The critical praise that The Lego Batman has received is proof that Warner Bros. does know how to handle at least one cinematic angle for the Caped Crusader. It has come at the perfect time, too. That's because Batman's involvement in the DC Extended Universe has never been more tumultuous, with the revelation that Ben Affleck won't be directing The Batman now followed by speculation that he doesn't even want to star. And that's before we even discuss the poor reviews for both Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad.
But it turns out that there are actually lessons that the DC Extended Universe could take from The Lego Batman Movie. Need specifics? Of course you do. Here are 5 things that the DC Extended Universe can learn from _The Lego Batman Movie. _
More Fun, And More Humor, Can Work
We've hardly seen Ben Affleck crack a smile as Bruce Wayne, let alone tell a joke or make us laugh. The Lego Batman Movie obviously, was at the complete other end of the spectrum, because Will Arnett's incarnation of the Caped Crusader made us chortle with pretty much everything he said. Lego Batman seemed to be having a lot more fun than Affleck's much more serious version. And while we don't need to hear Batman telling knock-knock jokes, it would be nice to hear him dropping him some quips in the future as he lays the smackdown. Thankfully the trailers for the Justice League suggest that the DC Extended Universe has learned from the error of their ways, and he'll be doing just that (or allowing The Flash to steal some scenes) in November's blockbuster.
Deliver Heroes We Want To See
This might be controversial: but in my opinion no recent Batman film has managed to pair the Caped Crusader up with the likes of Robin or Batgirl in a manner befitting the supporting characters. Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone's performances as Robin and Batgirl failed to save Batman Forever and Batman & Robin from embarrassment. Anne Hathaway's portrayal as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises was the most memorable, but even she felt a little one note, while Joseph Gordon Levitt's sidekick was only revealed as "Robin" right at the end.
In fact, only the 1966 Batman film really had Batman, Batgirl, and Robin working together in an equal and entertaining fashion. The was until Lego Batman Movie, which had Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and even Alfred come together to form a team for its conclusion that didn't just rely on Batman. It also reminded viewers that Batman's world is much bigger and richer than just him, too.
Give Us Villains We Want To See
One of the most entertaining aspects of The Lego Batman Movie was its exhilarating opening sequence. This saw the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) commandeering a plane headed for Gotham and then explaining his dastardly plan while introducing a whole host of villains from Batman's past. While there's no way that a live-action Batman movie could get away with briefly introducing us to villains of such ilk and then just give them a handful of lines, Lego Batman Movie knew that it needed to have the Joker right at its very core.
Two movies into Batman's tenure in the DC Extended Universe and Ben Affleck has not come up against a villain that has actually pushed his buttons. Despite possessing Ben Affleck as Batman and Jared Leto as the Joker there has never been a concrete indication from Warner Bros that they're actually going to be in a film together, even though that might be the exact cure to its problem.
Use Knowing Winks To The Past
The Joker's roll-call during Lego Batman Movie's opening was just one of numerous examples from the film of its director (Chris McKay) and writers (Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, John Whittington) delving back into the iconic character's near 80-year history for knowing references and quips that fans adored.
The DC Extended Universe, however, hasn't managed to do such a good job at alluding to Batman's past. While it has already been revealed that Ben Affleck's Batman is battle scarred, and it has even been suggested that Robin has died at the hand of the Joker, the fact that we haven't seen these antics yet means that its been hard to connect with the mopey Batman. In this case, little nods to the past are better than big ones.
Embrace An Established World
One aspect where The Lego Batman Movie really did outdo its DC Extended Universe brethren is how it immediately gave us a sense that Batman had been fighting crime and trying to keep Gotham together for a long time. Of course, it helped that we saw Batman in The Lego Movie as recently as 2014. But The Lego Batman Movie was able to use this as a launching off point, and thanks to its exhilarating opening sequence, we were able to get a quick feel for both the geography of Gotham and its history, too.
It proved that we don't need yet another origin story for Batman, and that you can immediately get right into the nitty-gritty of what makes him tick. Fingers crossed that the future DC Extended Universe takes a similar path, otherwise the next Batman film could be treading over familiar ground. Which is something that it just can't afford to do.
