8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.8 |
An ordinary Lego mini-figure, thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil Lego tyrant from gluing the universe together.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick OffermanAdventure | 100% |
Family | 79% |
Animation | 68% |
Comedy | 52% |
Action | 40% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Danish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Finnish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Icelandic: Dolby Digital 5.1
Norwegian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Swedish: Dolby Digital 5.1
All Dolby Digital Tracks are 448 kbps
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Reviews don't get much better than that. No critical flourish required. Not that it's my review. Those were my son's words, whispered in hushed awe and wide-eyed wonder as the credits rolled on our first viewing of The LEGO Movie. He could hardly contain his excitement. Me? I... *ahem* was having troubles of my own. Trapped in a state of complete and total reversion, I was suddenly nine all over again. Had you spotted me in the theater, sitting there with a dopey grin framing every pure, unabashed laugh let loose between breaths, you would have wondered, "what's wrong with that guy?" But all my mind could do was embrace the sentiment my son would articulate by film's end. It's like everything I used to see in my head when I played with LEGOs!!! More than the best animated film of 2014 (thus far), The LEGO Movie is more clever and complex than it might first appear, channeling both the essence of boundless creativity and the reaches of a child's mind for 102 delightfully surprising, wildly inventive minutes. Beautifully animated and brilliantly conceived, it isn't the feature-length toy commercial or product of calculated marketing some feared it might be. Not even remotely. It does what few other films before it have managed to do: tap into the most fundamental mechanics of childhood -- the joy, enthusiasm, fears, insecurities and dreams -- and construct a fully realized, intricately layered landscape of the imagination.
As if The LEGO Movie weren't dazzling enough, along comes Warner's 1080p/AVC-encoded 2D presentation and MVC-encoded 3D experience. Rather than slather the screen with eye-gouging swaths of color, the film's ever-shifting palette incorporates convincing lighting to lifelike ends. Hues are bright and bold when Emmet strolls through a bustling city; dusty and sunburnt when he and Wyldstyle travel to the Old West; cast in cold blues and positively sinister greens in Lord Business' lair; sickeningly sweet when the Masters arrive in Cloud Cuckoo Land in Middle Zealand; and bold and triumphant as Emmet and Wyldstyle bring the fight back to the streets. Primaries are vivid, black levels are deep and satisfying, and contrast is consistently filmic and strong. And oh the detail. The chips along the edges of the plastic characters. The fingerprints you'll catch sight of when the light hits Benny or Lord Business just right. The wear and tear of a fading decal. The imperfections of a brick. It's all there to be discovered and pored over in high definition. Edges are clean and natural, free from ringing or aliasing, and textures are refined and close-ups striking. If you didn't already think the world of the animation, you will now.
The 3D experience is equally rewarding, barring a few exceedingly minor instances of crosstalk that creep into some of the more chaotic battle scenes. (For those whose displays are prone to ghosting, that is.) Depth is excellent. Dimensionality even more so. And the combination of the two? Brace yourselves for some of the most immersive and engaging 3D images of any disc this year, and hands down one of the best animated 3D experiences I've ever reviewed. This is the stuff of top-tier, demo-worthy presentations. LEGOs believably spill into the foreground and sink into the backgrounds. Laser bolts fire anywhere and everywhere they pleased. Smoke billows, water surges, blocks tumble, ships nearly fly out of the screen, and excitable hero after excitable hero bounds into your home theater as easily as they bound onto screen. Better still, there isn't a hint of significant macroblocking, banding or any other encoding issue of note, regardless of whether you choose the 2D or 3D presentation of the film. This is about as pristine and impeccable as they come. Fans will be overjoyed.
Matching The LEGO Movie's video presentations high-point for high-point is Warner's wonderfully enveloping DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. In fact, the only nitpick I can even muster is that it isn't a 7.1 mix. And when that's your chief complaint, you know you're listening to something special. Low-end output is big and boisterous, throwing weight and power behind every blast, explosion, crash and collision, as well as lending presence to anything and everything that calls on the LFE channel for assistance. Rear speaker activity is both aggressive and playful too, latching onto every scattered block, incoming attack craft, lumbering machine, approaching robot or off-target Batarang launched across the screen. Directionality is precise and involving, pans are smooth, and dynamics never falter. Dialogue isn't shortchanged either, arriving with ever-intelligible, impressively grounded voices that are never disconnected from the soundscape or compromised in any way. And the music? Masterfully prioritized, without issue or incident. This is about as good as The LEGO Movie -- or any animated movie for that matter -- could sound.
"Everything Is Awesome" isn't just a song you'll still be humming affectionately years from now, it's an anthem of everything The LEGO Movie is and will continue to be, no matter how often it's revisited. The story, script, voice cast, animation, energy, music, gags, easter eggs... the entire production. Awesome. The vision, the artistry, the humor, the discovery, the all-ages fun. Awesome. The one word your children will one day use to describe The LEGO Movie to their children... I think you get the point. It's an insta-classic worth owning, something made that much easier thanks to Warner's terrific Blu-ray release. Though a bit light on substantive extras, the video presentation, 3D experience and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track combine to create a set that deserves its place on your shelf. It's also a shoo-in for our "Best of 2014" list. Look for it to earn a spot in multiple categories by multiple reviewers.
2014
includes Digital bonus episode of LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu: Rise of the Snakes
2014
includes Meet the Characters Children's Book
2014
Everything Is Awesome Edition | Collector's Edition with Cinch Bag and Sticker Sheet
2014
THE SPECIAL Special Edition
2014
2014
2014
The LEGO Movie 2 Movie Cash
2014
3 Bonus Figurines
2014
2014
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Ultimate Collector's Edition
2004
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2009
PIXAR
2016
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Collector's Edition
2020
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Ultimate Collector's Edition
2018
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