The LEGO Ninjago Movie
Warner Bros. | Release Date: September 22, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
18
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
IGNAlex WelchSep 22, 2017
While The LEGO Ninjago Movie does venture into overly cliched and cheesy territory at times, the performances of its actors and excited attitude of the material keep it from ever going stale. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerSep 21, 2017
The result is an irreverent, kinetic presentation with snappy dialogue and a hammered-home message that is graspable to even those with cup-shaped hands: One's true powers are internal, not external devices. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiSep 21, 2017
Everything is still mostly awesome. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenSep 20, 2017
There is fun to be had here. Adults can appreciate the verbal byplay. For the kids, there’s frenzied noise, and those toys. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittSep 20, 2017
Lego Ninjago sparkles with humor and kung fu style, yet it’s a few pieces short of greatness. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 20, 2017
Every bit as irreverent, smart, and ridiculously entertaining as its predecessors, The LEGO Ninjago Movie proves that these films are now on the brink of becoming a viable brand unto themselves; it cements them as the most consistently delightful franchise in the contemporary world of corporate animation. Nothing else comes close. Read full review
70
New York Daily NewsAriel ScottiSep 20, 2017
The LEGO Ninjago Movie is built on its comedy — with jokes just for mom and dad that'll go straight over Jr.'s head. Read full review
70
VarietyAndrew BarkerSep 20, 2017
Plenty entertaining and occasionally very funny, “Ninjago” nonetheless displays symptoms of diminishing returns, and Lego might want to shuffle its pieces a bit before building yet another film with this same model. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 20, 2017
A perfectly adequate family film for kids who love watching things they've seen many times before (which is to say, most kids), it offers plenty of chuckles for their parents but nothing approaching the glee of that first Lego Movie. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 21, 2017
Lessons will be learned about teamwork and reconciliation, and many jokes will be told along the way. Some of those jokes are pretty funny. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshSep 21, 2017
Some aspects of the film are quite entertaining. Garmadon is a great character, especially as voiced by Theroux (his pronunciation of Lloyd as "Luh-Loyd" doesn't get old). Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentOct 9, 2017
Three films in, and the Lego franchise remains hugely entertaining — though it could do with being less of a chip off the old block. Read full review
60
Total FilmNeil SmithOct 9, 2017
Tots will enjoy, but there’s no denying the pieces don’t quite click together. Best giant moggy since The Goodies, mind. Read full review
60
Paste MagazineJason RhodeSep 28, 2017
Ninjago seems emotionally interesting during, and immediately boring afterward. There are plenty of parts to this movie that work and moved me, but they’re mired in a whole that doesn’t seem to recognize what’s really working. Read full review
60
Time OutDave CalhounSep 23, 2017
The film’s best scenes are a series of hilarious father-son encounters where the son wants to be loved and the dad just doesn’t get it. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 21, 2017
The LEGO Ninjago Movie is a worthwhile entry into this growing universe, expanding it but not really evolving it. It’s fun, but not especially memorable. Read full review
60
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanSep 20, 2017
The Lego Ninjago Movie does fit into the decidedly silly, self-aware sphere of the Lego movie franchise. Comparisons won’t help it any, though: unlike the two previous entries, this one feels a little worn around the edges. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 20, 2017
There’s a lingering sense of familiarity that persists and what felt fresh in the first film, and tweaked in The Lego Batman Movie, is at risk of feeling tired here. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallSep 21, 2017
Everything was awesome in 2014's The Lego Movie, a high-wire risk paying off with a new look in computer animation based on Lego's interlocking design. The Lego Ninjago Movie hasn't abandoned that uniqueness but certainly reins it in. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezSep 20, 2017
Ninjago is mildly entertaining, and kids should find it pleasurable enough, but it’s missing that special spark, the kind of joyful flicker that compels children to ask for the movie on DVD at Christmas Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyChristian HolubSep 20, 2017
Credit is due to Jackie Chan, who gives his all to make Ninjago work. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerSep 20, 2017
The Lego Ninjago movie isn’t any worse than any number of professionally made but unexciting cartoons aimed at kids, and sometimes a gag will pop through with the same high-energy surprise that powered so much of The Lego Movie. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaSep 25, 2017
There’s no there there, and the film never seems to know what it’s playing with besides the idea of movies in general. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubSep 21, 2017
Lego Ninjago is still nowhere near bad “Alvin and the Chipmunks” sequel territory. But at this rate, we may be only one or two movies away. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 21, 2017
The action and jokes pile up with exhausting repetitiveness. But Theroux and Franco make a truly hilarious team. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 21, 2017
The comedy is sporadically amusing but never laugh-aloud funny and the drama, which one might charitably argue is trying for a Toy Story-level emotional response, fails utterly. (However, I imagine most kids up to about pre-teen age will love it.) Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoSep 20, 2017
A sharper script would have been the real ultimate weapon. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottSep 20, 2017
The Lego figures are rendered with playful rigor; their limited movements and expressions generate some amusing sight gags. But the physical world they inhabit is more of a generic digital-cartoon space than a snapped-together environment. And the themes they explore are tired, cynical, sub-Disney bromides about family reconciliation and self-discovery. Read full review
50
ScreenCrushMatt SingerSep 20, 2017
Let’s face it: The LEGO Movies were always better than they had any right to be. At their core, even with their clever writing, colorful visuals, and memorable voice casts, they were still feature-length toy commercials. The LEGO Ninjago Movie is just the first installment in the series that actually feels like one. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 26, 2017
The dull, exhausted toy ad that the TV commercials prophesied came true. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireSep 21, 2017
The pieces are all there, but they never really snap into place. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSep 20, 2017
The film’s cumulative effect is utter exhaustion, the cinematic equivalent of chasing a toddler through a toy store. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovSep 20, 2017
Ninjago’s sprawling team of screenwriters – nine credits in all – throw every joke they can at the screen, but few of them stick in your memory for longer than a moment. Read full review
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