The Lego Batman Movie. (1h, 44m, U)

Having managed to turn what should have been a two hours commercial for a Danish building toy into an epic-ly sized critique of conformity versus freedom and creativity against following instructions to the letter, the Lego machine now turns its attention to one of the stars of The Lego Movie, the one and only caped crusader, Batman, to bring us not only the best Batman movie since Burton's gothic masterpiece, but certainly the funniest. It's a visual brick-based feast that pits Batman against his greatest foe, the Joker, but shows us there's an man beneath the black (and occasionally very dark grey) cowl like few other Bat-flicks have.

From the very opening shot (a Nolan-esque narration against a black screen), Lego Batman certainly seems more than happy to send up almost every single cinematic incarnation of the Caped Crusader, from the colourful, campy, "pow! wham! biff" of the 1960s serial, to the dark tone and visuals of the Burton era, via the hall of villains and humour of the Animated Series to the tongue in cheek Schumacher Era. Yet, as with his appearance in the Lego Movie, the key target seems to be the overly serious, overly complex and overly dark Nolan; Will Arnett does the Bale-esque growl arguably better than Bale himself does, the film's opening hijack of a bomb-laden plane is straight out of the Dark Knight Rises, and Bane's few lines are so close to Hardy's muffled eloquence I genuinely had to check he hadn't reprised his role.
Yet, perhaps the biggest shadow Nolan's Batman (and through a biting takedown of both Suicide Squad and the the critically mixed Batman V Superman, Zak Snyder's take on Gotham's finest), casts is the one Lego Batman promptly steps out of. Where these films were gloomy and oppressive, grubby and grimy, and overall downbeat, Lego Batman had me in an almost Joker-esque permanent smile throughout the entire film. Lego Batman, in short, rediscovers what the Batman films since, well the period of the Animated Series, had lost.

A sense of fun.

A sense of, despite the tragedy of his parents' death, despite Gotham being crime-ridden and every night being a battle for his city's heart and mind, against a veritable army of villains, Batman is an inherently good character, and even a bit of a goofball. Whilst this was evident in Arnett's blagging playboy with a heart of gold, and a voice of gravel, as a well-meaning showoff with a mean mixtape, Lego Batman cranks this to eleven, with Batman playing his own (extremely catchy) song as he sees off another of the Joker's schemes. I hate to refer back to the Animated Series, but this is the best the Joker, back to his deep purple suit, coffirred green hair and anarchic sense of fun and smile-themed chaos, has been since Hamill-Zach Galifianakis fills the Joker's shoes well, and proves a sharp-tongued, scheming, and media-savvy (referring to shipping and Batman's bizarre rivalry with Superman) version of the clown prince of crime.

Spurned by Batman, who doesn't want to be his rival, the Joker vows revenge most foul. Having saved the city, Batman retuns home to his surprisingly quiet existence of microwaved dinners, soppy rom-coms, with Alfred concerned that his master is lonely and afraid of comittment and being part of a family. When a retirement party for Comissioner Gordon he attends not only threatens his herohood, with the new comissioner determined to bring Batman in line with the law, but the party is then gatecrashed by the Joker and his crew...who want to surrender?!
With seemingly no purpose for Batman, in a city without crime, Batman is then forced to confront his biggest challenge yet-the boy he's accidently adopted, Dick Grayson-and, given the cinematic Batman films' aversion to Robin, not only does Lego Batman make Robin a likeable character, but he's a great foil for Batman, with the ever-likable Michael Cera giving him both an earnest enthusiasm but also a wide-eyed joy in being able to be a good son to his surrogate father. Together, as an unwilling father and son, they must battle the worst plan the Joker has ever concocted, and a team of villains from across film, television in comic in a spectacle that dwarfs even the most epic shots of the Lego Movie. Yet, much as The Lego Movie, inside its plastic-brick based spectacle, held a story about co-operation, compromise, creativity and inter-generational relationships, so, at the heart of Lego Batman lies a story about family and teamwork.

For, at the heart of the entire concept of Batman, increasingly covered up by grimness and pseduo-realism and now Zak Synder's focus of style over substance, beneath Batman's increasingly heavy armour, Batman has always been about family and trying to work with people; not just the extended Wayne family and surrogate children, but also Batman's damaged villains who eventually become unlikely allies across this film. Batman may still have the Nolan growl, and the Nolan armour, but this is the caped crusader as we've not seen him for years-as a caring, albeit insecure, but most importantly, fun character, without lapsing into campiness or self-ridicule, in a film that sparks with little nods, references and most of all a true sense of Batman and his world.
If the Lego Movie was a statement of cinematic intent, this, if anything improves it-it's bigger, grander, and, with jokes coming so thick and fast you barely have time to stop laughing. If every DC property were entrusted to Lego (their version of the Justice League, from the couple of scenes involving them, already look better than Synder's), Marvel would finally have a true rival in superhero movies. Most importantly, though, if the Batman Lego movie is a great animated movie, it's an even better superhero one, with action, spectacle, villains, one-liners and heroes to rival Disney and Marvel at the top of their game. This is the best Batman movie since Tim Burton's dark masterpiece in the late 1980s, and a better one than I feel the current DCCU could ever give us.

The Lego Batman Movie, in short, returns an iconic character to his rightful place as one of cinema's great heroes, and Gotham to one of the great cities of cinema. This is the hero Gotham deserves, and it's the hero it gets-in his rounded, accessory filled hands, and upon his plastic shoulders, the fate of Gotham lies. But, for the first time in a while, he has others to share the burden, and a smile on his plastic, Danish designed face.

Rating: Must See.