The Lego Batman Movie Christian Movie Review (2017)

Guidance: Talk Together

This animated superhero comedy plays its danger and villainy for laughs, but it still includes repeated threats of mass destruction, criminal chaos, and a self-focused hero who needs to grow. For many families, the main discernment point is less surface content and more the chance to talk about pride, loneliness, and what real responsibility looks like.

Why This Guidance Level

The film stays in a playful, fast-moving family-comedy lane, but it repeatedly returns to bombs, citywide danger, villain attacks, and swaggering self-importance. Most of the content is stylized rather than graphic, yet the mix of public peril and a message arc about ego, isolation, and needing others gives parents several worthwhile points to discuss.

Faith & Worldview Perspective

The story leans into parody, but underneath the jokes it presents a familiar struggle: a gifted hero who hides loneliness behind pride and control. That can open a helpful conversation about humility, community, and the limits of self-sufficiency. The film reflects the truth that people are not meant to live only for themselves, but it frames growth mostly in emotional and relational terms rather than in repentance or hope in Jesus Christ. Parents may want to discuss how real identity is not built on image, strength, or being needed, but on who we are before God in Christ.

Truths Reflected

• Pride and isolation damage relationships.
• People need others and should use their gifts responsibly.

Tensions to Discuss

• The film treats self-improvement mainly as looking within and making a change, which can miss our deeper need for grace and transformation in Jesus Christ.
• Hero identity is tied strongly to image, rivalry, and personal significance, which may conflict with a biblical view of humble service.

Content & Discernment Markers

Occult & Spiritual Content

• Occult material does not stand out here. The villains include comic-book figures with fantastical names, but the emphasis in the sampled material is on crime, chaos, and parody rather than spiritual practice or supernatural teaching.

Sexuality & Relationships

• Sexual content is not a notable feature in the sampled dialogue. The humor is more about bravado and self-image than romance or sexual innuendo.

Identity Themes

• Batman introduces himself with exaggerated self-praise, saying he is ‘very wise’ and boasting about his body with ‘huge pecs’ and ‘a nine-pack.’ The joke lands as parody, but it also highlights a self-made identity built on image and ego. Parents may want to discuss the difference between confidence and pride.

Violence & Intensity

• The opening threat is played for comedy but still centers on a plane carrying ‘11 million sticks of dynamite,’ ‘17,000 pounds of c-4,’ and ‘classic bomb-type bombs’ over Gotham. The absurd tone softens it, yet the danger is large-scale and constant.
• Villains attack the city, break into the energy plant, and authorities call for snipers, air support, SWAT, and ‘stun guns ready! Non-lethal.’ The action is stylized family-film peril rather than graphic violence, but it keeps public danger in the foreground.
• Joker announces that ‘an unnecessarily complicated bomb’ is being attached to the main energy core and threatens to ‘destroy Gotham city.’ A scientist explains the blast could break the city’s plates apart and send citizens into ‘the eternal abyss forever.’ This is still comic in delivery, but the stakes may feel intense for very young viewers. Parents may want to discuss how the movie uses humor to soften frightening ideas.

Language & Humour

• Language is generally mild and comic. There is a cut-off exclamation, ‘What the…’ and a few rough phrases like ‘Come at me, bro’ and ‘kick all your butts.’ The humor also includes a gross line about an abyss that ‘smells like dirty underwear.‘

Other Content Notes

• The film’s humor is highly self-aware, opening with lines about ‘edgy, scary music that would make a parent or studio executive nervous.’ That playful tone helps signal that much of the danger is meant to be funny rather than realistic.
• A quoted line about making the world better by taking ‘a look at yourself and make a change’ points toward personal responsibility, but it also reflects a self-help style of moral improvement. Christian families may want to contrast that with the deeper change God works in us through Jesus Christ.

Notable Moments

• Self-important opening: Batman narrates with exaggerated swagger, setting up the film’s parody of ego and image.

  “Batman is very wise. I also have huge pecs and a nine-pack. Yeah, I’ve got an extra ab.”

• Explosives on the plane: A comic setup introduces a huge amount of explosives before the villain takeover begins.

  “We are transporting 11 million sticks of dynamite, 17,000 pounds of c-4, about 150 cute little classic bomb-type bombs, and two best friends!”

• City destruction threat: Joker raises the stakes with a direct threat against Gotham.

  “If the mayor isn’t here in five minutes to negotiate the city’s surrender, then I shall destroy Gotham city.”

• Mass peril explained: A scientist describes what could happen if the bomb goes off, giving the comic threat a darker edge.

  “If joker’s bomb were to go off, these plates would break apart, plunging every Gotham citizen into the eternal abyss forever.”

Discussion Prompts

• Pride and identity: What makes Batman seem strong on the outside but insecure underneath? Where do people often look for identity besides God?
  • Biblical guidance: Scripture warns against pride and points us toward humility before the Lord.
  • Scripture: Proverbs 16:18, James 4:6, Philippians 2:3-4
• Self-improvement versus heart change: The movie talks about looking at yourself and making a change. What kind of change can we make on our own, and what kind of change do we need Jesus Christ for?
  • Biblical guidance: The gospel teaches that lasting transformation is not just self-help but new life and renewal in Christ.
  • Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ezekiel 36:26, John 15:5
• Using strength to serve others: How should someone with power or talent use it? Did the characters use their abilities for themselves or for the good of others?
  • Biblical guidance: God gives gifts so we can serve, protect, and love our neighbors rather than glorify ourselves.
  • Scripture: Mark 10:43-45, 1 Peter 4:10, Romans 12:10
• Fear, humor, and real courage: Why do you think the movie makes scary ideas funny? How can humor help, and when can it hide the seriousness of sin or danger?
  • Biblical guidance: Christians can face fear honestly because our hope is not in bravado but in God’s presence and care.
  • Scripture: Psalm 56:3-4, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Timothy 1:7