The LEGO Ninjago Movie is Warner Bros. Animation's third film in the LEGO franchise following up this past February's LEGO Batman Movie. As a fan of the previous entry and a diehard fanboy of the original The LEGO Movie you could imagine my excitement for another brick-filled adventure. Talking with my peers earlier this year about the future of the LEGO franchise I said that it kind of hinges on Ninjago's box-office successes or failures. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, LEGO Ninjago has put this franchise on the wrong path. Even though our main protagonist Lloyd has to follow the right path to defeat his evil Dad, Garmadon, the directors and writers of this story have failed our element wielding ninjas. Even though both entries prior seemingly overstayed their welcome with their headache inducing imagery and setpieces, Ninjago winds it down to make it more personal. Which is a valued and appreciated welcome to keep the franchise fresh and ecclectic instead of boring and repetitive. The narrative in Ninjago, is really just a bore from start to finish and here's why; the voice acting stinks and so do the characters. Lloyd is your typical made fun of teen who is trying to reconnect with his evil father who walked out on him several years ago. On the side he is one of the city of Ninjago's saviors, the Green Ninja. The rest of the Ninjago clan, led by the Jackie Chan voiced Master Wu, have nothing interesting about them. Even with the likes of Dave Franco, Kumail Nanjiani, and Michael Peña lending their talents they brought nothing to their respective character. When looking at past entries and reminding myself of Will Arnett, Zach Galifinakis, Chris Pratt, and Elizabeth Banks leading the voice work I am reminded of characters I fell in love with because of what they brought to the table. Narratively, Ninjago is tough to get through, almost nodding off to sleep on numerous occassions throughout the middle portion of the film was not something I expected. Mainly due to main characters I was not involved with or cared for but the narrative didn't help any by doing nothing interesting to pique my interest. It's nice to familiarize myself with the world of Ninjago that my siblings adore, but this movie was not vibing with me at all. Scattered throughout are some really powerful and semi-moving heartfelt moments (something the franchise continues to do well) that had my 8 year-old brother crying. Apart of this is due to WAG's ability to beautifully animate their films. Bringing characters to life with small, intricate details that make up themselves and the world that they are apart of. Outside of Pixar, and the one Ghibli film I've seen in full (I'M WORKING ON IT) WAG's LEGO franchise continues to impress visually. Whether it's scuff marks, hairstyle, or even tears of flames WAG brigs their A-game everytime to make their bricks pop and sizzle leaving no rough edges. Overall, I was pretty bored with LEGO Ninjago from start to finish despite it's moments of what makes this franchise so special like Emmett. I didn't get a real sense of creativity out of this film like I did with the previous two (moreso the original) and it feels like a major cashgrab. Yes, all movies are cashgrabs but you know exactly the type of cashgrab I'm talking about. If your kids, or even yourself love Ninjago then I'd say take the leap and visit the film at your local theater. If you're not particularly a fan of this franchise or IP it's based off of, then I'd say skip it and silent flip your way into something a little more worth your time. Depending on your tastes of course. The LEGO Ninjago Movie gets a 47/100