The LEGO Ninjago Movie

The LEGO�-on-screen phenomenon hits a major speedbump in its third installment, "The LEGO Ninjago Movie." And by "speedbump," what I really mean is "large roadblock that propels the vehicle into the air and sends it flying into a brick wall." This is a boring, one-dimensional, godawful exercise in corporate milking that doesn't even come close to the clever, hilarious output of its predecessors, "The LEGO Movie" and "The LEGO Batman Movie."

Jokes are beaten into the ground in this mess-of-a-movie that attempts blending a standard action-hero storyline with ninja references and cat jokes. One of the most abused jokes is the through-line of the plot, which involves a high-schooler named Lloyd (Dave Franco) who moonlights as the "Green Ninja" of a Ninjago crew that frequently defends the city from an evil villain names Garmadon (Justin Theroux). The gag? Garmadon is Lloyd's dad.

That's honestly a rich premise, but "The LEGO Ninjago Movie" destroys any ingenuity with its endless reliance on the insipid. Jokes consistently fall flat, and the story fails to maintain momentum and comes to a dead halt about one-third into the movie. The rest is a slog to get through, and it is absurd for a movie like this to be anywhere above 90 minutes, let alone this particular film's running time of 101 minutes. Good luck getting through this damn thing without your eyes rolling back into your head from boredom.

Newly available on 4K Ultra HD, the film is admittedly a bright and colorful affair, but it feels so bland that you may as well be watching a 480p image in black-and-white. This movie is a work of forced commerce and not much more. Don't waste your money on it. When it came to the first two LEGO� films, the registered trademark symbol visible on the poster was consistently outweighed by the creative energy on screen. When it comes to this third incarnation, the movie may as well just be called "�."

"The LEGO Ninjago Movie"
4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack
$44.95
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