The Lego Batman Movie 3D - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Lego Batman Movie

Movie:
Video:
3D Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Everything is awesome! Everything is co…Ok, I’ll stop that right now before it gets out of hand. Warner is not exactly the first studio that you think of when you imagine high dollar animated franchises. It’s not that they’re bad at it. Warner has put out some great animated films in the past, such as The Iron Giant, but they seem to focus more on their animated DC comics or live action films for the most part, leaving the blockbuster animated films to Pixar, Sony, Dreamworks, and even Fox. A trend that shocked everyone to their core when The Lego Movie came out in 2014 (I still have my ultra tricked out 3D edition sitting on my collector’s shelf in all my nerd glory). The Lego Movie floored almost EVERYONE as it had as much heart as a Pixar movie, as pretty a budget as Disney, and a hilariously different feel as only Warner can do. It also rivaled Frozen for having the catchiest song that would never EVER leave your head (“Everything is Awesome” and “Let it Go” are those songs that sound great the first handful of times, but after the 5000th time of staring at the ceiling with those lyrics running through your head you’re looking for ANYTHING to replace it with. Point in fact, the minute I started this review I kickstarted that silly song and it just won’t let up).

What does one do with a mega blockbuster sneak hit that made the studio GOBS of money? Yes, you guessed it! You make a sequel! Or in this case a semi spinoff. As much fun as Chris Pratt was in The Lego Movie, Will Arnett pretty much stole the show with his tongue in cheek rendition of Christian Bale’s hoarse voiced Batman. So naturally it made sense to have him star in his own movie. This time The Joker (Zack Galifianakis) is out to trash Gotham City once more. Only thing is, Batman (Will Arnett) is there to stop him like usual. Except this time Joker has a bit of a brilliant plant. He really isn’t defeated, but rather surrenders himself in order to get Batman to send him to the Phantom Zone, where he will unleash all the monsters that Superman has ever put there with the phantom zone generator.

Seems simple, right? Well, the movie has a little fun as well, blending in the origins of Batgirl, e.g. Commissioner Gordon’s daughter Barbara (Rosario Dawson), as well as Dick Grayson’s addition to the team (played by a hammy Michael Cera. While these are welcome additions, the Batman we see before us here is nothing like what we expected. Batman is kind of a jerk. He does everything himself and there’s no room for anyone else in his life. So that logically means that everything in the film is going to teach Bruce/Bats a solid life lesson on how to depend on other people for help. Wrap in a Lego universe shell and voila! Family friendly Batman movie.

I really REALLY loved The Lego Movie, so I was SUPER stoked to see The Lego Batman Movie on opening night. My theatrical experience was pretty bad, as my expectations had blown my hopes way out of proportion, but after a 2nd and 3rd viewing (and 4th if you included the 4K review too) has me appreciating the film a lot more on its own merits rather than being an attachment to The Lego Movie. It’s a cute film that plays much more tongue in cheek with the Batman lore more than trying to ground itself in the humor and heart of the original film. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is a giant wink and a nod to every variation of the Batman universe known to man. We see references to everything from the old 1966 Batman TV show (yes, including the BIFF and POWs of that classic show, and even a joke about shark repellent) to Billy Dee Williams playing Two-Face once more. I was chuckling quite a bit at all the mish mashed references, and if that wasn’t enough, Warner decides to open up the phantom zone and borrow every major villain from their archives (Godzilla, Sauron, Voldemort, etc etc). There’s not nearly enough master building, and the world of The Lego Movie is pretty much not even referenced, but it’s a fun Lego movie that has a lot going for it.

One of the biggest boons to the show is the incredible amount of voice actors that lent their talent to making it come to life. We’ve got Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Will Arnett, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera, Zack Galifianakis, Zoe Kravitz, Eddie Izzard, Conan O’Brien, Billy Dee Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Siri (yes, that Siri), Seth Green, Jermaine Clement, Adam Devine, Hector Elizondo, Mariah Carey, and the list goes on. It’s just a load of fun, and all the actors seem to be having a blast too.




Rating:

Rated PG for rude humor and some action




Video:

Wowza! The Lego Batman Movie is nothing if not visually stunning in the 2D department. This is 100% pure, straight from the digital tap, animation, and the results are stunning. The film is bright and colorful, with every shade and tone and texture imaginable available to the naked eye. Robin’s yellow and green and red suit is resplendent, and the explosions and colors of Gotham city will make your jaw drop. Shadows are a mainstay of the film (it IS a Batman movie after all), and the black levels are amazingly deep and inky. Shadow detail is spot on, with the Batmobiles and Batplanes and Bat cave showing every detail imaginable without submitting to crush or banding. Speaking of banding, I was expecting at least SOME artifacting, but I couldn’t find ANYTHING to the naked eye, and I really looked to. Basically, this is one spot on perfect looking piece of demo material. AMAZING looking image.




3D Video
It feels like forever since I’ve done a 3D review as 3D seems to be in process of being phased out by most of the major studios, with Warner and Paramount being the ones still putting out material. With that being said, Warner’s 3D release of The Lego Batman Movie is really well done. The animation style with the lego blocks seems to translate well to 3D, and the film has quite a few pop out moments. There’s some slight crosstalk here and there, but the depth and layering of the film more than makes up for that little flaw (watch when Robin goes into Superman’s fortress and frees the phantom zone generator. Also, the last battle with the crew fighting all the WB monsters was amazing in terms of depth). I also noticed that the 3D image is a HAAAIIIR darker than the 2D one, but it’s still a very solid looking 3D disc.



Audio:

Let me state right off the bat that this 4/5 rating is for the 3D version of the film. My rating for the 2D disc will be the same rating as for the 4K UHD disc, as they both share the same Dolby Atmos track (I’ll be pasting in the 2D/4K analysis below for your reference if you don’t want to read the 4K UHD review to get the audio score for the 2D disc). What happened is that Warner decided to do the same thing they did with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them and forego leaving in the Atmos track, instead leaving a 5.1 DTS-HD MA track for that particular disc. A strange choice, and a disturbing one at that as it makes fans of 3D feeling like they’re getting a little bit slighted when both the 2D AND the 4K UHD have the upgraded Atmos experience, but the 3D disc doesn’t.

With that being said, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is no slouch. It’s a solid performer with great use of the surrounds and fantastic vocal clarity. The explosions have solid LFE depth, and the constant action makes the listener feel right in the center of the action. Especially when Batman gets his gear going and starts “pew pewing” things left and right. My only surprise in the experience was that the LFE feels a bit softer than I’m used to, especially if you remember the bombastic use of it in The Lego Movie. There’s still quite a bit of bass, but it doesn’t shock you to your core as much as I would have thought. Vocals are crisp and clean, locked up front in the center channel, and the immersion level is quite high.

The 4K UHD and the 2D Blu-ray both share the same Atmos track and it is simply superb. It makes a nice step up from the included 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that’s on the discs as well (and is the only track on the 3D Blu-ray). Surrounds are more robust, and the immersion level is really high with the overheads activating from helicoptors roaring over the top, or Batman’s Batmobiles and Batplanes thundering around. LFE is tight and clean, with a nice low end that doesn’t feel like it’s overly aggressive. I mentioned this in the 3D review of the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track, but the bass isn’t cooked as hot as I would have expected, which isn’t a negative point at all but rather a clarification as many movies come with a much hotter sounding bass line. Vocals are crisp and clean and the overall clarity is extremely precise.

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Extras:

• Original Animation Shorts
- Dark Hoser
- Batman is Just Not That Into You
- Cooking with Alfred
- Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?
• The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
- One Brick at a Time: Making the Lego Batman Movie
- Inside Wayne Manor
- Brick by Brick: Making of the LEGO Batman
- Behind the Brick
- Me and My Mini Fig
- Comic Con
• Rebrick Contest Winners
• Film Trailers
• Lego Life Trailer
• Social Promos
- Follow Me Online
- Don't Skip
- Happy Holidays Jingle
- Batsby New Year's
- Team Cutdown
• Director and Crew Commentary

Final Score: ​

The Lego Batman Movie is a fun entry into the legoverse, and while it wasn’t the slam dunk hit that The Lego Movie was, it has a lot of heart and soul to go along with the mega budget. Animation is top notch, and Will Arnett is just having fun as Batman, and that’s never a bad thing. The 3D Blu-ray itself looks fantastic, and the 2D presentation is about as flawless as you can get. The only frustration that I had with the set was that Warner inexplicably decided to forego the Atmos track on the 3D disc, leaving 3D fans left to watch the 4K UHD or the 2D Blu-ray (which is luckily included in the combo pack) if they want the best audio possible. A move they made with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as well. Extras are solid and despite the lack of Atmos on the 3D disc, the package is well worth picking up. If that puts you off then the 4K or 2D/DVD package is there to pick up the slack. Great Buy.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson
Directed by: Chris McKay
Written by: Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core) on 2D only.....DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Czech, Basque, Slovak, English DVS DD 5.1
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG
Runtime: 104 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: Own The Lego Batman Movie on Ultra HD Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on June 13 or Own it Early on Digital HD on May 19!

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Buy

 

[Jon Liu]

So... I already mentioned that I picked this up in the 4K thread, but I didn't specify that I picked up both the 3D AND the 4K versions of the movie. Day one double dip.

I'm still a big fan of 3D and while this may not be the most awe inspiring 3D presentation from what I'm reading, I still wanted to have it. My girls appreciate 3D as much as I do, so this will be our method of viewing when we're watching it together.