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Starring the voices of Will Arnett, Zach Galafianakis, Ralph Fiennes, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera

Directed by Chris McKay

Warner Bros., out now

The Dark Knight returns as a pint-sized narcissist in this frenetic and scattergun comedy caper that is literally the sum of all previous Batman movies, shredded and reformed into tiny plastic bricks.

As the movie fades in with a black screen, a gravelly-voiced narrator (Will Arnett’s Batman) tells us that black is a cool colour and that all cool films are black. He then proceeds to talk over the Warner Bros (‘Why Bros and not Brothers?’ His words, not mine), DC and Ratpac Dune logos. Depending on how you feel about this pseudo DVD commentary will determine how likely you are to engage with the next 100 minutes – it’s daft, peppered with countless Batman movie references and takes no prisoners. There are no sacred cows (or bats) with even Suicide Squad getting a couple of well-aimed pot shots.

It probably helps that the last two big screen Batmovies (Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad) were such box office bombs, because this outing just needed to pass the time of day to be be held in higher regard. But that would ignore the amount of sheer invention blasting across the screen, and even if a lot of the time you’re struggling to keep up with the technicolor explosions and trying to catch the witty one-liners, at least there’s some substance here.

The plot is a simple one. Batman has again saved Gotham City from an attack of the super villains, and he’s pretty complacent about how awesome he is. He’s also in complete denial that he’s lonely and has no-one to share his life with. Elsewhere, the Joker (a dagger-toothed Zach Galafianakis) is gutted that the Caped Crusader refuses to acknowledge him as his nemesis and thus sets about getting himself expelled to the Phantom Zone. The plan works and Batman realises that he has to work with his new ‘family’ of Alfred (a very droll Ralph Fiennes), Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and Robin (Michael Cera) to save the city from a brick Armageddon by the likes of Voldemort, Sauron, Gremlins, Flying Monkeys and multicoloured ‘British robots’.

It’s a glorious, noisy carnival and I suspect that a second home video viewing will reveal a lot of the ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ detail in the Bat Cave, Arkham Asylum and the glorious brick recreations of classic covers and scenes from previous live-action Batman films. It is of course a giant advert for the LEGO toy range and it’s fascinating how many of the vehicles and characters from the latest movie wave of kits are literally in one scene. Lorne Balfe’s score is, as you’d hope, a melange of Elfman, Zimmer and Nelson Riddle, and even the Phantom Zone has its own jingle.

Fans of Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin may feel aggrieved at the lack of screen time dedicated to their favourite baddies, but it’s hard to see where they would fit in to this already packed canvas. It’s also worth observing that unlike The LEGO Movie (if which this is probably more of a descendant than a sequel) this is less about LEGO and more about Batman, who just so happens to be made of LEGO. That previous movie was all about the power of the kit, fighting conformity and letting your imagination run riot. This is a comedy Batman movie that subject to a couple of tweaks could have been made in another medium; a couple of plot contrivances aside, the LEGO is not essential this time round.

Plus points include the joyous reveal of the origin of Robin’s costume and his absence of trousers, the John Williams Superman Theme doorbell chime at the Fortress of Solitude, Bane’s silly pompous voice and the brick construct action captions lifted from the 1960s Batman TV series. Arguably less successful is the constant barrage of Batman’s egotistical behaviour. In The LEGO Movie he was perfect because he was a supporting character but this time round it’s relentless and you can’t wait for him to learn his life lesson. Young master Grayson says to him ‘My friends call me Dick’, to which Bruce Wayne’s replies: ‘Kids can be so cruel.’ Well, Bruce, there’s actually two Dicks in this movie and one wears a cowl.

Verdict: Not everything is awesome this time, it’s occasionally patchy, and it’s probably 10 minutes too long, but I consistently laughed all the way through and appreciated the clever little winks to camera by the makers who clearly know their stuff and have huge affection for Batman and his universe. Whilst probably being the best brick-based construction toy movie you’ll see all year it could well be best-loved DC superhero movie of the year. Wonder Woman and Justice League beware! 7/10

Nick Joy