Why Didn't You Like It?

Phil Lord and Chris Miller have a running style going on of "We're AWARE that we're making a movie, so we're gonna make light of that fact and wink-wink-nudge-nudge at the audience!" that's kind of wearing out its luster at this point. Though this movie didn't kill it, they're getting more and more reliant on it and it's starting to take me out of the movies emotionally.

I think people just didn't expect ANYTHING out of this movie, and we're surprised that it actually worked as well as it did, therefore making them put it into the 'great' category. And at first, I was taken aback by the novelty of seeing an actual mainstream movie made out of Legos in theaters. But after a while the novelty wears off and when you strip the movie down to its basic parts, it really isn't all that strong a film OR something we've never seen before (The Hero's Journey/The Matrix lampshading isn't that new a concept).

You had fun, sure, but how many of you can say you REALLY had that much emotional investment in what was going on? Again, the fast-paced, irreverent/self-aware humor works (when it isn't running too fast for its own good), but in terms of emotional depth compared to what other animated movies in 2014 were trying to do with their stories, it just doesn't work as well as it does in those others. They don't have time TO build up that kind of emotion because of its gag-a-minute pace. And you know what, there's nothing wrong with that. It's a well done irreverent comedy that did it better than most any live action American comedy has tried to do in the era of Ferrell. But...that's all it is. Even the ending kind of blows it with Emmett moving on his own, so they have some sentience in the real world? It's never explained, so that's kinda cheating.

It's a fine movie. There's plenty to like about it and laugh at. Maybe it COULD have been nominated at the Oscars just to have a more straight-comedy at the ceremony. But I totally get why it wasn't. In a weaker year for animation it probably would've gotten a nod, but other movies throughout the year overtook it. Good for it for kicking off one of the best years for animated films since 2010, I'll give it that.

I didn't dislike this movie at all. But it was really nothing more than an animated block buster, full of faux philosophies and pseudo intellectualisms. Most of the posters who have already posted have made better points than I could. I'll just say this movie was fun and enjoyable, but nothing more than that.

Update: As time has passed, I've found the charm of this film wears out very quickly. Most of the best laughs are in the first 15 to 20 minutes, then it's all down hill from there. There's also the problem of just how pointless the film is. I've heard some here try to justify the film's erratic and nonsensical approach by saying it's supposed to be an 8 year olds imagination. I say, who said 8 year olds should be making movies?

"If life is getting you down and needs uplifting, then please come dance with me!"

101 minutes of yelling and Lego. What's not to like?

This is a LEGO movie. It's not a documentary, it's not an edgy, hipster indie movie. It's an animated cartoon made for children and fans of LEGOS. I'm neither but I liked the movie for what it was. It was cute and I laughed at most of the things. I only really watched it to hear Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman and I was pleased enough. They were funny. I don't expect a lot from movies let alone animation ones.

This movie is made in the modern tradition of a lot of stuff on the screen, fast-paced pop culture humor, and things that appeal to the video game and gadget addicted kids of today. It's not made for people that area looking for depth or nuances in character development. Most comedies aren't going to be a laugh a minute experience. Most are hit and miss at best. But we live in an age where average is considered HORRIBLE! and good is considered THE BEST EVER!. People are conditioned to feel that OK is a let down or a failure.

Every movie made to today will have a lot of people that are disappointed and won't like it. Sometimes it's because what the filmmakers like is different from what certain people like. Other times is so many people these days go in to every movie with the highest expectations because of the buzz a movie gets and are deeply let down when the movie is just an average movie. This movie is made for people that wanted or expected different things; or at least able to lighten up and enjoy what they can out for the sake of casual fun.

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Just watched The LEGO Movie. I liked it quite a bit and it was better than I expected it to be (believe me, I was just as shocked as everyone else when it wasn't nominated in the Oscars. Still, there were some things that turned me off.

I didn't see what was so great about the animation. A lot of people said it was "beautiful." To me it was impressive, but kind of busy and I had trouble seeing the action.

The humor was a hit and miss for me. I didn't enjoy anything that was a serious pop culture reference. I laughed at maybe about half of the jokes and a lot were actually very clever.

Another thing I didn't like about the humor was that it kind of came at the wrong times. Like almost every time there's a sad or emotional moment, someone else barges in and ruins it.

The story did a very good job at showing different places, but it was a little too fast paced. I had trouble keeping track of what was happening. It was also fairly cliché and predictable. I kind of guessed that the whole film was in a kid's imagination with all of the non-LEGO objects and that there was no real "prophecy" in the end just to introduce the fact that you're still "special" despite that.

A couple of points, one, please don't contradict yourself, as you rightly pointed out, not everyone is going to find it funny, is contradicted by the second point, about it being so good, really, it's your opinion it's good (I know you can other's liked it as well, but nobody can speak for another) IMHO.

Second, I liked it in places. I found the Lego stuff funny, and the fast pace meant that the bad jokes didn't matter, as no sooner did they appear, then you were in a new scene. And 'Everything Is Awesome' is a far better earworm song than that beeping 'Let It Go' from beeping 'Frozen'.

I just found the live action sequences a little boring, and they kind of destroyed the 'reality' feel of the Lego part, personally, I would have liked it to remain a film rooted in the Lego universe alone, filmed as if it was real, or maybe a 'Toy Story' style concept of the whole cities coming alive once the people leave for the night. I found that to move from one to the other destroyed any attempts at logic (and yeah, yeah I am aware I am talking about logic in a kids film about Lego) but, and again this is just in my own humble (ish) opinion, a film, book, TV show or even game, does need to stay true to it's own internal logic, and to move from the characters moving and acting like they were real, to be revealed as toys, and the events as a child's rebelling against his dad, and then back to the figures moving without any help form a hand destroyed that logic.

Other than that, I did enjoy the movie, I am just not fussed about watching it again. Whether if I had been the age of the target audience I would want to see it over and over and over and...well you get my point, copious years fill that void, so I have no idea..though I must admit, it does make me want to buy some Lego...

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