Why put these two films together in one review?  The common denominator, for those unaware, is that the directors of both features were the duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.  In the case of The Lego Movie, these two very gifted individuals were also involved in the screenplay.

I suppose that last statement above gives away what I think about both films, but let me nonetheless elaborate a little.

When I first heard of The Lego Movie, I scoffed.

Seriously?  A film based on Lego toys?  How cheesy.  How corporate.  Just what the movie going audiences need: Another commercial for a toy line disguised as a kid’s film.

Yet once the film was released, I was more than a little surprised by the wealth of very positive reviews.  When I investigated the film some more and the people behind it (again, Mr. Lord and Miller), I was intrigued.  Not enough to catch the film during its theatrical run, but enough to give it a look when, and if, the opportunity presented itself.

While sitting on the very looong flight to England (if you get a chance to go there, take it.  Lovely place!) last week, the film was one of many available to be seen through the passenger entertainment system.  Opportunity, present!  I gave The Lego Movie a whirl.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Would the film be as good as others had said, or was this a case of mass exaggeration?  I had gone through that once before, with the first Charlie’s Angels movie.  It seemed every review was something along the lines of “It was actually good!  I expected total crap and it was actually very good!”  By the time I saw the movie, my expectations were high and, I found, the movie was a disappointment.

In this case, thought, I’m happy to say the critics were right on target.  The Lego Movie proved to far, far better than my low to cautiously optimistic expectations.  The film is a creative ball of wonder, one that uses astonishing lego scenery for just about everything frame of the film and every character within.  But astonishing visuals alone a good movie does not make, and it is the creativity in the script that really counts.

The story goes as follows: In Legotown, a worker drone (essentially a nobody) gets involved in the reality behind the scenes of his seeming placid world.  Evil doings are going on and, after bumping into the more than capable of defending herself WyldStyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), our reluctant would-be hero finds he might just be the savior of the entire Lego world.

I know, I know…if you think about it, the plot sounds suspiciously similar to that of The Matrix.  I’ll grant you this is indeed the case, but you’re in for so very much more.  The film takes you through delightful comedic stretches and worlds, bumping into an astonishing array of copyright characters while providing a healthy dose of laugh out loud moments.

But back to the characters encountered!

Where else do you have a film that features, I kid you not, Batman –THE Batman- along with several other superheroes (I won’t mention who as I don’t want to spoil things)?  Granted, Batman is a Lego version of the character, but he’s there.  Along with other superheroes are a host of well known and surprising characters.  How the studios managed to fit them all here in this one film (albeit in Lego form) is yet another thing of wonder.

So to those like me who scoffed at the idea of a Lego Movie, scoff no more.  If you still can’t believe this feature is as good as others say, give it five minutes.  If that doesn’t convince you to watch the rest, I don’t know what will.

So the ever active Mr. Lord and Miller followed up the impressive The Lego Movie with the sequel to their better than I thought it would be 21 Jump Street with… 22 Jump Street.

Now, mind you, I wasn’t in rapture with 21 Jump Street.  I thought it was a decent movie with some very funny humor but, overall, I thought it was a “good” but not “great” film.

Well, the boys behind that film probably felt the same -and decided to one up themselves- because 22 Jump Street is far, far better than the original film.

Years ago the movie Airplane! absolutely destroyed every cliche and situation regarding both disaster movies and airplane disaster movies in particular.  22 Jump Street does the same thing…but its focus is not only on buddy cop action films, it is on the very concept of movie sequels!

And what a skewering movie sequels get in this film!

From the sign next to the old 21 Jump Street church to the closing credits that effectively wring every last laugh on what sequels are like, 22 Jump Street hits every note and makes a meta-commentary on all it is to be a sequel, from the far larger budget to the fact that “you were lucky the first time”.

“How do we solve this crime?” one of the characters ask.  “How did we do it the last time?” the another deadpans.

And so it goes.  Self-referential and with tongue firmly in cheek, the hilarious 22 Jump Street might be one of the best comedies I’ve seen since the golden days of Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker.

Seriously, its that good.

Both films are highly, highly recommended.