Alex Serrano

Who’s the definitive Batman? Right now, popular opinion points to Christian Bale as Christopher Nolan’s angsty post-9/11 metaphor for the war on terrorism in the excellent “Dark Knight” trilogy. The other contender, Ben Affleck, portrayed as a grimdark psychopathic killer in the much-defamed “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” is a glimmer of good in a garbage fire of a movie. Indeed, the last time we had a fun, charismatic, cartoon-aestheticized Batman was the critically panned, so-bad-it’s-good “Batman and Robin” nearly twenty years ago.

I find that most grimdark Batmen play more towards the older 30-something fans who grew up with Frank Miller’s gruesome and revolutionarily revisionist run. But to me, Batman is not a man. Batman in my eyes should not be a man plunged into deep, never-ending depression by the death of his parents. This is a simple comic book character, and applying real-world politics and circumstances to his story takes away a lot of what makes Batman fun.

Batman, at the core, is like a child’s daydream. Batman rids Gotham of childish nightmare villains using ‘50s-style detective work, high-tech gadgets, and judo by night; and by day is Bruce Wayne, an absurdly rich Hugh Hefner-styled man-child. Batman is like a miracle mix of pulp heroes James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, and Indiana Jones. Why should Batman be perpetually hung up on the murky gray morality of his suffering? Can’t he just move on from his parents’ death? These are questions that the movie in question, “The Lego Batman Movie,” tackles head on and with vigor.

In “Lego Batman,” Batman (“Arrested Development”’s Will Arnett) is the ultimate nihilist. When the movie opens, he doesn’t care to acknowledge his overarching absent-parent syndrome. His longstanding arch-nemesis-ship with The Joker has lost it’s spark. Even the Justice League and Bruce Wayne’s playboy shenanigans are secondary to the idea of Batman, and Batman’s too-cool narcissism. So when The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and the entire rogues’ gallery of villains turn themselves in, Batman struggles to maintain his sense of self-worth. Without villains, what is a broody Batman to do?

“The Lego Batman Movie” seems to understand that all brooding, sulky, grimdark Batman needs is… a hug. Companionship. Because in addition to being an avatar for a child’s fantasy of adulthood, Batman can also function as a surrogate father figure. Similar to Indiana Jones and Short Round, Batman in this context exists to save a young orphan’s childhood, the life a young Bruce Wayne never had the chance to live. A life of goofball-ish adventure, mystery, and friendship. And that is exactly the kind of Batman “The Lego Batman Movie” gives us.