Bionicle: The Legend Reborn
Year: 2009
Director: Mark Baldo
Starring: James Arnold Taylor, Jim Cummings, Michael Dorn & Marla Sokoloff
Runtime: 71 mins
BBFC: PG
Published: 23/08/22
Director: Mark Baldo
Starring: James Arnold Taylor, Jim Cummings, Michael Dorn & Marla Sokoloff
Runtime: 71 mins
BBFC: PG
Published: 23/08/22
Lego and Miramax teamed up for three animated Bionicle films across three years in the early to mid-00’s. Whilst the original film, Mask of Light, was a surprisingly good adaptation of the toys first major storyline, Bionicle’s 2&3 felt as though they were cheap cash-in’s rather than passion projects to further the brand. With Bionicle 3 wrapping up the second major storyline for the toys, some fans were eagerly awaiting a fourth film to tie in with the next line of toy sets that Lego would release. But no film would come for many years, with it taking until 2009 for a fourth Bionicle film to materialise, this time produced by Universal, ready to coincide with Lego reinventing the brand.
Legend tells of the Great Spirit, Mata Nui (Michael Dorn), being placed into a deep slumber by his evil brother, Makuta, who then casts a darkness over the Matoran population. However, what the legend did not tell us is that Mata Nui’s spirit was transferred into the great Kanohi Mask of Life. With this mask jettisoned into space, it soon lands on a nearby planet, Bara Magna. Here Mata Nui meets the Agori, groups of elemental villagers who are in the midst of a battle against the deadly Bone Hunter and Skrall tribes. With his incredible powers, great combat ability, and ways of inspiring others, Mata Nui leads the charge to help these natives reclaim their home.
Legend tells of the Great Spirit, Mata Nui (Michael Dorn), being placed into a deep slumber by his evil brother, Makuta, who then casts a darkness over the Matoran population. However, what the legend did not tell us is that Mata Nui’s spirit was transferred into the great Kanohi Mask of Life. With this mask jettisoned into space, it soon lands on a nearby planet, Bara Magna. Here Mata Nui meets the Agori, groups of elemental villagers who are in the midst of a battle against the deadly Bone Hunter and Skrall tribes. With his incredible powers, great combat ability, and ways of inspiring others, Mata Nui leads the charge to help these natives reclaim their home.
Bionicle: The Legend Reborn was intended to be the start of a new film trilogy that would chronicle Lego’s fourth major story arc for Bionicle and give audiences insight into the world beyond the Toa and Matoran. Finally piecing together some of the more mythological elements to Bionicle’s story. However, just a few months after the film's release Lego made the decision to discontinue the Bionicle brand due to declining interest.
So, the result is, unfortunately, little more than setup for a story that will never be resolved (it did receive some online web comics to tie everything up); but this film spends so much time trying to build a world that it forgets to tell a story, something I imagine the sequels would have spent more time doing.
Mata Nui as a character is the blandest of the bland. This is the problem in making your main character an altruistic mythical being. All he ever does is the most morally good thing or tell people something that will inspire them. He also uses such cryptic language that he comes off as though he is just always reciting proverb from some holy text. Michael Dorn’s wooden line delivery doesn’t help matters either, so any time Mata Nui starts to talk I had to really force myself not to doze off. I actually hated the character. He’s just so devoid of personality, and because his entire character is so set on doing the most good all of the time, all the major conflicts are just a simple matter of doing the thing that will be objectively the most good. He’s been created with such an untarnished sheen to him that there’s nothing for you as an audience member to latch onto, nothing to find relatable, and all of his inspiring monologues are really just kind of irritating.
So, the result is, unfortunately, little more than setup for a story that will never be resolved (it did receive some online web comics to tie everything up); but this film spends so much time trying to build a world that it forgets to tell a story, something I imagine the sequels would have spent more time doing.
Mata Nui as a character is the blandest of the bland. This is the problem in making your main character an altruistic mythical being. All he ever does is the most morally good thing or tell people something that will inspire them. He also uses such cryptic language that he comes off as though he is just always reciting proverb from some holy text. Michael Dorn’s wooden line delivery doesn’t help matters either, so any time Mata Nui starts to talk I had to really force myself not to doze off. I actually hated the character. He’s just so devoid of personality, and because his entire character is so set on doing the most good all of the time, all the major conflicts are just a simple matter of doing the thing that will be objectively the most good. He’s been created with such an untarnished sheen to him that there’s nothing for you as an audience member to latch onto, nothing to find relatable, and all of his inspiring monologues are really just kind of irritating.
The supporting cast aren’t much better. Ackar (Jim Cummings) is the battle-hardened warrior who trusts no one and has to be coerced into working as a team. Kiina (Marla Sokoloff) is the tough chick with a sensitive side. Berix (James Arnold Taylor) is the annoying one. That’s kind of it, I don’t remember any of their stories because their personalities are so dry and cliché. Bionicle always suffered from cliché writing, even outside of the films, because of the nature of the story really just being there to justify toy sales. But this really takes things to a whole new level of dull and it’s no surprise that interest in the brand was waning if this was the best they could muster in 2009. A far cry from the original 2001-2003 Mask of Light story arc that encapsulated much of my childhood.
The visual presentation of The Legend Reborn strikes an interesting balance of being both better and worse than the Miramax produced films, to result in the film looking as bland as its story and characters. The improvements are clear as day, character models are much more detailed than ever before and actually look like the toys brought to life now, rather than a CGI representation of what they would look like if they were ‘real’. It’s clear that it’s Lego, and it gets to show off the awesome designs in the best ways. There’s also a number of moving parts inside the character models, really showcasing the ‘Bionic’ part of Bionicle.
However, environments are still really bland, and I think this stands out more than ever now that the character models are so detailed. As well as this the movement animation seems kind of clunky. It’s almost halfway between the smooth motion seen in the first three Bionicle films, and a stop motion effect which is what the Lego films would become known for circa 2014’s The Lego Movie. It’s a weird middle ground and the result just looks janky. The music also isn’t anywhere near as epic or memorable, Nathan Furst composed the original three Bionicle movies and he really pulled out all the stops when writing those songs. But the score in The Legend Reborn, composed by Cory Lerios and John D’Andrea, is just there. It serves its purpose but it doesn’t do anything to stand out.
The Legend Reborn really feels like the last half-hearted gasp of a failing IP. I’m not sure how much of a role this film played in trying to keep the brand alive, but it certainly wouldn’t have helped the cause. There’s nothing of interest here, and it serves no purpose in existing. Lego would ultimately discontinue Bionicle in 2010, but it would be revived for a short time in 2015-2016 though no films were produced for that run. As it stands, Bionicle is a relic of the past, left to be forgotten by the Lego brand. It’s a franchise I hope sees a revival in the future, particularly in the form of films or video games as there’s a great story there to be told. As it stands though, it’s a shame to see this be how it all ended.
The visual presentation of The Legend Reborn strikes an interesting balance of being both better and worse than the Miramax produced films, to result in the film looking as bland as its story and characters. The improvements are clear as day, character models are much more detailed than ever before and actually look like the toys brought to life now, rather than a CGI representation of what they would look like if they were ‘real’. It’s clear that it’s Lego, and it gets to show off the awesome designs in the best ways. There’s also a number of moving parts inside the character models, really showcasing the ‘Bionic’ part of Bionicle.
However, environments are still really bland, and I think this stands out more than ever now that the character models are so detailed. As well as this the movement animation seems kind of clunky. It’s almost halfway between the smooth motion seen in the first three Bionicle films, and a stop motion effect which is what the Lego films would become known for circa 2014’s The Lego Movie. It’s a weird middle ground and the result just looks janky. The music also isn’t anywhere near as epic or memorable, Nathan Furst composed the original three Bionicle movies and he really pulled out all the stops when writing those songs. But the score in The Legend Reborn, composed by Cory Lerios and John D’Andrea, is just there. It serves its purpose but it doesn’t do anything to stand out.
The Legend Reborn really feels like the last half-hearted gasp of a failing IP. I’m not sure how much of a role this film played in trying to keep the brand alive, but it certainly wouldn’t have helped the cause. There’s nothing of interest here, and it serves no purpose in existing. Lego would ultimately discontinue Bionicle in 2010, but it would be revived for a short time in 2015-2016 though no films were produced for that run. As it stands, Bionicle is a relic of the past, left to be forgotten by the Lego brand. It’s a franchise I hope sees a revival in the future, particularly in the form of films or video games as there’s a great story there to be told. As it stands though, it’s a shame to see this be how it all ended.