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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First off, this wasn't THE LEGO Movie (And few movies likely will live up to that accolade). The Ninjago Movie was just a movie made with LEGO. If you've ever touched a brick you'll likely enjoy this movie. If not, you're less likely to.

This isn't a groundbreaking film. I doubt it's cannon for those who are familiar with the Ninjago story line, this is a big rewrite of events. But it fits that cozy realm of watchable and entertaining.

You don't have to be a LEGO fanatic to get every inside joke, but having the childhood experience of play helps. It'll make you laugh a few times, and there are indeed lots of colors. Why professional critics think that's a bad thing is beyond me.

This movie likely isn't for everyone. And I doubt it was intended to be. It's a kids film and stays comfortably in that realm while not boring adults to death - which is more than can be said about a number of other films for 'grown ups' in 2017.

"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.

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'm 15 years old, and I can honestly say that this was a good movie. Although some sections of the movie were definitely a bit dry, the fight sequences and voice talent surely made up for it. I've been a Lego Ninjago fan for a long time and this was a good refresher to the brand. Compared to the previous Lego movies, this might not have been the best, however when you compare to other kids movies- this is a pretty nice film. I do feel however that the other ninjas should have been given more of a story and much more character development.