song, Anywhere else, music may not be a hundred percent gone, but its energy is lost for the remainder of the feature.
This film is set in a fictional Asian city, so it's not a surprise that certain instruments are used to put you in that feeling, with Chinese guitars being the most prominent instrument that is used to immersive you in the world the film is set in. It got me all excited for a little while, but then it disappears on you and I was wondering where it all went and thus the energy is depleted.
Grade: D
I remember back in 2014 when The Lego Movie was about to be released, thinking that it was all a ploy to sell more Lego sets to children all over the world. Little did we know, that film had so much more to offer. Three and a half years later, I feel that Ninjago has done what I initially thought The Lego Movie was gonna do. Outside of a few enjoyable elements, Ninjago doesn't have a lot to offer as entertainment. Nothing new or original or even anything exciting outside of showcasing glorious Lego sets that children will go crazy for and will want to purchase and play with themselves. If you are a hardcore fan of what the two previous Lego movies did, this is worth at least one watch to just say that you've seen it and to see those good things. Just lower those expectations severely. To everyone else, this isn't a necessary to see in the theaters. It pains me to write this, because I'm a huge fan of those previous films as well as the Lego brand itself. So to write not-so nice things about this third film is hard for me write. I will watch out for The Lego Movie Sequel in 2019 to see if it'll be the one to turn things around with a much better product. I do not know what they're doing with this other Lego film called The Billion Brick Race.
This is my review of The Lego Ninjago Movie, what did you think of it? Was this a fair assessment of the film. Do you have a different opinion, or are you in line with what I thought of the film. Share this with your friends, comment below any thoughts you may have with this film, and I encourage you to let me know what you want me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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