Father and son relationships can be tricky.

Just ask my dad… of course, some might say having a son who’s a chip off the old block is instant karma in its finest form.

(Some being my step-mum)

Still, me and my dad have nothing on Lloyd and Gardamon in The Lego Ninjago Movie.

Like most teenagers, Lloyd just wants to fit in at school.

Which is easier said than done when your estranged old man, who goes by the name of Garmadon, just so happens to be a power crazed warlord hellbent on conquering your city and enslaving everyone who lives there for the rest of time.

It’s a tricky one… so what to do?

Lloyd decides to fight fire with fire – as well as every other weapon he can lay his lego shaped hands on – by leading a team of secret ninjas into battle against his dad whenever he tries to capture the city.

Which is often.

Family counselling would probably be easier, and cheaper – but it sure wouldn’t be as funny.

Probably.

As Lloyd wrestles with his absent father issues, as well as his absent father, will the two of them be able to settle their bad blood just long enough for Garmadon to teach his son how to throw?

Coming hot on the heels – though I’ve never realised how poorly worded that phrase is – of The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie is more of the same from this stable of adult friendly animation.

More hit and miss than previous lego films, what sets this one apart is the fractious relationship between Lloyd and his dad, Garmadon.

Clearly influenced by the skywalker saga, Lloyd’s journey to becoming a ninja is really just a desperate ruse to spend some quality time with his padre.

Not that Garmadon, voiced by the brilliant Justin Theroux, is having any of it.

Nope, he’s far too busy conquering the world, firing inadequate minions out of volcanoes and mocking his son L-loyd to worry about anything remotely close to parenting.

Garmadon is the ultimate weekend dad, and isn’t that all any real man truly wants to be?

Keeping your shit together 24/7… that’s hard, and not a lot of fun either.

In short, it’s a job for girls – because, well, they’re just better than boys at this kind of thing.

Hell, girls are better than boys at most every kind of thing… except being a weekend dad of course.

Not all of The Lego Ninjago Movie’s jokes work, most notably whenever one of Lloyd’s team of largely one dimensional ninjas becomes the centre of attention.

But the father son thing that’s the beating heart of this surprisingly emotional film is spot on.

And they got the cat right, as anyone who’s ever been owned by a feline would testify to.

Because while cats may be manipulative little monsters who cause carnage wherever they go, they’re our manipulative little monsters.

And if that’s not what family is all about, than I don’t know what the hell is.

Jonathan Campbell