The LEGO® NINJAGO Movie (PG)
Starring the voices of Dave Franco, Jackie Chan
Directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan
The year’s second LEGO® flick — after The LEGO® Batman Movie — concerns a band of badass ninja defending their very-Japanese metropolis from an evil warlord (Justin Theroux), who happens to be the estranged father of one of the stealthy warriors (Dave Franco).
Enter Master Wu (Jackie Chan as a sagely sensei — what a surprise) to guide the confused lad through the crisis. Before you break out the popcorn and start singing ‘Everything is Awesome’, be warned: Unlike the earlier LEGO® movies, NINJAGO is aimed squarely (or is it rectangularly?) at kids, not kidults.
The blocky action, still cute and imaginative, is a little too frenetic for anyone over 10 years old. The jokes, too, are a bit thin. So everything is not awesome. (**1/2)