So, I’m going to try and get a full-featured review for this moving, and use it as an excuse to go see it again, I think. But first, I figured I’d give us a spoileriffic thread to discuss the movie in, and also mix in some early impressions of how the movies line up with the sets we’ve gotten so far. So, obviously, below the fold, there will be some mild spoilers.
However, before that, there are several sets that are currently on sale for the movie. Almost all sets available on Amazon have some sort of discount, and Walmart has Scarecrow Special Delivery on rollback.
- 70900 The Joker Balloon Escape
- 70901 Mr Freeze Ice Attack
- 70902 Catwoman Catcycle Chase
- 70903 The Riddler Riddle Racer
- 70904 Clayface Splat Attack
- 70905 The Batmobile
- 70906 The Joker Notorious Lowrider
- 70907 Killer Croc’s Tail-Gator
- 70908 The Scuttler
- 70909 Batcave Break-In
- 70910 Scarecrow Special Delivery
So… needless to say, I really enjoyed the movie. There are a whole lot of legitimately funny moments and jokes. I’m going to sidestep doing the comparison to the LEGO movie… I don’t think it was really trying to one-up or match it at all. It was a movie all its own, and certainly took a lot of inspiration from what made The LEGO Movie work. Yet it was trying to just go for a full animated movie, and was a weird mix of honoring and lampooning Batman, but also poking fun at romantic comedies, of all things.
I thought that Rogue One was a movie that did fan references well (and almost to excess). The Batman Movie went “here, hold my beer” to that, and tucked away so many references, both on-the-nose (Joker talking about the villains) and subtle (costumes from the 66 movie, Bat Merch stuff, costumes in the background, etc). I’m also shocked that they kept a lid on so many of the extra bits that weren’t related to Batman from the public. Superman and the Justice League (and dear god do I want that General Zod minifigure), King Kong and Agent Smith from the Matrix, and so many more characters that suddenly made a huge chunk of the Dimensions lineup make sense.
70900 The Joker Balloon Escape
While I felt this set could have been better, Joker’s Balloon and Batman’s hook are both spot-on to the movie. The real miss here is the bomb and power station parts. I like that computer, but the whole power station in the movie was massive, and the bomb was huge and probably deserved a couple hundred more parts. It also attached to a pillar under the plant, not the plant itself.
I really didn’t like this set all this much, and was hard on the mech… but it’s actually pretty accurate to the movie. Still not a huge fan of the look, but it certainly worked better there. I don’t recall seeing freeze attack a security guard at all… that fight happened so fast there wasn’t much to see with it.
I didn’t like this set, and the movie did nothing to improve that. Catwoman was probably on the cycle at some point in the beginning, but if you added up how much she was on the screen, it was probably less than a minute. There was also never a moment where Batgirl and Robin were fighting her, since by the time Robin was involved and Batgirl was Batgirl… Catwoman was helping the heroes against The Joker and his ultimate villains.
70903 The Riddler Riddle RacerÂ
I loved this set, though it’s time was fairly brief (at the beginning at the end of the movie). The only line I remember from the Riddler was asking about when the villains all surrendered, asking what happened. Still, this set is worth every single penny, and all of the characters showed up in it multiple times. Still, after building almost all of the sets, this one is still my favorite.
Ace is reviewing this set… mostly because I didn’t care for it all that much when I first saw it. Still not super a fan, but will be buying it. Clayface was very recognizable in the movie, and the mayor showed up a few times. The real shame, here, is that we don’t have a fantastic crossover figure with Batman, dressed as the mayor, but with the blond wig over the cowl.
It was awesome as a set, it was awesome in the trailer, and it is still awesome after the movie. With the announcement of the Ultimate Batmobile set, and the other sets coming, this one is still important. I’m actually consider buying a couple more just to mod into some of the intermediate stages we saw in the movie.
70906 The Joker Notorious Lowrider
The strongest sets in the lineup, thus far, have all been vehicles. I was shocked to have liked this one as much as I did, but of most of the vehicles listed here, it’s probably the one that got the least amount of screen time. I noticed it once, but I don’t think Harley was driving it at the end and the Joker was on the other side. I will say, that while I love the printed bat, IÂ really wish after seeing the movie that they would have given Harley the over-sized clown hammer she had in the movie. It was far more accurate to the character, and just fits better. Luckily, it looks like we will get that in the summer Batwing set.
70907 Killer Croc’s Tail-Gator
You know, I’m sure that this was in the whole vehicle mix at the start and finish, but I don’t remember seeing it. The one thing that stood out is the little Bat-ski that it comes with. It’s what a robed Batman was on at the start while enjoying his Lobster Thermindor before eventually breaking into a rock guitar solo… alone in his huge Batcave. I would gladly play for a nice set that had those vehicles and that Batman…
Ace is on the hook for this set, so I didn’t buy it until just after watching the movie (it’s a great purchase at LEGO to get your double minifigure polybag). It made the least amount of sense of nearly all of the sets (the Catwoman set still confuses me more) before seeing the movie… but it stands as a standout after seeing it. There was something endearing about it in the movie, and a lot of the features and minifigures in here make a whole lot of sense now.
I didn’t care for this set before seeing the movie… and I’ll be honest, I don’t care for it after. The Penguin vehicle makes more sense, since its what he was driving at the start (the Arctic Roller is what he was driving at the end). However, the Batcave has so much charm and personality in the movie. We see a whole bunch of it, and different parts around the cave and the mansion, and none of that is here.
Worse, than that, those penguins should have drills!
70910 Scarecrow Special Delivery
This one is on my list to review… S@H lot my package for a week or so after I ordered it, so it arrived after I took my last batch of pictures. Scarecrow was weird as a pizza delivery guy, but that’s how he appears at the start. I don’t really remember seeing the delivery vehicle, but the entire opening happened so fast it could have been cut or happened in a second or two in the background. This one is a Walmart.com exclusive, and available with a discount through them.
70911 The Penguin Arctic Roller
Of the vehicles, this one was the most striking, assuming you looked at it from a particular angle. As a set, with the minifigures, it was probably the most disappointing. The vehicle showed up for a few seconds at the end, when the Batman Friends were bringing together all of the villains to fight the Joker, and it looked good in passing. Unfortunately, the set’s problems are still there, but I can understand wanting all of the vehicles.
I loved this set when I reviewed it. After seeing the movie… I still love it, but I’m more than willing to say it has some of the same problems that the Batcave has. I think this one does a better job of capturing the movie style, but Arkham in the movie looked a lot bigger on the outside (and a lot more fortress like). Inside, the prison cells in the movie looked really good, and it would have been great to see one or two built. We saw all of the characters shown outside of their cells, so they could have easily made it work.
The cop car is pretty good compared to what we see in the movie, though the interior is still non-existent. The gun is also a major item in the whole plot, and makes sense in the set. What should have been in the set, though, is a jumpsuit version of Robin (and a briefs version of Batman).
The LEGO Batman Movie Accessory Set
I ran across this set almost incidentally a week or two ago. To answer one question, the S@H listing is wrong… the woman is O’hara. She’s never called a chief in the movie, but is called by name a couple of times. I’m not sure if the other two were in there, specifically, but they’re still cool, and there were a lot of police officers in the movie.
71017Â Collectible Minifigures
You know, I don’t recall seeing Catman in hte movie, but all of the rest came into play at some point. A few quibbles, like the fact that Barbra should have a key instead of handcuffs up there, and Harley is weird in this outfit (we see the Arkham version and the regular one that I remember). The ducky part also shows up, but I don’t recall seeing him in (it was one of the things he left in Arkham).
The rest, though, are at various parts. The one I want multiples of hasn’t changed… Batman with his lobster and Robin.
That’s the lineup so far, and a decent mix. I’m really excited for the stuff coming out in the summer, and probably identified another dozen playsets and a whole bunch of characters and variants that could show up in another CMF line. Also curious what other people saw in the movie that they want to see show up in sets or as parts?
