The Lego Ninjago Movie

'THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Another computer-animated spin-off (like 'THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE', from earlier this year) of the blockbuster animated hit 'THE LEGO MOVIE'. It's based on the Lego Ninjago toy line, and it tells the story of six teenagers living in the land of Ninjago, that must defend their home from an evil warlord, by battling his monsters with robots and dragons. The leader of the group also has to struggle with the fact that he's the son of the evil conquering warlord. The film was written by a team of nine different screenwriters, and it was directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan (Fisher and Logan also served as two of the writers). The movie stars the voice talents of Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Jackie Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Fred Armisen, Abbi Jacobson, Michael Pena, Zach Woods and Olivia Munn. It's received mixed (to negative) reviews from critics, and it's also disappointed at the Box Office as well (it's done much worse, financially and critically, than the first two installments in the franchise too). I found parts of it to be pretty funny, but given how good the other Lego movies are, it's a pretty disappointing movie.

Six young teenagers have been trained by a powerful ninja, named Master Wu (Chan), to defend their island home of Ninjago, from an evil warlord named Lord Garmadon (Theroux). They have normal high school lives, but whenever Garmadon attacks, they must take on their secret ninja identities, and do battle with him using the help of robots and dragons. The leader of the group, Lloyd Garmadon (Franco), also must deal with the fact that he's the son of the villain their fighting. When Lord Garmadon learns that his greatest enemy is also his son, things take a drastic turn. The ninjas also must defend Ninjago from a giant destructive conquering cat.

The movie is definitely funny, in multiple places, and the animation is fun to watch too (like the other Lego films). It's also well cast, and I'm sure kids will still enjoy it too. The film also drags a lot though, in the middle of the movie at least, and some scenes just aren't very funny (or interesting at all). Unlike the other two franchise installments, the drama of the film didn't work for me at all either. Still, if this is the worst the Lego franchise has to offer, than it should be in good shape for a lot longer.

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Thanks to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, directors of 2014's extremely popular The Lego Movie, the Lego Cinematic Universe is in full swing. Earlier this year there was Lego Batman, now they're moving into kung fu territory (for the uninitiated: Ninjago = ninja lego). Resetting / expanding the story told through eight seasons of TV show Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, six heroic teenage ninjas must defend their city against fire-crying, shark-shooting and egocentric-manchild Garmadon (Justin Theroux). Twist: lead ninja, Lloyd (Dave Franco), is actually Garmadon's son, and he carries plenty of emotional baggage on his missions to defeat his absentee father. Luckily Master Wu (Jackie Chan), Lloyd's uncle, pops in to help in amusingly random and cryptic ways. Although boasting some playful martial arts sequences and larger-scale action set pieces, both highlighting the cleverness of these lego flicks, this film is a comedy first and foremost. Going with the quantity over quality approach, everything but the lego sink is thrown at the screen in the pursuit of laughs. Puntastic one-liners, metaphorical gags, cheeky film references, and broad visual jokes are all present. For every hit there's a miss, which is a decent ratio considering the rapid-fire method of comedy and the relatively quick runtime. Meeting expectations without exceeding them, The Lego Ninjago Movie doesn't light the world on fire, however it does offer a solid big-screen option for the school holidays.

I myself am a huge ninjago fan, I've been a ninjago fan almost since the series started, so you can imagine this movie is a dream come true, except I can't help but be sorely disappointed with this film. It doesn't live up to the ninjago brand I've known for 9 years at this point (2020). ( the film released towards the end of 2017). The Ninja characters except for Lloyd barely do anything in the movie, their characters aren't fleshed out and I really didn't feel for them as characters. The movie spent way too much time on the father son arc instead of spending time on other things based off the show that are more interesting. The Ninja also feel more like power rangers in this movie, they have vehicles that are way too big (however nicely modeled), and they attend high school. The arc of having a kid being hated in high school and secretly he's a hero has been done so many times, and even that is not touched upon a whole lot, only in the beginning of the movie. I understand this movie is trying to differentiate itself from the show, but these things just don't work for me. I will say, as an animated film, it's not bad. The voice acting is very good, there are a ton of funny jokes, the animation is top notch, and it has a couple of scenes I really liked. If you're looking for a nice family movie to watch at night, you probably won't hate the experience watching this movie, you might even like it. But unfortunately for me it doesn't work a whole not in a "Ninjago" aspect, however it's far from the worst animated movie out there. 6/10

It's amazing how far this franchise has gone on the power of post-modern yuck-yucks and an overall chipper attitude towards the cynicism of its central premise. The first film burst onto the scene with so much frenetic energy and easygoing glee that the kid in all of us rightfully celebrated. When the long awaited LEGO Batman Movie (2017) followed earlier this year, we all got a little older and a little wiser but nonetheless enjoyed it largely for its nostalgic qualities.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie on the other hand feels like a funny joke that you've heard three times on the same night. It's still funny but lacks the surprise from the first time and the sense of being in the in-group the second time around. Now it's just forced laughter jumbled into the same chock-a-block world and lovingly wrapped around the same old themes of daddy issues and struggling to work as a team. Are LEGOs a generational symbol for latchkey kids and I just didn't know it?

Ninjago however seems geared towards the younger set. It takes the same setup as the TV show (I guess), pitting a group of color-coded ninjas with building-sized mech suits against an evil four-armed warlord named Garmadon (Theroux). The kicker is one of Ninjago's heroes; the enigmatic Green ninja (Franco) is secretly Garmadon son Lloyd. A fact that makes Lloyd a social pariah at his high school and morphs the plot from the expected mech v monster setup to one with more personal stakes.

The personal stakes vis a vis resentments and eventual reconciliation are arguably the best parts of the movie. The antagonizing father/son relationship provides the plot with much needed complexity and impetus while also landing some of the most unexpected jokes. One reoccurring gag involves Lloyd's inability to catch and throw because (sob) he never had a father to teach him. It's a gag approached with the franchise's trademark absurdist glee guaranteeing that the kids will be none the wiser, but the characterizations still hint at unspoken sadness that adults are likely to connect with.

The franchise further bolsters its "something-for-everyone" style by parodying Japanese tokusatsu tropes and characters that most will knowingly catch. The sextet of ninjas is of course color-coded and, of course is given elemental themes that fit their personalities. Much of their quest is informed by a wise master (Chan) who speaks vaguely about this and that and of course at some point there's a monster that rampages through the city. Instead of being sincere about these predictable tropes, in true LEGO fashion, the film undermines and lampoons them to variant levels of success.

But despite a few good setups, Ninjago can't help but feel like déjà vu. Stripped of its genre trappings, its specialty bricks and its unnecessary framing device with a live-action Jackie Chan, Ninjago is left with many of the same things that worked the last two times. i.e. a self-effacing heroes journey where the story's twists and turns boils down to a secret f**k you to absent fathers. Add to that the sneaking suspicion that I'm not just being sold LEGOs but Ninjago brand LEGOs and it becomes clear the glibness of the franchise as a whole is starting to show its shortcomings. As far as kids movies released this year, Ninjago is pretty much on par. But as far as Lego movies go, Ninjago is definitely the weakest link in the chain.

"The Emoji Movie", an attempt to emulate the success of "The Lego Movie", was released just weeks before "The Lego Ninjago Movie", the third construct in the popular plastic brick film franchise. "Emoji" was a disappointment, whereas "Ninjago" continues the winning formula of the Lego series.

Many children will already be familiar with the Ninjago television series and, like "Power Rangers" (another recent film based on a television series), we have a set of heroes with their own colours and powers and, for those are unfamiliar with them, there is a quick exposition of the the six members of the Secret Ninjago Force. Like "The Lego Movie", the story is neatly book-ended by some live action.

"Ninjago" does not have the originality of the first film in the franchise, but my 10 year old companion really enjoyed it and we can be sure that Lego characters will be back on the big screen sometime soon.