Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)

Oh, where to begin?From childhood, I had loved 'Bionacle: The Mask Of Light', despite my parents' strong hatred of the movie, and complaining every time I watched it. So when I saw The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie going cheap in the local store, needless to say I was somewhat excited. My excitement was short-lived however, when the movie began. It was not until the very last 5 seconds of the movie that I went 'Oh, its a prequel!', and even then I had to look it up on wikipedia to make sure. The lore was totally baffling, and had no relevance to anything that happened in the first movie. This left me outright confused, and scratching my head. Since when did Toa have these weird stars that appeared in the sky? Where are the Toa from the first movie? but the questions I asked most were 'what?' and 'huh?'. The main confusing part was that the film began from showing the main character from the first movie, transfigured into a half-villain/half-goodie, saving the day. It turned out that this was somebody totally different, but since it was not explained that this was a prequel, i simply thought they were one and the same. This placed the movie for me as a direct sequel, so when the villain turned up, I was more confused than ever. 'I thought he got fused into that half-and-half bionacle? how is he back here?'. Another thing I found myself asking was 'Where is Metru-Nui? this place was never referenced once in the first movie? but it acts like they live here forever!'. If only It had told you it was a prequel on the box, I could have taken a moment out of my utter bafflement to actually enjoy the movie. Even without the confusion factor however, the plot still doesn't make much sense, and if it does, the sheer amount of lore-detail put out is enough to leave one's head spinning. The story was poorly written. Clearly an an ensemble movie, like 'Avengers', the plot focuses on six matorun, who somehow turn into Toa. It is meant to be a story of friendship and bonding, but the movie was so short at 72 minutes, there wasn't enough time to get to know the characters. The first movie had lovable personalities and great interactions, this felt stale and by the book. Nothing felt like a real interaction, just like a list of klee-shays from the first movie minus all the heart. The story is too confusing to get any moral out of. Very reminiscent of the phantom menace, in the way that it is a confusing, lore-bending prequel that came out the blue. Very odd, and pretty insulting to the original movie. No kids movie should be so complex that I have to go to Reddit just to see if anybody can explain the plot to me. Your children will probably enjoy the action, and maybe grasp the plot IF you show them 2&3 before the original, but not follow an epic story and learn a lesson like they can with the first movie. The animation looked about half as good as the original movie did, seems like it was rushed. Will watch the others out of obligation, but only 'the mask of light' will have a place in my heart so far. If you loved 'mask of light' and wonder if this is a worth getting for nostalgia; it is not.

this second movie in the "Bionicle" series of movies is as good as the 1st one.the story is better,and there is more going on.also,the action is more intense and their is some humour here,which the 1st one didn't have.the animation is maybe a bit better,and the villain is a stronger,more developed character,at least i thought so.however,there are a few too many wise proverbs for my taste.after awhile it gets preachy and repetitive.the message of believing in yourself and "the journey of discovery" mantra,though a good message,is a bit heavy handed.this movie has not much to do with the 1st one.the characters are new,but similar to the previous movie.this movie is intended for a slightly older audience than the original,and there's nothing wrong with that.anyway,as i said,despite some problems,this movie is as good as the 1st one.to that end,i give "Bionicle 2:Legends of Metru-Nui" a 7/10

OK, because the movies are made to promote the recent bionicle productsbefore them. This one had an excuse to put the Toa at the center of things.There's a lot more action in this one but disappointingly. None of the characters use their elemental powers because the story focuses on the masks.It's still a bit cheesy, but at least this one as some decent humour. If this is the first bionicle movie you've seen, and you're not fan, it'll look stupid. If you are a bionicle fan and understand how little time the movie makers are given to make these. You'll take it a lot more lightly, despite the cheesy dialogue, and the "Sit down Whenua scene".Then, if you're Maori. You'll either hate the fact that Bionicle uses Maorilanguage. Or you'll laugh, because the words are used differently. (There was a cyber terrorist attack on Bionicle's biggest fan site "BZPower" by two angry Maori representatives, who as it turned out, weren't even legal representatives.)It's also constructed better. but I'm hoping to see a better quality of direct to video releases from the Bionicle team. there are going to be more sequels. If you think outside the box, the Bionicle movies are just one big promotion, like the ad ons they sometimes give the sets (US only).So, a warning if you're going to watch it. You (a) have to excuse thecheesieness. (b) be warned that the story is going to be fast paced (they had a heck of a lot of stuff to pack in) and (c) Take time to understand the storyline. It is complex and designed for Bionicle fans. So, a big note would be that they have to save the "Heart of Metru nui" only they don't know what that is, so when they find out that the matoran (people of the city) are in danger, they quickly assume that the matoran are the heart. But ther's a twist there.So to sum it up. You don't need to have watched the first one to get this. They are set in two different story lines, quite distant form each other. Plus, it's a prequel, so there shouldn't be much trouble.Out of ten, as a bionicle fan, I'd give it 7 (one mark lost for cheesieness. One mark lost for fast pacing. And one mark lost for getting some of the timeline wrong, but's a fan thing so don't worry about it.)Prett good movie

The first Bionicle movie, Mask of Light, released in 2003, was a very good film, but lacked action and intensity, and was a bit too simple and junorized. Thankfully, this problem has been solved in the prequel, Legends of Metru Nui. The storyline, which revolves around the six new Toa Metru trying to save the Matoran and rescue Toa Lhikan from the Dark Hunters, whilst trying to discover Metru Nui's darkest, deepest secret, is a lot darker and more complex than before, and it all really pulls together in the end, which is excellent. The villains are far more powerful and creepy than the Rahkshi in Mask of Light, and the final villain, which I won't name for spoilers sake, is the best of them all. The only weak points are in the complexity of the story, which might confuse some casual viewers, and there are only a few bonus features, despite the fact that they're very cool, with several sneak peeks that are great for Bionicle fans. Overall, this movie is really worth it!