Gavin McGinty

There's a lot to like - the characters, the focus on truth and shining a light on the treatment of women in our patriarchal society. There's also a lot that just didn't land well. The 1984 setting gave them so much scope, but it seems like they were overwhelmed by all the ways they could use it. In the end, the film could have been set in present day and I doubt anyone would have noticed. I wish they'd picked a few ideas and really built them deep into the plot, instead it ended up feeling like a very thin dusting of powdered sugar, rather than an integral part of the cake mix. Max Lord's character was weak and cringey. Cheetah, for all the build up, was woefully underused in the end. If this had been 'free' on Netflix, I'd maybe have scored it a 4, but having paid to rent this I came away pretty disappointed.

Wow, I'm really not sure how they managed to stuff that up quite so badly. I can only guess that it was maybe intended to be a longer film, but had an hour cut out of it during editing. The plot make *zero sense*; major characters from the books are sidelined (most notably Butler and Foaly, especially horrible given the roles went to two amazing BAME actors); Artemis and Holly's instant-best-friends thing is just wrong; making the father a hero figure (and cutting the mother entirely) is wrong on so many levels; Opal Koboi is reduced to a one-dimensional psychopath baddie; we learn nothing of the Lower Elements... I really could go on, but the full list would be longer than the film itself. If you're a fan of the books prepare to be very disappointed. If you haven't read the books, give this a hard pass: you stand zero chance of following anything that is going on.

Great family movie, aimed at kids aged 5-12, particularly (though not exclusively) those who are already fans of Playmobil toys. I'd give it 4/5 stars. It doesn't stray far from the formula created by the Lego Movie franchise, but that's probably a good thing. The plot takes a back seat to the visuals, but it keeps moving and the underlying messages (the bond between siblings, believing in yourself and your dreams) are well carried through. The writing is particularly good - lots of humour with plenty of funny one-liners and visual gags. I'd compare it to the Lego Batman Movie. It's not as good as the original Lego Movie, but it's better than Lego Movie 2 and Lego Ninjago Movie. NB that the first 10 minutes could be a bit challenging for very young viewers (the children are told their parents have died in a car crash, they grow up and fall out). Fortunately the pace is high and the next few scenes are suitably funny and exciting, so the despair / jeopardy factor is kept in check.