In the long-standing tradition of Transformers, Pokemon, and Barbie, the Lego company has put together two (and soon three) feature-length movies featuring their product. In this CGI prequel, Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nu tells the tale of six ordinary bionic citizens who are reluctantly upgraded to hero status. Only through introspection and self-discovery do they unleash their full strength as their hidden abilities begin to manifest themselves. As the only guardians of their planet, they set out on a miss…on to protect their world from becoming doomed at the hands of a dark force.

Although clearly focused at the Yu-Gi-Oh generation, I found the story compelling, with good moral lessons on judgment, thoughtfulness and sacrifice. The many action scenes are innovative and fun to watch, but the overall pace of the story is somewhat plodding. The dialog is at times overly cheesy and clichéd, and the voice-acting is lacking a certain emotional level that is increasingly expected in animated features. The little humor in this film is completely relegated to a comic-relief hero. Overall, this film takes itself a little too seriously. I found he other-worldly lexicon difficult understand and follow, although I am sure any 8-year old familiar with the Bionicle toys would have no problems with this aspect.

Audio

Wow! The Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds great, but the DTS will blow you away. I am extremely pleased with this aspect of the movie. Dialog is consistently clear, music sounds great, explosions are huge, and the rears get a real workout. The soundstage is near-perfect. In a particularly well-done scene, a massive blast is well-located in the fronts, with shrapnel flying through the room and falling rubble rounding out the effect. This is far better than I expected from a kid’s movie.

Video

As would be expected from a CGI film, the picture is virtually perfect. The 1.78:1 anamorphic image is crystal clear, without any noticeable bits or jaggies. Colors are full and bright, and blacks are good and deep. The only complaint I have on video is not related to quality, but rather style; several scenes are almost monochromatic in nature, and the screen elements tend to blend together despite the sharp contrast inherent in the image. In particular, there is an early scene where background, foreground and character are all shades of red and orange, which made the action difficult to track.

Special Features

This set includes the usual set of bonuses: some Behind the Scenes, an art gallery and some trailers. The Behind the Scenes is particularly interesting, as we see not only the making of a movie, but also the making of a toy line. Good extras, but nothing spectacular.

The menus look and sound very cool, and are fully animated and scored. They are well laid-out and quite functional. Nicely done.

Final Thoughts

Given that Bionicle 2 is primarily intended to sell product, this release does have quite a lot to offer. The action is fun, and the story is engaging, particularly for the intended audience. The video is very good and the audio is fantastic. Bionicle fans will not be disappointed. Non-fans will get a kick out of the DTS audio, and will probably stick around for the rest of the show.

Special Features List

• The Making of Bionicle 2: Legends of Metro Nui
• “Metru Nui Explorer” and more!