LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out (2012)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This cute and funny "mini-movie" pokes great fun at Episodes 1 – 6. But like the Lego games, this is grown-up humor with a galaxy of in-jokes not only from the Star Wars universe, but also from Indiana Jones' and other well-known media. Plenty of background stuff that will make you pause and rewind a number of times. The movie takes very little seriously and in fact makes fun of being Legos altogether complete with plastic hair moving around. For the non-Star Wars fan , this movie will still get you to chuckle. For the SW-Fanboy it's 30 minutes of smiles and giggles and even an outright laugh or two. It's short, but perfectly timed; any longer might make it lose its unique quirkiness.

"Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out" is a 22-minute short film from 2 years ago directed by Guy Vasilovich and written by 2-time Emmy winner ("The Simpsons") Michael Price. It includes basically all the major characters from the original Star Wars movies, so people who really love the franchise will maybe appreciate this short film. However, you will also have to like the Lego style animation which has become so popular in recent years. I myself am not too big on it and I am also not the greatest Star Wars fan. This is why my general review on this title is rather negative. However, this is just because of personal preference and maybe you have also seen some of the other Star Wars meets Lego films, then you should know very well if this one is for you.

One doesn't sit down to watch a direct-to-DVD Star Wars themed animated Lego movie expecting Toy Story. However, is it too much to expect the makers to have at least tried to tell an actual story? On the plus side, the animation here is quite nice, perfectly capturing the spirit of the actual Lego toys on which it's based, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear a few actual Star Wars actors providing the voices for their characters. But the story—such as it is—feels like nothing more than an empty vessel to hold a series of lame, half-hearted gags. I have a young niece and nephew and I know for a fact that there's a lot of very clever children's entertainment out there right now. Sadly, this isn't it.

I'm a real Star Wars fan and when I heard of this title, I really had to see it for myself. I thought at first that this one was as 'serious' as the previous one, but boy! Was I wrong! The humor is good, even so very good, I laughed out loud several times. Yes, it is that funny! The animation is very well made, and crispy clear. The music is OK, but could be better... But when you see this on DVD, buy it! (I watched it on Cartoon Network) This is truly a movie for those long boring days. You won't regret it one second. I only wonder if there will be a part 3, I surely would watch that too, and I hope the humor will be even wittier than this one. I don't bother with the very first one though -- that one was almost devoid of humor... I prefer this title and NOT the Padawan Menace...