The pieces don’t fit
Byline: Rashid Irani
THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE
Direction: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan
Voices: Dave Franco, Justin Theroux
Rating: *
Squarely aimed at very young children, the third installment in the Lego Movie franchise is a waste of time for accompanying adults.
The plot of the latest animated adventure based on the construction-toy mini-figures centres around a hoary father-versus-son conflict.
A sensitive high-school student-turned-ninja warrior (Dave Franco) has to defend his island homeland against an evil warlord (Justin Theroux) and his generals. As you might have guessed, the snarky villain happens to be the young lad’s dad.
Help is at hand in the form of a sensei master (Jackie Chan, irrepressible as ever) and a clutch of the hero’s ninja buddies, who are equipped with a gamut of elemental powers. An array of voice talent including Michael Pena and standup comic Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) is utilised for the young braveheart.
The outcome of the eventual showdown is both predictable and anti-climactic. While the characters are without exception one-note, the dialogue is consistently clunky.
Just for the record, it has taken nine writers, five editors, a trio of directors and a live cat named Meowthra (just kidding) to churn out such dreck. Phew!