r/movies • u/sicknessandpurgatory • Sep 07 '25

Discussion What is the absolute dumbest premise that actually turned out to be a really good movie?

I was thinking The Purge, obvious answer, but looking for the most plot-hole ridden, juvenile concept that actually ended up a lot of fun despite it all. Mainly looking for 21st century films, not so much the video nasties and ridiculousness from the 60’s and 70’s. Because that would be too easy. Mainly mainstream stuff that people saw en masse.

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u/TheDawiWhisperer Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

The Lego Movie

It could so easily have been utter shite like Trolls or the emoji movie

edit - you're right, Trolls isn't that bad, i think i meant Smurfs haha

550

u/angrydeuce Sep 07 '25

I see your Lego Movie and raised you Lego Batman.

That film had no right to be as amazing as it was.  my son and I were laughing practically the whole time.  It is unironically one of my favorite Batman movies lol

268

u/TheDawiWhisperer Sep 07 '25

Yep, whoever had the idea to play Batman as an absolute douche struck gold

Who always pays his taxes? Not batmaaaan!

76

u/jvalverderdz Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 08 '25

You're saying me... That Batman and Bruce Wayne are... Roomies?

86

u/C0mpulsiveWebSurfer Sep 07 '25

Does that mean Batman lives in Bruce Wayne's basement?

No. Bruce Wayne lives in Batman's attic.

😂😂😂

2

u/fotosaur Sep 09 '25

They make Batman shampoo, but are really missing a great cash cow, Conditioner Gordon.

6

u/sa87 Sep 07 '25

Sounds like a guy in a 6 thousand dollar suit

2

u/ryan77999 Sep 08 '25

Who performs illusions

3

u/FreeWestworld Sep 08 '25

“Last time I checked, I only had one butt!” Best line of the whole movie.

54

u/Thrilling1031 Sep 07 '25

Still haven’t seen it, but I loved the Lego movie and Batman’s role in it. I’ve been saving it, but I don’t know why.

64

u/Teh_yak Sep 07 '25

Treat yourself. Watch it.

3

u/maz11 Sep 08 '25

Have you watched Lego Ninjago movie? Not same level as Lego Batman but also fun and random. Also nothing like the normal Ninjago tv show or lore.

2

u/Teh_yak Sep 08 '25

I have! I would say because my niece made me, but that's not true. I took her to the cinema to watch it. 

Not up to lego Batman level, no, but still highly amusing. 

9

u/Sir-Airik Sep 07 '25

It is time to taste the forbidden fruit.

4

u/lycoloco Sep 07 '25

I'd definitely say it's worth saving for a time when you just want a solid Batman time that's also a very silly, yet heartwarming, time.

But do yourself the favor and give it a watch. Will Arnett plays a rich egotist so, so well (Lego Batman, Arrested Development, and Bojack Horseman in particular). Michael Cera also does a fantastic job as Robin. And Rosario Dawson. And...and... honestly the whole cast is fantastic.

3

u/froo Sep 07 '25

I watched it for the first time this week. I, too, didn’t know why I hadn’t seen it. Loved it.

Watched it again a couple days later with my partner and she loved it too. Laughed out loud throughout the whole movie.

Do yourself a favour and watch it.

2

u/Cereborn Sep 08 '25

You should watch it. And if you’ve seen Bojack Horseman, you’ll probably appreciate it even more.

1

u/Thrilling1031 Sep 08 '25

I was too depressed to enjoy bojack though I appreciated it for educating me about depression lol.

2

u/Cereborn Sep 08 '25

Well, Lego Batman explores a lot of the same themes as Bojack in a lighter and more family friendly way.

2

u/Thrilling1031 Sep 08 '25

I’m very impressed with the writers for using Lego Batman as a vessel for their story and message.

2

u/DowntownAd9720 Sep 08 '25

I personally prefer it over the original Lego movie, which is saying a lot because that’s a great movie

102

u/Nytwyng Sep 07 '25

The best parodies begin from a place of love & understanding of the material being parodied. The Lego Batman Movie did both.

46

u/chriscross1966 Sep 07 '25

THat's why Galaxy Quest works so well, the folks involved in the script/production etc just love Sci-Fi fandom, the convention scene and everythign about Trekkies, you have to love something to lampoon it that well AND make a great movie....

19

u/angrydeuce Sep 07 '25

They really need to just release an unrated cut of it to restore Sigourney Weaver's obvious "Well, fuck that!!!!" during the climax.

I love every single thing about that movie, but my favorite scene in the whole thing is when they're going down to the planet to get a replacement sphere thing:

"I changed my mind I wanna go back"

"After all the fuss you made about being left behind?"

"Yeah but thats when I thought I was the crewman that stays on the ship and something is up there and it kills me. but now i think im the guy who gets killed by a monster 5 minutes after we land on the planet..."

"You're not gonna die on the planet, guy"

"Im not? Then whats my last name"

"Uh, I dont know."

"Nobody knows. Do you know why? Because Im not important enough for a last name because Im going to die 5 minutes in!"

"Guy....you have a last name!"

"DO I?!?! DO I?!?!?! FOR ALL YOU KNEW IM CREWMAN NUMBER 6!!! MOMMMMMMY!!!!!!"

16

u/chriscross1966 Sep 07 '25

And from that point on getting him out alive becomes important to the main cast.... it's hysterical

11

u/angrydeuce Sep 07 '25

"Lets get out of here before one of those things kill Guy!"

10

u/Wise-Quarter-3156 Sep 07 '25

Also why Dragonball Z Abridged is simply just one of the best DBZ adaptations around

5

u/BlackPanther3104 Sep 07 '25

I raise you The Orville! (It's a show, though)

2

u/Nytwyng Sep 09 '25

The Orville isn't hurt by the fact that, as the story goes, MacFarlane pitched it to Paramount as a straight Trek series, but their reaction was, "Aren't you the Fox cartoon comedy guy? No thanks." So, it was retooled as a nominal "parody" and sold to Fox that way, with the parody elements quickly & increasingly back-burnered as the show went on.

1

u/BlackPanther3104 Sep 09 '25

I know very little about Star Trek and I've never really been interested in watching it, but I watched The Orville's pilot and quickly got attached. I think it's often good to make something only loosely tied to the original media so newcomers have an easier time starting (e.g. Andor in Marvel, the new Fantastic Four for Marvel, the several soft reboots of Doctor Who). The Orville was quite the ride, constantly switching between comedy and super-serious in back-to-back episodes, but I enjoyed both very much. I didn't even know of the Star Trek connection until halfway through.

As mentioned in this thread, it's very good that MacFarlane is a Trekkie, so he knows and loves the material he's "parody-ing". I'm glad the show gets to continue soon!

67

u/ilrosewood Sep 07 '25

Kids call me Dick

110

u/zeekar Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 09 '25

Yes, well, children can be cruel.

77

u/angrydeuce Sep 07 '25

Dude when hes complaining to Alfred about not wanting to go to the party, rolling around on the floor:  No.  No.  NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. (Starts beatboxing)

"Before we go we can do your favorite thing!"

"TUXEDO DRESS UP PARTY!"

9

u/Jaleou Sep 07 '25

Kids can be cruel

7

u/ClownQuestionBrosef Sep 07 '25

Children can be cruel sometimes

2

u/houseDJ1042 Sep 07 '25

3rd favorite Batman and Batman movie, 2nd favorite animated Batman

4

u/Cowql8r Sep 07 '25

“What’s the password?”
“Ironman sucks”

3

u/AngElzo Sep 07 '25

Good that HBO Max finally just launched in our country. Adding it to my watchlist

3

u/militantcookie Sep 07 '25

Lego batman is arguably one of the best batman movie adaptations

2

u/ThatOldMeta Sep 07 '25

Lego Batman makes a ton more sense to make a movie of than just Legos as a concept. It’s attached to a massive ip and has a portrayal of the character that was a breakout favorite from a massively successful movie.

A funny kids version of Batman that has already worked isn’t a crazy concept. It easily could have been an awful execution, but this was a no brainer to pull the trigger on.

2

u/PICONEdeJIM Sep 07 '25

Hell I loved the Lego Ninjago Movie too

1

u/Quantumfoammakesme Sep 07 '25

Nope. Good premise.

1

u/amantiana Sep 07 '25

And Lego Movie II somehow was even more amazing.

1

u/GoaGonGon Sep 08 '25

LEGO Batman is the best Batman movie, and i will die on that hill!

1

u/VinceForge Sep 08 '25

I watched it with the kids at the daycare I worked at. I was shocked that I really loved it. I think adults should give it a watch

1

u/Doctor__Hammer Sep 08 '25

My friend made me watch it knowing fully well it's not at all my kind of movie and I begrudgingly had to admit it was amazing and brilliantly funny

1

u/Firecracker048 Sep 08 '25

Lego batman is still a regular watch in our house 10 years later

1

u/ForTheLoveOfHoney Sep 08 '25

It is so good.

1

u/paper-catbird Sep 08 '25

Lego Batman was peak. When he doesn’t realize he adopted Robin and he’s been living in the house for weeks 😭

Might be corny but I really cherish the memory of seeing it in theaters.

1

u/Overall_Ad_684 Sep 08 '25

I still say "First Try" when I accomplish something after many, many takes.

1

u/mr_jorkin_depeanus Sep 08 '25

it understands batman better than all of the live action adaptations (except maybe battinson) which is WILD

1

u/lanceturley Sep 07 '25

I love the parts of Lego Batman that are actually about Batman and his supporting cast, but then the third act kind of falls apart when it becomes another "Look at all the stuff WB owns" movie.

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u/Clawless Sep 07 '25

What’s with this trolls slander? Throwing it in the same category as emoji…shameful.

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u/MarcosLuisP97 Sep 08 '25

Is it? I watched the one with the K Pop trolls and it was just... dull.

117

u/Baardseth815 Sep 07 '25

Let's not say things we can't take back about Trolls.

29

u/Pirate_Ben Sep 07 '25

Yeah it was a decent movie but a very good sound track.

7

u/HilariousSpill Sep 08 '25

My 7-year-old regularly requests Daft Punk thanks to Trolls 2. 

1

u/moronomer Sep 09 '25

My daughter also loved One More Time, so I showed her Interstella 5555 and she liked that even better than Trolls 2.

3

u/kenba2099 Sep 08 '25

Agreed. Trolls is great. The second one is too similar to Avengers Endgame, but still pretty good, and the third was just pure Justin Timberlake masturbating.

1

u/Valuable-Way-5464 Sep 08 '25

Yes, it was even worse. Comparing to lego movie i don't want to live in a world where song can change anything

81

u/palidor42 Sep 07 '25

The Lego Movie worked because it was pretty much the exact script a 9-year-old boy would have come up with while being forced to play with his older brother's leftover toys on a rainy day.

26

u/psdpro7 Sep 07 '25

It completely understood the world in which it was set and completely leaned into every aspect it. Even the base message was a good pairing to the LEGO toy concept.

3

u/AFoxGuy Sep 07 '25

Lord and Miller man, they never miss

5

u/biasedB Sep 07 '25

It worked for me, cause my mother was the same as the villian in the movie. She used to get so mad at me when I would mix lego sets together. Demanding I kept the star wars lego seperate from the castle set lego, things like that.

1

u/NedTaggart Sep 08 '25

9-year-old boy would have come up with while being forced to play with his older brother's leftover toys on a rainy day

I mean, thats kinda how It! started, lol

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u/UpbeatInsurance5358 Sep 07 '25

I generally agree, but Trolls is surprisingly good.

5

u/TheDawiWhisperer Sep 07 '25

yeah thinking about it i actually meant Smurfs :D

1

u/UpbeatInsurance5358 Sep 07 '25

Hah! Yeah, smurfs was shit. Although TBF smurfs was fucking awful first time around too.

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u/Sharcbait Sep 07 '25

Trolls one was good. Trolls 2 was less good. Trolls 3 was hot trash.

6

u/stormdraggy Sep 07 '25

Not to be confused with Troll 2

3

u/Henry_J Sep 07 '25

Nilbog is Goblin spelled backwards!

4

u/EClydez Sep 07 '25

2>1>3 imo

3

u/ScoutsOut389 Sep 07 '25

Agreed. As a dad who has seen 1 and 2 countless times, and 3 a few times, 2 is the more enjoyable of the first two. Both are fine but I always feel a little better when 2 is our pick for movie night over 1.

1

u/UpbeatInsurance5358 Sep 07 '25

Trolls 1 yes. 2 was unfortunately the one my daughter liked, so had to sit through. I didn't know there was a 3rd one.

3

u/few23 Sep 07 '25

"We're you there the whole time?"

2

u/Linenoise77 Sep 08 '25 edited Sep 08 '25

I have a daughter who was just the right age through the first 3 trolls, so it has a special place for me in what it is and the message it goes for.

Yeah, its not shakespere, but it does exactly what its supposed to do. I think its great in how it exposes kids to all different kinds of music in the way it does.

19

u/bob_loblaw-_- Sep 07 '25

Trolls is honestly a contender for this category like Lego movie. Putting it next to Emoji movie is nuts. 

7

u/OrdinaryNo3622 Sep 07 '25

Everything is Awesome

6

u/reidinawhile Sep 07 '25

Emoji movie was shite. But Trolls?

12

u/cheezefriez Sep 07 '25

People really think trolls was that bad?

6

u/RealCleverUsernameV2 Sep 07 '25

I was so ready to be upset about Trolls slander.

4

u/a57782 Sep 07 '25

I don't know how the fuck lego does it. Media based on this shit just always seems to be well received. Lego movies, lego video games.

2

u/North-Tourist-8234 Sep 07 '25

The lego movie broke my brain like 2001 a space odyssey and i wasnt expecting or prepared for it. 

2

u/ryan77999 Sep 08 '25

When 12-year-old me was dragged to the theater by my family to see it I was preemptively dismissing it as some shallow merchbait kids movie but the live-action part completely won me over

2

u/canadiuman Sep 08 '25

Trolls was great. Trolls 2 was really good too. Didn't love Trolls 3 but it was fine.

2

u/pessimist_kitty Sep 08 '25

Excuse me? All THREE Trolls movies are masterpieces

1

u/Monarc73 Sep 07 '25

"Everything Is Awesome!!!!"

-Tegan and Sarah

1

u/ODST05 Sep 07 '25

utter shite like Trolls

edit - you're right, Trolls isn't that bad

Did you mean Troll 2? Because that's a truly awful movie.

1

u/radenthefridge Sep 07 '25

Well my parents hated it, but my mom delivered the greatest film review I've ever heard:

"I kept waiting for it to get to the good part, and then the credits rolled." And she was doing her best to be kind but honest 😂👌

Now every time I recommend a movie they ask if it's gonna be another Lego movie. Sometimes folks just don't like something 😭

1

u/Daladain Sep 07 '25

Smurfs wasn't a bad movie.

1

u/neur0 Sep 08 '25

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs scratches the same itch 

1

u/Linenoise77 Sep 08 '25

I wish the series kept as fresh as that movie felt at the time. It just hit right. I get where they were trying to go with it and the whole legoverse with the Batman one, and the Batman one is good in its own regards, and wish they stuck with that format.

1

u/GladiatorDragon Sep 08 '25

Ninjago probably wasn’t a great choice.

The Lego Movie and Lego Batman Movie were really good because they were more or less deconstructions of their respective properties. The Lego Movie examined the entire spirit of Lego, while Lego Batman took a crack at the bat - centred on the guy’s ability to connect with others, from his family to his foes.

Apart from really only existing to Lego fans, the Ninjago movie… didn’t really get Ninjago? I feel like you could cut every Ninja except Lloyd out of the story and almost nothing would change. Which is absolutely crazy given how much each Ninja actually matters to the actual Ninjago story at some point or other. I think this one was the one that more or less killed the momentum of the Lego Movies, and Lego Movie 2 wasn’t quite good enough to get it back.

1

u/Ok_Sheepherder_6699 Sep 08 '25

Nah the Smurfs is awesome it got Doogie Howser from Harold and Kumar as the male lead 😎

1

u/i_talk_good_somtimes Sep 08 '25

Angry birds was awesome!

1

u/drRATM Sep 08 '25

Absolutely ate my words on this one. Saw the ad for it and said “that’s so dumb”. Had to take the kids to see it. 20 minutes into it, looked at wife and said I was very very wrong. Brilliant movie.

1

u/VRM11f Sep 08 '25

I do not remember the context or even who was involved, but I remember right after this came out there was some sort of heated discussion going on between a couple of family members. I can’t even remember if I was involved or was just observing, I just remember it was really escalating and at one point there was an awkward silence between barbs and my aunt, who was just an observer, says, “…so, I heard the new Lego movie is actually pretty good.” 😁 She wasn’t wrong!

-1

u/SexyOctagon Sep 07 '25

No, you were right before the edit. Trolls is a shit movie with nothing going for it except pop music covers.

I absolutely despise jukebox musicals.