It's hard to follow in the footsteps of a highly successful and well-accepted movie, but Gotham will soon be overrun by villains if he doesn't do something.
The film quickly gained the love of the fans after its release, and while it isn't perfect, it certainly has a lot of positive aspects. Here are 5 things that The LEGO Batman Movie did better than the live-action Batman films and 5 ways the live-action movies are better.
Things LEGO Batman Did Better: Sense Of Humor
The LEGO Batman Movie was geared towards both children and adults and it offered a lot of jokes understandable to both categories of viewers. The film may last only about 100 minutes, but it contains so many jokes that it's impossible to catch all of them when you watch it for the first time.
It's difficult to pick one best scene, but pretty much any time Batman interacts with others, be it his friends or enemies, it is comedy gold.
Ways The Live-Action Movies Are Better: No Music Scenes
What a better way to fight crime than with a song on your lips. The LEGO Batman Movie introduces Batman in an epic way when Batman shows up on the scene and defeats Joker and the other villains, all the while singing, or really, rapping, about how great he is.
But not all of the songs in the movie hit their mark and some of them were quite painful to listen to, at least depending on each viewer's individual taste in music.
Things LEGO Batman Did Better: Breaking The Fourth Wall
Batman is one of the most popular superheroes ever, so it's no surprise that there have been many films with the caped crusader, as well as the TV show, with Adam West. Unlike his predecessors, The LEGO Batman Movie isn't afraid to acknowledge all the epic (and sometimes less epic) Batman films and series that came before him.
When Alfred mentions he's worried for Bruce, he says that Bruce has gone through a similar crisis many times before, and what follows is a montage from all the significant previous Batman films. Plus, Batman comments on the production companies that made the film since its beginning and he effectively breaks the fourth wall this way.
Ways The Live-Action Movies Are Better: Batman Doesn't Crush On Batgirl
In The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman quickly falls for Barbara Gordon, who becomes a new commissioner after her dad retires. And Batman isn't the only one who likes Barbara - so does Bruce Wayne. Barbara later goes on to become Batgirl and she works with the caped crusader who clearly has a crush on her.
This might seem cute, but only until the audience realizes that Batman is a good few decades older than Barbara since she mentions in one scene that she wanted to be like Batman when she was a child, making it even more obvious how young she is in comparison to Batman.
Things LEGO Batman Did Better: A Lot Of Villains
Were you wishing you could see Godzilla, King Kong, Sauron, Voldemort, and others interact with the DC villains? The LEGO Batman Movie gave you the chance.
When he freed the villains from the Phantom Zone, Joker brought them to Earth and they tried to destroy Gotham. To stop them, Batman teamed up with his enemies, such as Scarecrow, Clayface, Bane, and Poison Ivy. The film makes space for a lot of villains who otherwise played second fiddle in the live-action movies, and it's a joy to watch them go into battle.
Ways The Live-Action Movies Are Better: Caring Superman
Justice League, when they fought side by side to stop Steppenwolf.
This is why it may come as a surprise that The LEGO Batman Movie's Superman doesn't seem to care about Batman, despite his usually kind nature. He even doesn't invite him to an annual Justice League party in the Fortress of Solitude, and when Batman arrives, Superman pretends that his invite got lost in the mail.
Things LEGO Batman Did Better: Will Arnett
Once you've heard Will Arnett's voice a few times, it's impossible to forget it. Arnett has voiced the caped crusader more than once and he always did an amazing job.
His Batman is all the superhero fan could ask for - funny, intelligent, emotionally constipated, ready to throw himself into action, and even to sacrifice his life for his friends and his city, if need be. Without the quality of Arnett's performance, The LEGO Batman Movie would be barely half as awesome as it is.
Ways The Live-Action Movies Are Better: More Space For Iconic Villains
The LEGO Batman Movie includes a lot of iconic Batman villains, but it gives proper space to only a few of them. The live-action movies, on the other hand, have throughout the years offered a detailed look at some of the most famous villains, such as Catwoman, Penguin, or Bane.
It would be nice to see more of the individual villains in the animated Batman film, but the movie puts its emphasis on Joker and the rest of the villains are pushed into the background, more or less.
Things LEGO Batman Did Better: The Relationship Between Batman And Joker
Joker has been Batman's archnemesis for decades, so it makes sense that he appeared in multiple live-action films, as well as in the animated series. This time voiced by Zach Galifianakis, Joker is determined to make Batman it that he's Batman's greatest enemy, but Batman isn't taking the bait, and Joker comes up with an evil plan how to make Batman confess the truth.
The film did a great job of portraying how important Batman and Joker are to each other since, without him, Joker would have no-one to fight with, and his chaos complements Batman's effort for order.
Ways The Live-Action Movies Are Better: Better-Handled Romance
It's already been established that Batman is a bit too old to have a crush on Barbara, who's young enough to be his daughter in the film. The relationship between them doesn't move beyond friendship, and that's for the best.
Batman has had much better love interests in his live-action films, or even potential love interests. For example, many fans noticed the strong chemistry between Batman and DCEU and thought it'd be interesting to see more of them together, which happened in the Justice League.
