LEGO NINJAGO Movie | Parent Movie Review
Last week my kids played a little hooky from school (just a little, I promise!) and we all went to an advanced screening of LEGO® NINJAGO®
Yes, I’m that mom.
Hey, movies are a big thing around here and my kids definitely love LEGOS so it wasn’t much of a struggle to make this happen.
We’ve watched and laughed through the other LEGO movies and knew this would be another fun adventure!
THE LEGO® NINJAGO® MOVIE
In this big-screen NINJAGO® adventure, the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja (Dave Franco), along with his friends, who are all secret warriors. Led by Master Wu (Jackie Chan), as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), the Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu.
LEGO NINJAGO Movie Review
After a brief introduction in the present with Jackie Chan, the LEGO part of the movie starts out.
Lloyd, the undercover green ninja, celebrates his birthday, minus his absentee bad dude father.
Well, he did butt-dial him, coincidentally on his birthday, of course!
We learn that things are not great between Llyod and his dad, Garmadon, but I guess that’s to be expected when he’s the Worst Guy Ever.
The action kicks off pretty quickly and the Ninjas are thrown into a battle to save NINJAGO City from yet another attack from Garmadon.
Lloyds green dragon is pretty sweet & my kids gave huge thumbs up to this fast-moving sequence.
In fact, all of the Ninjas have great (buildable, natch!) LEGO transportation vehicles and you might be able to get your Christmas shopping checked off right now. Hint-Hint, parents!
But during this fight things fall apart when Meow-thra (a live-action cat!) is unleashed on the city.
To combat this monster, the Ninjas are sent on a quest to unleash the inner power of Spinjitsu.
And that’s when things get fun!
The best parts of this movie were the interactions between Lloyd and Garmadon as they move their relationship away from adversaries and towards father/son.
The continuing gag from Garmadon insisting that the correct pronunciation of Lloyd is Luh-Loyd made me giggle every. single. time.
The laughs and the action build throughout the quest.
We found Master Wu, Garmadon’s brother, to be particularly fun. He had some great 4th wall breaking lines that adults will find hard to resist.
The storyline isn’t my favorite of the three LEGO movies so far (that one goes to the all-heart story of the LEGO Movie) but it was still a lot of fun for adults and kids alike.
Go see it during a matinee after soccer and your family will have a blast!
Parental Review
I took all 4 of my kids (6, 10, 12, and 14) and this movie is age appropriate for everyone. My 14-year-old was sitting next to me and laughed the whole movie long, so even an older child will enjoy this one!
My 14-year-old was sitting next to me and laughed the whole movie long, so even an older child will enjoy this one!
The LEGO® NINJAGO® movie opens on September 22 in theaters nationwide!
instagram.com/LEGONINJAGOmovie/
Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
