Joking with Batman

On the lighter side of things, we noted that one of the hottest things trending on social media last Friday was “The Lego Batman Movie,” a new animated feature that is, happily, exactly what its title suggests.

The Atlantic gave this review, by David Sims: “‘The Lego Batman Movie’ is, on one level, a work of crass commercialism, just like its predecessor ‘The Lego Movie.’ It is also, however, a terrific take on Batman that sees the sitcom humor in his absurd lifestyle, brutalizing criminals by night and wasting his days in a cavernous mansion with only an elderly butler to talk to. It’s a one-joke movie that’s based on a really funny joke. As such, it’s a wry piece of meta-commentary that deconstructs (no pun intended) everyone’s favorite moody hero using the anarchic animated style of the Lego world.”

For my money, the campy 1960s TV series still rules — mainly because it made me laugh. Batman has been pretty dour and gloomy ever since — true of most comic movies these days, in fact. Email me at rrollins@coxohio.com.

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