The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) has enlisted a horde of villains to destroy Gotham if it is not surrendered to him. Batman (Will Arnett) swoops in, defeats the army of every villain he has ever faced, and foils the Joker’s plan. As the Joker is about to escape, Batman confesses that the Joker is not his number one enemy.

With his fragile psyche destroyed, the Joker devises a plan to prove to Batman that he needs the Joker. As Commissioner Gordon (Hector Elizondo) is handing the key to the city over to his daughter Barbara (Rosario Dawson), the Joker and his evil band show up at the event. To everyone’s surprise, they all surrender.

With all the villains in jail, Batman is realizing he has nothing to do. This is when the Joker and Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate) begin their diabolical plan. The Joker is sent to the Phantom Zone, where he enlists the help of every villain ever to help him destroy Gotham and Batman.

Having alienated almost everyone and rejected by Superman (Channing Tatum) and the rest of the Justice League, Batman teams up with Barbara Gordon, his annoying, recently adopted son Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), and his butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) to stop the Joker before it is too late.

Cashing in on the success of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s hit The LEGO Movie, Adam McKay takes over as director in the first sequel. Lord and Miller had set the bar pretty high for what a LEGO movie should be. McKay takes everything that was good about the Lord and Miller’s and makes a movie that I would say is as good as, if not better than the original.

The ensemble that was put together for this movie is simply amazing. You have the obvious Will Arnett as Batman and Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, who absolutely kill in their roles. Michael Cera as Robin, Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon, and Ralph Fiennes as Alfred round out the lead characters. All do an exceptional job. The rest of the cast has the likes of Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Jenny Slate, all the way to Billy Dee Williams and Mariah Carey. The list of big name stars in this film is too long to list. Everyone is perfect in their roles, regardless of how briefly they are on screen.

The LEGO Batman Movie has a slight advantage over The LEGO Movie, in that it isn’t based in the real world. It gets down to pure LEGO action without making it about people playing with the LEGOs. That being said, LEGO Batman keeps the action authentically LEGO-like. From the scenery to the action, everything is how you would do it if you were playing with the LEGOs. Even when the characters are shooting, they say “PEW! PEW!” The smallest details are perfectly executed. That is not to say that there is nothing to the story. Batman must learn the importance of teamwork and family.

If you enjoyed The LEGO Movie, and I don’t know many who didn’t, you will love The LEGO Batman Movie. Everything that you loved is back and better than before. If you’re a Batman fan, you will love the subtle nods to the comics. Every Batman villain is there, along with the entire Justice League crew and several not-so-subtle, but hilarious shout outs to Batman’s history. Do yourself a favor and plan a family movie day. You won’t be disappointed.