Looking Back on the BIONICLE Films

My first article on BIONICLE’s Mata Nui Online Game seemed to go over fairly well, so I’ve decided to put out a sequel. I recently picked up all four BIONICLE movies and watched them for the first time in several years. Here are my thoughts on each of the films in the series, most of which are available to watch for free on YouTube:

BIONICLE: Mask of Light (2003)

LEGO’s first foray into film, BIONICLE: Mask of Light stands out as an interesting effort even among the BIONICLE films. Arriving at the peak of BIONICLE-mania, Mask of Light stands out as a surprisingly wholesome and fun film still held back by LEGO’s aversion to its own creation.

Mask of Light concludes the 2001-03 story arc of BIONICLE, the period set on the island of Mata Nui. As the title suggests, it revolves around the mask of the same name, discovered in an accident by Takua. Takua and his friend Jaller are set off on a quest to return the mask to its owner, the seventh Toa destined to defeat the evil Makuta. Along the way, they encounter the Makuta’s evil minions as well as the other Toa heroes, who must themselves learn how to unite against the looming evil.

On paper, this plot is nothing special. It’s not extraordinary ambitious, and even its core conceit (the final defeat of Makuta and the awakening of Mata Nui) were both basically retconned the moment they happened. The movie falters a bit in the dialogue department; it’s dense and lore-driven, with a seeming need to rely on in-universe catchphrases and slogans to a degree far more than necessary. Screenwriter Henry Gilroy, who later went on to write for The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, does turn in a thematically coherent work, although the ending is straight-up nonsensical even in the context of the lore.

Where this movie does shine is the visual department – the character designs Creative Capers made for the characters take liberties with the set designs, but only to improve their ability to communication as emphasize their organic parts. Remember, BIONICLE characters aren’t robots – they’re biomechanical beings; if a cyborg is a human with cybernetic parts, a biomechanical being is a mechanical being with organic parts. The action in this movie far outpaces the other two films, as the movie routinely hops from one sequence to the other, and there is some real weight to them – multiple villages are outright destroyed and several characters straight-up die, albeit temporarily.

The absolute best part of the movie is the soundtrack. Nathan Furst, a composer who has seen steady work in Hollywood’s lower end for years, turns in a stellar soundtrack. Furst wisely opted to rely on leitmotifs, similar to how the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars films operate; this, combined with genuinely stellar compositions, give an heir of credibility to the project that stands well above the vast majority of direct-to-video works.

If you’re a BIONICLE fan, this movie no doubt has a place in your heart. It’s good kid’s entertainment that holds up fairly well, even if it offers relatively little for those who aren’t quite committed to the lore. It’s the weakest of the original trilogy, but still a fairly solid work overall.

Grade: B

BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)

In many ways, Legends of Metru Nui is both more and less ambitious than its predecessor. As a prequel, the movie lacks the stakes the original had, and it doesn’t even feature any of the Toa’s iconic elemental powers, instead focusing on their Kanohi mask powers. The animation takes a huge step up here, as the film is dominated by a sprawling city that has a great look and feel. The character models are crisp and the effects are generally excellent. Equally improved is the story and character, both of which hit far stronger here. Furst’s score is also improved over the first one. Toa Lhikan’s theme in particular is a standout, and is in fact my favorite theme in the series.

This is a movie focused mainly on character, and it really shines in that category for a kid’s film. Gone are the in-universe catchphrases; instead, the movie relies on fairly strong writing on its own merits. At its core, Legends of Metru Nui is a movie about self-confidence. The main character, Toa Vakama, is riddled with self-doubt and burdened with visions of a future that he cannot forestall. As the other new Toa learn quickly to master their abilities, Vakama struggles to unlock his. This is a great conceit that works well throughout the film, culminating in the climactic death of his mentor Lhikan, which prompts Vakama to truly embrace his destiny and single-handedly defeat Makuta.

That’s not to say all the moments work here. The film does take a few narrative shortcuts and doesn’t really properly tease its twist, but it’s an admirable effort. The film also splits up the main characters, which works well enough for the plot but does leave their relationship somewhat in doubt. But despite these flaws, this is an improvement over the first movie in every regard. It was my favorite of the trilogy as a kid, and I think it still holds up.

Grade: B+

BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows (2005)

The BIONICLE fandom has a complicated relationship with Web of Shadows. While the filmmakers found this to be their best work, fans have tended to be a bit harsher towards it. This isn’t really the movie’s fault, but rather the story it adapts. The 2005 story arc is almost universally regarded among Bionicle fans as the weakest in the series. The 2005 story revolves around the Toa Metru being mutated by Visorak spiders, becoming bestial half-Toa, half-Rahi (animal) creatures. While several toys and characters introduced here became fan favorites and the novel Time Trap is generally regarded as the best BIONICLE novel, both the Toa Hordika and Visorak sets are regarded as among the worst main-series ones ever produced. The story and marketing came off as too edgy at the time, and the infamous reveal of Vakama as a traitor is regarded as a mistake even by the main BIONICLE writer.

It should come as no surprise, then, that BIONICLE fans are tempted to write this film off entirely, but that’s a mistake. This is somehow the best film of the bunch, with the deepest character arcs, best effects, and strongest villains. The musical score from Furst is again terrific, with some genuinely striking musical pieces throughout.

All of the flaws BIONICLE fans have with 2005 are generally minimized here; while the first two films had to rush through entire story years, this film feels adequately paced. You aren’t really missing much by just watching this instead of reading the books or comics put out this year. Vakama’s betrayal, while still not a great choice (the vain Matau would have been a better choice), makes sense here. Why? The core theme of this movie is leadership, and what makes people good at it. Vakama’s failures as a leader spark the plot here. Dejected, he is swayed to join the Visorak by the promise of absolute control. However, Matau is able to help him realize what true leadership is – leading those who choose to follow, not doing it by force – and Vakama ultimately frees even the Visorak from the tyranny of their leaders. It’s a surprisingly mature theme for a kid’s movie, and I found myself appreciating it a lot.

Equally fun is the side plot where the other characters seek out the mythical Keetongu, said to be able to cure those infected by the Visorak’s poison. This also deals with a surprisingly mature topic – learning to deal with, accept, and master the darker parts of our nature. Web of Shadows treats this as an active choice. By the end of the film, the Toa have learned to make peace with their inner demons and reject temptation. Again, this is surprisingly deep for a kid’s movie. The villains are also great, with the scheming Roodaka and the brutish, arrogant Sidorak both leaving a firm impact in most BIONICLE fans.

If I had to recommend you watch one BIONICLE film, Web of Shadows would be it. This really is the best of the bunch in my opinion, and while I didn’t expect to say that, I’m pleasantly surprised.

Grade: B+

BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (2009)

Simply mentioning this film will elicit groans among BIONICLE fans, but a bit of context is needed as to why. 2008 had been a fantastic story year with one of the best twists in media history: the evil Makuta straight-up wins, and the entire BIONICLE universe to this point is revealed to be the inside of a giant robot (trust me, if you know the lore this makes sense and was hinted at since the very beginning). Mata Nui is exiled in the Mask of Life to a barren wasteland devoid of resources, where trivial disputes between villages are resolved by gladiatorial combat. The world of Bara Magna as introduced in 2009 is one of my favorites in the series, a new animation studio was helming a soft reboot of the film series. All indications suggested this movie would be good: the voice cast included Star Trek veteran Michael Dorn as well as veteran voice actors like Jim Cummings, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, and Jeff Baker, expectations were high.

Unfortunately, The Legend Reborn fails to deliver. The opening 30 minutes or so are actually fairly strong; Dorn’s voice work is great here, and the actual mysteries the film hints at early on are really cool. The animation itself is actually quite nice – the models are set-accurate to a fault, and the early backgrounds are vibrant and colorful. The action itself is also a step up, as by this point Lego had shed its disdain for weapon-on-weapon combat. A canyon chase sequence in particular is pretty fun to watch.

The problem? Over the opening half or so, you expect the plot to kick in, and then eventually you realize it never does. It spends so long setting up the world that it never focuses on setting up the stakes. The movie barely has a plot – it’s more or less a sequence of somewhat connected events that culminates in a big battle. It feels like 15-30 minutes are missing, honestly. The villainous Skrall and Bone Hunters – depicted in the books and comics as genuinely threatening and calculating warlords – are reduced to background noise here. Their motives are barely touched upon when the lore itself actually develops it quite well. Berix seems to exist only to be a red herring for the real traitor, Metus, and this entire plotline is honestly so thin it’s barely comprehensible.

This movie isn’t all bad, as the action is above average and the voice acting is a strong improvement over the original trilogy. But compared to the first three, The Legend Reborn really lacks the plot and heart that drove the first three movies. An even bigger gut-punch is the fact that plans for a sequel, which had a fairly promising script posted online by writer Greg Farshtey, were canceled when LEGO decided to end the line after 2010. This makes the ending of the film, which is clearly setting up a sequel, seem like a joke.

This is decent kids’ fare, but really not much more.

Grade: C