Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows
Year: 2005
Director: David Molina & Terry Shakespeare
Starring: Michael Dobson, Brian Drummond, Alessandro Juliani & Tabitha St. Germain
Runtime: 74 mins
BBFC: PG
Published: 18/08/22
Director: David Molina & Terry Shakespeare
Starring: Michael Dobson, Brian Drummond, Alessandro Juliani & Tabitha St. Germain
Runtime: 74 mins
BBFC: PG
Published: 18/08/22
You know what I hate? Midquels! A story that takes place in between two points of another story. Whilst the concept itself can bring with it a wealth of character development that may not have been possible in the source material, I often find that any new stakes are null and void because they weren’t present in the original text. Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru-Nui already lacked the charm that made the first film so engaging, likely because of its shorter production period and it being the introduction to the new age of Bionicle lore that was releasing at that time (as opposed to Mask of Light’s capping off of three years’ worth of established lore). Bionicle 3 then introduces yet another area of Bionicle lore, but set entirely during the final act of Bionicle 2…yeah it’s not good.
Having frozen the evil Makuta the six elemental Toa must free the Matoran villagers before setting off to their new home beyond the seas surrounding Metru-Nui. However, Metru-Nui has become overrun with Visorak, a spider-like race of creature that are nicknamed the stealers of life.
When Vakama (Alessandro Juliani) is infected with poison from one of the Visorak, he begins to fall under the manipulation of Roodaka (Kathleen Barr), Queen of the Visorak. Meanwhile his fellow Toa, now leaderless and transformed into Hordika by Visorak venom, must team up with flying beings known as Rahaga in order to fight back the Visorak horde and save Vakama.
Having frozen the evil Makuta the six elemental Toa must free the Matoran villagers before setting off to their new home beyond the seas surrounding Metru-Nui. However, Metru-Nui has become overrun with Visorak, a spider-like race of creature that are nicknamed the stealers of life.
When Vakama (Alessandro Juliani) is infected with poison from one of the Visorak, he begins to fall under the manipulation of Roodaka (Kathleen Barr), Queen of the Visorak. Meanwhile his fellow Toa, now leaderless and transformed into Hordika by Visorak venom, must team up with flying beings known as Rahaga in order to fight back the Visorak horde and save Vakama.
I don’t really understand how Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows manages to fit into the narrative timeline of Bionicle 2. Because in Bionicle 2, the Toa freeze Makuta and then gather up the Matoran and sail over to their new home of Mata-Nui, and transform into their final form of Turaga. Apparently though the Matoran were never put onto the boat and so the Toa went to Mata-Nui, then back to Metru-Nui but we never saw this in Bionicle 2, which is the whole reason Bionicle 3 can exist. It’s the most needlessly contrived plot setup I’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t get any better from there.
The villains are an entirely new species of creature that none of them have ever encountered before…but they also know what they are? I mean there’s actually dialogue between the Toa that they don’t know what the Visorak are, but then just a few lines later they do know what they are. Also how long could they have been gone for Metru-Nui to end up in such a state that the Visorak have managed to alter architecture of the city? I mean all they did was apparently turn the boat around when they got to Mata-Nui and sailed straight back to Metru-Nui. None of it makes any sense, and this is such a massive negative levelled towards the film because the entire purpose of this film existing is to provide the story for the toy line that Lego have created.
The fact that it’s a midquel means there are absolutely no stakes either, because Bionicle 2 showed the Toa not as Hordika, but as Toa-Metru, transforming into Turaga. We also know that Vakama will survive and not be a bad guy, because he’s there at the end of Bionicle 2. So again, why does Bionicle 3 exist? What would have made more sense is if Bionicle 3 had covered the events between Bionicle 2 and Mask of Light, of course that would mean that it wouldn’t have tied into the new toy line Lego had made, but from a narrative standpoint it would have made more sense especially considering Bionicle 3 closes out with an epilogue to Mask of Light.
As for the actual story, it doesn't feel like there's that much of it. Vakama is kind of evil due to the poison and starts to think it might be better if he was a leader who's feared rather than a leader who's respected. As for the other Toa, they just kind of wander around for a bit. I honestly forgot most of their names because the likes of Onewa (Brian Drummond), Whenua (Paul Dobson), and Nuju (Trevor Devall) barely even have any lines. Meanwhile Matau (also Brian Drummond) is just criticising everything Vakama does without providing any solutions, and Nokama (Tabitha St. Germain) just wants everyone to get along. I cant really remember any single moment in Bionicle 3 because nothing really happened.
The villains are an entirely new species of creature that none of them have ever encountered before…but they also know what they are? I mean there’s actually dialogue between the Toa that they don’t know what the Visorak are, but then just a few lines later they do know what they are. Also how long could they have been gone for Metru-Nui to end up in such a state that the Visorak have managed to alter architecture of the city? I mean all they did was apparently turn the boat around when they got to Mata-Nui and sailed straight back to Metru-Nui. None of it makes any sense, and this is such a massive negative levelled towards the film because the entire purpose of this film existing is to provide the story for the toy line that Lego have created.
The fact that it’s a midquel means there are absolutely no stakes either, because Bionicle 2 showed the Toa not as Hordika, but as Toa-Metru, transforming into Turaga. We also know that Vakama will survive and not be a bad guy, because he’s there at the end of Bionicle 2. So again, why does Bionicle 3 exist? What would have made more sense is if Bionicle 3 had covered the events between Bionicle 2 and Mask of Light, of course that would mean that it wouldn’t have tied into the new toy line Lego had made, but from a narrative standpoint it would have made more sense especially considering Bionicle 3 closes out with an epilogue to Mask of Light.
As for the actual story, it doesn't feel like there's that much of it. Vakama is kind of evil due to the poison and starts to think it might be better if he was a leader who's feared rather than a leader who's respected. As for the other Toa, they just kind of wander around for a bit. I honestly forgot most of their names because the likes of Onewa (Brian Drummond), Whenua (Paul Dobson), and Nuju (Trevor Devall) barely even have any lines. Meanwhile Matau (also Brian Drummond) is just criticising everything Vakama does without providing any solutions, and Nokama (Tabitha St. Germain) just wants everyone to get along. I cant really remember any single moment in Bionicle 3 because nothing really happened.
The animation remains largely unchanged from Bionicle 2, however I did notice that during some of the more action heavy sequences that camera and character movement was significantly smoother than it had been in either previous Bionicle film. That being said, everything in Bionicle 3 is so dark that I could barely see what was going on anyway. Almost the entire film takes place in darkness, and the image simply doesn’t have enough light in it to be able to clearly make out what’s happening most of the time. However, the presentation isn’t all bad as Nathan Furst does deliver yet another fantastic score.
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows is a disappointing third outing for the Lego film series, and an extremely weak conclusion to the main Bionicle storyline as the planned fourth film was scrapped. Whilst a fourth Bionicle film would emerge years later, it would effectively reboot the series making Web of Shadows the final entry in the original storyline.
Underwhelming in almost every area, Web of Shadows reeks of a rushed development and a lack of ideas. Where Mask of Light was a fun film that just so happened to be a toy commercial, and Legends of Metru-Nui was a flawed yet still competent sequel, Web of Shadows is nothing but a cash grab.
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows is a disappointing third outing for the Lego film series, and an extremely weak conclusion to the main Bionicle storyline as the planned fourth film was scrapped. Whilst a fourth Bionicle film would emerge years later, it would effectively reboot the series making Web of Shadows the final entry in the original storyline.
Underwhelming in almost every area, Web of Shadows reeks of a rushed development and a lack of ideas. Where Mask of Light was a fun film that just so happened to be a toy commercial, and Legends of Metru-Nui was a flawed yet still competent sequel, Web of Shadows is nothing but a cash grab.