7. Surprisingly Great Story
Arguably the hardest thing to get off the ground when adapting a movie based on something as plain and simple as building blocks is framing a story that can entertain and actually feel relevant to LEGOs. It’s definitely tricky to pull off, but Phil Lord and Chris Miller (21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) didn’t take the easy way out, instead opting to use the license to tell a story that can only work inside the LEGO universe.
The plot involves Emmett (Chris Pratt), your average everyday LEGO citizen craving a desire to feel special. He wants to be admired by his peers and to go on and do extraordinary things in life. It just so happens that he comes across a key to saving the universe from a tyrannical businessman aptly named Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who plans to glue the world together. The only problem is that Emmett isn’t a very special person at all.
Vitruvius – an elderly blind wizard voiced by Morgan Freeman – states that even though Emmett isn’t a Master Builder, he still could be the prophet. Meanwhile, Wyldystyle – a heart-stoppingly pretty, dark-haired LEGO woman – feels that there is no way someone as uncreative and untalented as Emmett could ever be the savior.
Together, they embark on a journey that keeps audiences hooked and interested in their efforts of foiling Lord Business’ dastardly plans. The only real issue with the story – which is an incredibly tiny detail – is that Lord Business’ motivations aren’t really made clear until near the end of the movie, but this is all mitigated in the final act which puts everything into perspective.
