Bionicle: Mask of Light: The Movie (2003)

The world of Bionicle, with its Toa warrior action figure series and back story from Lego, form an interesting proof of concept. As mechanistic bipeds with personal arsenals, the toys look good and boys enjoy assembling and playing with them. Unfortunately, this first of three Bionicle movies is mostly murky. Our story begins as a timid little guy is "chosen" (why? and by whom?) to be steward of a mask of light that must be kept safe or darkness will consume the land of Mata Nui. All well and good but the 3D animation in this movie is so dark and low-res that it's hard to make out much of anything much less follow along. The climactic scene transpires on a dark cliff cloaked in shadows where a dark shield is thrown between dark pillars -- you get the idea: There is no "there" there. You should never watch this kid-nerd valentine unless you are a Bionicle fanboy. It's as obtuse to adults as any Barbie vignette (just swap tech-alien snips-and-snails for sugar-and-spice). Frankly, I don't see why the producers of kids' shows like this have to pander to the lowest denominator of entertainment. I mean, take a Shakespearean live actor -- that's the height of emotive interpretation and acting, right? Then take some bozo with no acting much less voice talent, draw a stilted digital stand-in for him on a computer, and dub his voice on a character lacking all potential for emotional expression because his face has been cloaked in a helmet. I'm just saying this is far from James Earl Jones as voice talent for David Prouse as Darth Vader. The most implied emotion you get is a shaking head or a glowing eye -- again, in the dim or the dark. 1.5 stars. [Updated 12/27/09: My youngest son, a savvy Bionicle fan, got this movie for Christmas. On my second viewing, I really tried to follow along and keep track of the Bionicle characters and culture esp. Jaller, Tekua, and the seven Toa warriors. I still think the anime-like script is written only for fanboys: Many characters' responses to sudden danger is to call out the name of the person or place that is under attack so it sounds like offputting gibberish to anyone who doesn't already know and love the world of Bionicle. With concentrated effort, I was able to follow along with 90% of the story line. I didn't say the movie was worth the effort for an adult but sometimes (esp. for the love of a child) the journey is its own reward. If not for this major roadblock to the post-teen public, I was impressed enough with the animation and characterization to have given it 3.5 stars. My previous growling about the largely subterranean setting's chiaroscuro approach to lighting proves to be too harsh since I learned that playing the disc on a contemporary laptop with a bright screen is a great improvement over seeing it several years ago on an eight-year-old Mac iBook. The special features include, among other helpful sections, a Making of Bionicle featurette that nicely explains the movie's design and production process, including a Japanese CGI team and an executive producer who is into extreme sports. My favorite character was Tekua's crablike steed and I appreciated the bestial power and viciousness of the Rahkshi (bad guys) as well as the heroism of the Makuta Toa warriors (good guys). Jaller and Tekua are basically Willow and Megosh -- I almost expected the Makuta sage to say "Follow the bird." No spoilers on how Tekua finds the seventh Toa except to say what goes around, comes around. 3 stars.]