The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) review

In 1934, Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen renamed his toy company LEGO, a name that was derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning ‘play well’. In 1949, two years after they started producing plastic toys instead of wooden ones, LEGO would begin to develop what would end up becoming the company’s most famous product, interlocking bricks. And thus, over the next few decades, LEGO would quickly become one of the most iconic toy brands of all-time, allowing its customers to create all sorts of unique objects out of these plastic bricks. Over 650 billion LEGO pieces have been produced since 1958, and the company has developed a wide variety of themed sets ranging from original franchises like Bionicle and Ninjago to popular IPs such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Aside from the toys, LEGO has also expanded into other facets of media, including numerous video games and their own chain of theme parks a la Disney and Universal. It’s a different story, however, when it comes to films. Prior to 2014, almost all official LEGO films were direct-to-video releases, with most of them being based around the company’s now-discontinued Bionicle franchise. But then, in 2011, Warner Bros. announced that they would be making the first theatrically-released LEGO film, which would serve as the first project from the studio’s recently revived animated film division, Warner Animation Group. In the years leading up to its release, however, some were rather skeptical about how the film would turn out. Given the franchise’s worldwide success and appeal, many assumed that it would end up being nothing more than a massive cash grab and one big toy commercial. And then Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were announced as its directors.

Ever since they made their directorial debut in 2009, Lord and Miller have very much made a name for themselves as a duo who have managed to make excellent films out of seemingly disastrous concepts. Their exploits have ranged from directing two hilarious comedies based on a previously obscure 80’s television series to producing/writing what many now consider to be the best Spider-Man film of all-time. And sure enough, when The LEGO Movie hit theaters in February 2014, it was a smash hit with critics and audiences. The film grossed over $469 million worldwide and was widely praised for its gorgeous animation, witty dialogue, and emotionally poignant story that genuinely celebrated LEGO’s devoted fandom. Because of its success, several spin-offs were then announced, with two of them being released in 2017. One was a spin-off about the original film’s breakout star, Will Arnett’s hilarious take on Batman, and the other was an adaptation of LEGO’s popular Ninjago line. But now we return to the LEGO world that started it all with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. This time, however, Lord and Miller aren’t back to direct, though they are still involved as producers and the film’s primary screenwriters. It was originally reported that the film would serve as the directorial debut of Rob Schrab, who had previously directed episodes of the cult classic series Community. Ultimately, though, Schrab was replaced by veteran filmmaker Mike Mitchell, who’s no stranger to animation having previously directed Shrek Forever After and Trolls for DreamWorks. And even after half a decade and three whole LEGO films, that LEGO charm is still on full display.  

At the end of the original LEGO Movie, the citizens of the town of Bricksburg, led by the seemingly ordinary construction worker Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), banded together to stop the evil Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) from destroying their world. Unfortunately, the city is then overrun with invaders from the planet Duplo, effectively turning it into a wasteland, Apocalypseburg. And yet, while everyone else in the city has embraced their new apocalyptic lifestyle, Emmet continues to remain upbeat despite his girlfriend Lucy AKA Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) wishing that he’d mature just like the rest of them. Things only manage to get worse when a new invader arrives in the form of the Duplo army’s leader, General Sweet Mayhem (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). Sweet Mayhem proceeds to capture Lucy, Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), 1980s astronaut Benny (voiced by Charlie Day), MetalBeard the Pirate (voiced by Nick Offerman), and Princess Unikitty (voiced by Alison Brie) and brings them to her homeworld, the Systar System. There, they meet the galaxy’s ruler, the shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), who seeks to marry one of them (which ends up being Batman) in what Lucy believes is a blatantly evil scheme. Meanwhile, back in Apocalypseburg, Emmet embarks on a journey to the Systar System himself to rescue his friends. Along the way, he ends up meeting the badass Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt), a galaxy-defending archaeologist/cowboy/raptor trainer who agrees to help him out while also showing him what it takes to truly be a hardened warrior.

As is the case with all these recent LEGO films, The LEGO Movie 2 boasts gorgeous animation provided by the Australian animation company Animal Logic. While technically a computer-animated film, the implementation of stop-motion animation aesthetics helps to give the film the same charm that can be found in the numerous LEGO fan films that have been made over the years. Plus, these animators deserve a lot of credit for their impressive attention to detail when creating a world that’s entirely made from LEGOs. This brilliant animation is then matched by the film’s equally terrific screenplay, which perfectly blends its heartfelt narrative with its riotous humor. Thanks to Lord and Miller’s excellent comedic sensibilities, this film arguably surpasses its predecessor when it comes to its sight gags, snappy dialogue, and hilarious cameos. But, of course, just like the first film, there’s also a lot of heart to this story thanks to its wonderful messages and themes. The original LEGO Movie served as a celebration of creative thinking and expanded upon its seemingly traditional ‘hero’s journey’ storyline to show that everyone is special in their own, unique way. The sequel then proceeds to take that even further by highlighting the importance of cooperation and seeing things from a different perspective, which is best exemplified through the expansion of the first film’s biggest plot twist that revealed that everything in the LEGO world was being manipulated by a human kid named Finn (Jadon Sand). Going off the first film’s ending, the sequel brings in Finn’s younger sister Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), which ends up affecting both their world and the LEGO world in interesting ways.

Almost all the major players from the first film’s cast return and are all great once again in their respective roles. It all starts, of course, with Chris Pratt, who continues to make Emmet one of the most endearing main protagonists in recent animation history. Emmet also benefits from having another solid character arc in this one based around the apparent necessity for him to grow up, which he mainly does through his interactions with Rex Dangervest AKA an amalgamation of Star-Lord, Owen Grady, and Faraday from The Magnificent Seven remake. Simply put, it’s a lot of fun to witness Chris Pratt playing these two roles that respectively represent his comedic roots and the charismatic leading man status that he holds today. Elizabeth Banks also gets a lot of great material to work with as well as Lucy/Wyldstyle, with the film continuing to follow the overall arc of cutting through her tough exterior (which, without spoiling anything, leads to a subtle yet very satisfying payoff at the end). And, of course, Will Arnett continues to be hilarious as LEGO Batman, even if he already had his big character arc in The LEGO Batman Movie. After that, there are the usual supporting players; Nick Offerman as MetalBeard, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny (“SPACESHIP!!”), etc. They’re then joined by the big newcomers to this film, Tiffany Haddish as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi and Stephanie Beatriz as General Sweet Mayhem. Haddish continues to prove why her star’s been on the rise these past few years and the film takes full advantage of her character’s shape-shifting abilities. And while Beatriz doesn’t necessarily get as much to work with as her co-stars, she works off Elizabeth Banks incredibly well in the scenes between Lucy and Mayhem.

So, can we just all agree that the LEGO Movie franchise is one of the best around? Thanks to the continued involvement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (even when they’re not directing), this series has delivered time and time again with films that boast gorgeous animation, fun characters, and excellent emotional poignancy. As such, I’m genuinely surprised that some are saying that The LEGO Movie 2 isn’t as good as the first film (it’s that damn ‘not as fresh’ argument that long-time readers know I’m not a big fan of). On the contrary, I’d say that it’s just as good as its predecessor. Is it the better of the two? Well, that one’s legitimately up for debate, but I’d argue that this one tops the original when it comes to its humor. Whatever the case may be, though, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is an absolute must-see. Even though it’s been years since I was in the big LEGO craze that defined my childhood (still waiting for that LEGO Bionicle film…), I’m still very much drawn to these films because they continue to do a wonderful job paying tribute to their fandom by matching their creativity with the LEGO brand. After all, one of the main lyrics to the original film’s classic tune ‘Everything is Awesome’ states that ‘everything is better when we stick together’. And sure enough, this film directly addresses the importance of unity while also providing some timely commentary on the dangers of toxic masculinity. In short, it’s yet another carefully constructed masterpiece (pun intended).

Rating: 5/5!

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) review

2014 gave us the unexpected smash hit that was The LEGO Movie. The reason why I say that it was an ‘unexpected smash hit’ is because, going into it, many feared that it would be nothing more than just a soulless cash-grab with the sole intent of capitalizing on the LEGO brand. But, under the direction of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, a duo who are well-known for delivering Grade-A hits out of risky ventures (e.g. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 and 22 Jump Street, and, hopefully, the upcoming Han Solo film), it ended up being a charming and excellently animated story that served as a love letter to both sides of the LEGO fandom; those who played ‘by the book’ and those who dared to experiment with the iconic bricks. And because of that, while it may not have been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars that year (easily the most controversial ‘snub’ of that year’s ceremony), it ended up being one of the most well-reviewed films of the year and grossed over $469 million worldwide. Thus, a new line of LEGO films will be on the way in the next few years under the supervision of Lord and Miller. The first of these to come out is one that is based around a character who many felt was the ‘breakout star’ of the original LEGO Movie: LEGO Batman, voiced by Will Arnett. Arnett’s hilarious take on the Dark Knight now takes center stage in his own film, The LEGO Batman Movie, directed by Chris McKay, who served as an animation co-director on The LEGO Movie. And just like The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie is a highly entertaining screwball adventure that manages to find the humanity within its plastic protagonists.

In Gotham City, Batman (Will Arnett) is the most popular figure around. Beloved by Gotham’s residents, the Dark Knight spends most of his time taking down the many villains that make up his iconic ‘Rogues Gallery’. However, it soon becomes clear that despite all this fame, Batman is also quite a lonely figure, who spends the rest of his time alone in his luxurious mansion and whose greatest fear is, as noted by his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth (Ralph Fiennes), being a part of a family again after the death of his parents all those years ago; the exact moment that led to him becoming Batman. Thus, Batman (or, to be more specific, his ‘real identity’, Bruce Wayne) unknowingly ends up adopting a young orphan by the name of Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) from the local orphanage. With some encouragement from Alfred, Batman begins to take the young man under his wing as his new sidekick, Robin. And, as it turns out, Batman is going to need all the help he can get, as the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), eager to prove to Batman that he truly is ‘his greatest enemy’ after a fight between the two ends with Batman telling the Joker that he means nothing to him, unleashes a sinister plot that threatens everyone in Gotham. The sheer magnitude of this plan forces Batman to do something that he normally doesn’t do; team up with others, which he does with Robin, Alfred, and Gotham’s new Police Commissioner, Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), who takes over the job from her father, Jim Gordon (Hector Elizondo), with the goal of getting Batman to team up with the Gotham police force to help make the city a safer place. 

Just like The LEGO Movie, this film features terrific animation as done by the Australian animation studio, Animal Logic. While the film is computer-animated, it manages to achieve a great stop-motion feel to it all, which fits perfectly with the LEGO brand given all the fan-made films that have been made over the years. It’s fast-paced, bright and colorful and full to the brim with little Easter Eggs thrown in here and there. And of course, being a film about Batman and DC Comics, this film is CHOCK-FULL of Easter Eggs. I’m not joking; this film basically covers every major era of Batman in the span of 104 minutes, from the campier days of the 60’s TV show to the more serious and grounded storylines of the more recent films, namely Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Heck, this film features arguably every villain who’s ever appeared in a Batman comic, even the obscure ones like King Tut and Condiment King which, yes, are in fact real. Even the film points this out (“Probably Worth a Google!” – Joker). But, of course, this film isn’t just a bunch of references for eagle-eyed fans of Batman to notice. That alone would’ve made it an enjoyable film on its own merit but there’s also a solid arc in this for Batman, as he learns the value of teamwork instead of him just trying to act like the entire world revolves around him alone. The problem, though, is that he’s reluctant to start up a new family because of what happened to his old one, and, for the record, no, they don’t show that incident again; the film is very much aware that we’ve already seen that dozens of times. This is what ultimately gives the film its heart and thus, provides us with an endearing cast of main characters to latch onto on an emotional level.

As stated earlier, Will Arnett’s take on Batman truly was one of the best parts of The LEGO Movie. Arnett basically riffed on the usual characterization of the generally dark superhero by making him a superficial celebrity who constantly reminds everybody about how awesome he is. And yet, through it all, Arnett still managed to make his Batman likable, basically the opposite of his character from another 2014 animated film, The Nut Job. This time around, of course, Arnett is the star of the show and he is great once again, especially thanks to the great character arc that Batman has in this. And just like how Batman ends up finding an excellent team to work with, this film has an excellent supporting cast as well. Zach Galifianakis brings the right amount of manic energy to the role of the Joker while also getting a fun villain arc in which he’s just trying to get Batman to notice him, which… actually, makes him the most sympathetic Joker to date. Michael Cera exudes the proper eagerness and wonderment for the role of Robin and the film relishes its many opportunities to joke about how weird it is for Batman to have a ‘ward’ working alongside him. Rosario Dawson’s Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, is also a great addition to the cast and a great female lead who’s arguably more capable of taking down the bad guys than Batman. It’s also good to have an actual ‘good’ Barbara Gordon story after her disastrous characterization in last year’s The Killing Joke. Rounding out the main cast is Ralph Fiennes, who’s quite awesome and hilarious in the role of Batman’s trusty butler Alfred. Heck, Fiennes would’ve been a great Alfred in the live-action Batman films but, of course, Jeremy Irons is currently in that position so we’ll have to settle for him being the LEGO version of the character. And just like The LEGO Movie, there are plenty of fun voice/character cameos here and there.   

The original LEGO Movie helped revitalize Warner Bros’ animation division after the studio’s hand-drawn animation division, Warner Bros Feature Animation, was dissolved after a series of box-office flops in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Clearly, the LEGO films have become Warner Bros.’ most dominant animated franchise and rightfully so as they’ve been great takes on the LEGO brand. First, there was The LEGO Movie and this year that streak continues with The LEGO Batman Movie. For fans of the character, this film is ‘geek nirvana’. There are references galore that cover every major facet of the character’s long history, so much so that it’ll probably require a second viewing to catch them all. And the film does indeed warrant a second viewing (heck, I saw it twice this weekend) because aside from all the fun Easter Eggs, the film also has a charming story with an endearing cast of characters portrayed excellently by a pitch-perfect voice cast. Pair all this with excellent animation and you have a highly entertaining animated film that will please both Batman fans and those who are total newcomers to the franchise. And no, I’m not going to compare this to the current DC Extended Universe films, something that a few other critics have been doing, because they’re completely different entities. What I will say is that thanks to this film, Warner Bros.’ LEGO franchise is still going strong two films in. Up next, we have The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the second LEGO film of 2017 and based off the company’s highly successful franchise of the same name, and then followed by the official LEGO Movie Sequel in 2019. If all goes well, we may get more LEGO films in the years to come, though I must ask… where’s my LEGO Bionicle film, damn it?

Rating: 4.5/5

The LEGO Movie (2014) review

(As you can tell, this review was a little late but, sadly, there is a big reason for why it took me a while to write this. My dad was injured in an accident a couple days ago and, at the time I am writing this, he has just passed away as a result of his injury. As such, I dedicate this review in memory of him because I know that he knew how big of a LEGO fan I am. Love you Dad!)

Sometimes, there is a movie that, in one way or another, will directly appeal to your childhood. For me, ‘The LEGO Movie’ is one of those movies. When I was growing up, LEGOs were probably my favorite things in the entire world and while I’m not as big of a LEGO fan now as I was when I was a kid, I still have a general passing interest in the brand. As such, this was the first major movie of 2014 that I was anticipating because I was really excited to see an actual ‘LEGO Movie’ on the big screen (this being the first official theatrical LEGO movie). However, at first glance, one might view this as a cynical marketing gimmick done by Hollywood with the main purpose of selling LEGO products which would make sense considering that these are construction toys we’re talking about here. But then you take into account the two men directing this film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their previous two films, 2009’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and 2012’s ‘21 Jump Street’, were some of the best films of their respective years and in the end, ‘The LEGO Movie’ will most likely end up being one of the best films of 2014 for a few good reasons. It’s certainly the first great film of 2014, that’s for sure.

Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) is just your average guy (or ‘minifigure’ if you want to be precise) who lives a very ordinary life as a construction worker in his hometown of Brickville. However, things begin to change when he comes across an object known as the ‘Piece of Resistance’, which is the only thing that can stop a powerful weapon known as ‘the Kragle’ (in reality, a tube of ‘Krazy Glue’). Emmet soon finds himself at the center of a prophecy where he is believed to be ‘The Special’, the only one who is capable of stopping the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who plans to use the Kragle to take over the world by freezing it in place and bringing an end to the idea of ‘creativity’. Emmet joins forces with the ‘Master Builders’, people who are capable of building anything without the need of ‘instructions’, unlike people like Emmet. With the help of allies like freedom fighter Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), wise old wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), and even the ‘Caped Crusader’ himself, Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet sets off on his journey to save the LEGO universe as he tries to prove to everyone (including himself) that he truly is ‘The Special’.

At first, this story may seem like your traditional ‘unexpected hero’ story and that would seem like that’s the case here… or is it? I say that because, without giving anything away, this film pulls one heck of a plot twist near the end that I guarantee a lot of you will not see coming (on that note, I applaud Warner Bros and everyone involved on the project for not giving this key part of the movie away in the marketing). Not only that, but this twist is a really good one as well as it does a fine job of representing the legacy and popularity of the LEGO brand through the eyes of its fan base. The story itself speaks to both the LEGO builders who always follow the instructions (I’m not afraid to admit that I’m one of them) as well as those who like to go ‘outside the box’ and by doing so, this movie will appeal directly to both groups of fans. As directors, Lord and Miller certainly fall into the latter group as proven by some of the creative decisions that they have made in their films, which is once again evident because of this film’s unexpected turn of events.

Also, the animation in this film is fantastic. From what I hear, this film was a mix of computer animation and stop-motion animation. With that in mind, I now want to know what parts of this movie were actually done in stop-motion. I mean, sure, the majority of the film clearly must be computer animated but part of the reason why it’s so good is because, in execution, it really feels like stop-motion animation. It’s quite amazing to see how everything in this movie, even special effects like fire and water, is made to look like they were really made out of LEGOs. Of course, like with a lot of great animated films, this one also boasts an excellent voice cast. Everyone is well cast in their respective roles and this film has a great cast of characters, including the no-nonsense Bad Cop who has a split personality where he’s also sometimes a Good Cop (Liam Neeson in a rare comedic turn) as well as a great comedic interpretation of Batman as done by Will Arnett. Also, be sure to be on the lookout for some pretty cool cameos along the way.

My friend Augie made a good point recently about how Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been very successful at taking projects that wouldn’t seem to be good ideas at first and turn them into something that ends up being far better than what we initially expected. I mean, I’m pretty sure that none of us were thinking that ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘21 Jump Street’ would turn out to be as good as they were, but they were. The same can definitely be said for ‘The LEGO Movie’. On the surface it does look like a ‘marketing gimmick’ to sell products and in the end there’s part of it that no doubt feels like a feature-length LEGO commercial (it was unavoidable). But then this film pulls one of the best twists in recent memory and as a result, it turns out to be a very well-made animated film. It has excellent animation, a terrific voice cast, and a story that may seem simple at first glance but in the end it turns out to be one that has a lot of heart. This film does a great job at representing the LEGO brand and its dedicated fans. For LEGO fanatics, this is an absolute must-see but even if you aren’t, this is still one that I highly recommend because it truly is one of the best animated films in recent years.

Rating: 5/5!

LEGO BIONICLE: Film Retrospective

With ‘The LEGO Movie’ set to come out in the next few days, I was trying to figure out how I could do a LEGO-themed retrospective for this site. However, there’s a problem with that because ‘The LEGO Movie’ is literally the first feature-length LEGO movie. I mean after all, we’re talking about a brand that is primarily known for its construction toy sets. The only ‘movies’ that have been released based around this brand have been direct-to-video. But that’s exactly what I’ll be looking at today. Now, I’m not covering every direct-to-video LEGO movie because while I am a fan of LEGO’s, I haven’t really been a major LEGO fan for many years now so I’m not that familiar with all of the themed sets that they currently release. In fact, I’m pretty sure some of the brands that were around when I was a kid aren’t even in production anymore. Ironically enough, one of those brands is the franchise I’ll be covering in today’s post. This franchise in question was my favorite out of all of the LEGO themes and one that did release a couple of direct-to-video films over the years; BIONICLE.

Now for those of you who aren’t familiar with the BIONICLE franchise, I’ll give you a basic rundown of the story. It all takes place in a world inhabited by organic/machine-like creatures known as the Matoran. These Matoran are looked after by the ‘Great Spirit’ Mata Nui, for whom the Matoran named their island home after. However, things begin to change when Mata Nui is cast into a deep slumber by the evil shape shifter Makuta, allowing him to take over the island of Mata Nui and its inhabitants. To combat this evil, a group of warriors known as ‘the Toa’ (later known as the ‘Toa Nuva’), six beings blessed with the powers of the elements (fire, water, stone, air, ice, and earth) by way of the powerful ‘Kanohi’ Masks that they wear, join forces to take on Makuta and his evil forces. Starting in 2004, a new prequel storyline began focusing on a new group of Toa, the ‘Toa Metru’, who were revealed to have become the village elders of Mata Nui, on another island known as Metru Nui many years ago.

Okay, I’ll admit that looking back, this whole premise sounds a little ridiculous and believe it or not, it sort of gets even more complicated after that. But when I was a kid, I loved this franchise mainly because it was sort of the first LEGO brand that was ‘story-driven’ while most of their brands were just themed around certain ‘concepts’ and licensed franchises like ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Harry Potter’. Sadly, this franchise is no longer around as it was discontinued in 2010. I had already started to move away from being a major LEGO fan before this but even now I’m still kind of bugged about it because it truly was one of the best LEGO brands ever. Maybe one day this franchise can make a comeback, but for now, it’s only a memory. There were four direct-to-video BIONICLE films released during its ten-year run. However, I’m only covering the first three in the franchise because the stories and characters of those movies are the ones that I’m familiar with. I won’t be covering 2009’s ‘BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn’ because that was after I moved away from being a LEGO fan. Let’s not waste any more time and look back at the first three direct-to-video BIONICLE films.

BIONICLE: MASK OF LIGHT (2003)

The first direct-to-video ‘BIONICLE’ film was basically the finale for the original storyline of the Toa and their fight against the evil Makuta. In this film, two Matoran named Takua and Jaller find a Kanohi Mask known as ‘The Mask of Light’. This mask is to be worn by the fabled ‘Seventh Toa’, the Toa of Light, who will be the one to defeat Makuta. Takua and Jaller then head off on a journey to find this Toa. Overall, the story is a little ‘standard’, not holding any surprises along the way. In other words, you can kind of tell what’s going to happen. On the other hand, this film does a great job at handling the ‘lore’ of the series, from its characters to the world of Mata Nui to the ‘Three Virtues’ that all Matoran honor: Unity, Duty, and Destiny and how these virtues play a key part in the Matoran philosophy. For a direct-to-video animated film, the animation is pretty good as far as these kinds of films are concerned. Sure, it’s not perfect but it does have some interesting designs, like how they gave all of the characters a more ‘humanistic’ design while still basing these designs around their more ‘mechanical’ features. Overall, the first BIONICLE movie will no doubt please fans of the franchise and for the non-fans this film is still pretty entertaining even if you’re not too familiar with the license.

Rating: 4/5

BIONICLE 2: LEGENDS OF METRU NUI (2004)

After the ‘Mask of Light’ storyline ended, the BIONICLE franchise went into prequel territory, with the story now taking place many years before the events of the first film on the island city of Metru Nui. Here, a new group of Toa known as the ‘Toa Metru’, six Matoran (who became the village elders (AKA Turaga) of Mata Nui years later) who were transformed into Toa by powerful stones given to them by a former Toa, Toa Lhikan, must prove themselves and protect the ‘Heart’ of the city, which gets a little difficult after they are branded as ‘imposters’. This is a superior sequel to the first one, with a better story that actually has a few surprises. This film also has a better cast of characters, namely because this one actually focuses on the Toa more while in the first film they were sort of the ‘secondary characters’. The animation is also better and once again features some really interesting designs that keep in line with the actual construction toys. When I was a kid, this was my personal favorite of the first three films (it was the only one of them I actually bought on DVD) and looking back, this one still holds up quite nicely and as such, it’s the best of the direct-to-video BIONICLE films.

Rating: 5/5!

BIONICLE 3: WEB OF SHADOWS (2005)

Finally, we have ‘Web of Shadows’, a direct sequel to ‘Legends of Metru Nui’ so in that case... expect some minor spoilers in case you haven’t seen that film. Anyway, in this film, the Toa Metru, after leaving their home to save the Matoran, return to Metru Nui to rescue the Matoran that are still there. However, when they return, they find that the city is in ruins and has been overtaken by an army of creatures known as the Visorak. This one… is really dark in both the story and its design. I mean, ‘dark’ as far as a film geared towards pre-teens and younger audiences can be but still pretty dark. In some ways, it’s more of a stylistic form of ‘darkness’ but at the same time, this film’s plot probably has the most depth out of all of these films. Not only do the Toa have to deal with this new enemy, but they end up being poisoned and turned into ‘beast-like’ creatures known as ‘the Hordika’. This threatens to split the team up, especially after their leader, Vakama, is overcome by ‘the beast’ that is now in him resulting in him actually joining forces with the bad guys. Speaking of ‘bad guys’, this one actually might have the most entertaining one in the entire series in Roodaka, the queen of the Visorak horde who is able to convince Vakama to join her side as they plan to overtake the ‘king’ of the horde, Sidorak. Because of this, along with some great action sequences, ‘BIONICLE 3’ is a nice fitting end to this, shall we say, trilogy of films (again, I won’t be covering the last film in this franchise because that’s where we get into the material I’m absolutely unfamiliar with).

Rating: 4.5/5

I realize that it’s kind of hard for me to recommend any of these films not only because these are direct-to-video films that came out about a decade ago, but also because they’re part of a franchise that hasn’t been running for a few years now; a franchise that is sort of marketed towards a pre-teen audience. But even with that in mind, I now kind of view these as ‘nostalgic’ movies because I was such a big fan of this franchise while it was around and I watched these movies quite a bit when they came out. As such, if you were a fan of this franchise back in the day, then you’ll probably enjoy these films very much and they will serve as a nice trip down memory lane. If you weren’t a fan of the franchise, the films themselves are still pretty entertaining although it does sort of help if you were familiar with the franchise. My personal recommendation would be the second film because out of these three films, I feel that it’s the best overall in terms of execution.