Our last Saturday of half-term has involved a trip to the
cinema. Having seen the trailer for The Lego
Movie and initially recoiled in horror at what I presumed would be a thinly-veiled
product placement extravaganza, I decided watch the film on the basis of a
number of positive reviews and wasn’t disappointed. Of course, a film based on
a toy brand does have huge commercial overtones, but I came away impressed. Like
many recent animations, the The Lego
Movie is probably best appreciated by adults, who will pick up on the
endless parodies and pop culture references, but everyone will enjoy the action
sequences and some wonderfully funny dialogue.
I was also surprised to find myself doing some serious
theological reflection in light of what I watched. The Lego Movie raises important questions about how a world might
be sustained or constrained by its maker. It encourages us to think about
whether we want a God who controls and pre-plans every aspect of our lives, or
a God who delegates to us the role of viceroy over creation and who loves us enough
to grant us the freedom to choose whether or not to be in relationship to him.
We’ll be exploring these questions on the evening of Sunday 30 March in YWBC –
if you want to do some homework before then, the best way to start might be
with a trip to the cinema.
