Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

A LEGO Brickumentary Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 27, 2015

Since LEGO has become such a massive, popular culture-infiltrating brand that's branched out far beyond the old perception of simple building blocks, it would no longer be right to say that they're a niche toy, a young child's learning tool that masquerades as a plaything, or a simple outlet for the construction of basic stacks of blocks, crude cars, or simple scenes. Anyone who's put together a LEGO recently knows that the possibilities are endless and that the item-specific sets are some of the most wonderfully creative, complex, and (usually) structurally sound replicas around, boasting detailed design, precise joints, easy movement, and a wow factor that has to be seen (and built) to be believed. The brand has evolved from buckets of bricks into an industry that boasts not only its own creative worlds (LEGO City, Chima, Ninjago) but nearly countless licensed brands (Star Wars, Marvel, D.C., The Lord of the Rings). The LEGO brand has successfully transitioned to the movie universe with its worldwide blockbuster and critically acclaimed The LEGO Movie and a number of shorter direct-to-video films to its name. LEGO has become a major player in the video game market, too, releasing no shortage of licensed property and original creations to the market in games that play similarly to one another but open up a brand new universe of family fun with every new release. LEGO even recently entered the huge "toys-to-life" market with its incredible Dimensions game that marries digital entertainment with physical toy play and collecting. But there's a much larger LEGO world than the one that exists along the toy aisle, in the theater, and throughout the video game section. Fan builders. Conventions. Competitions. Therapy. Art. Space travel. Yes, space travel. It's a busy brick world out there and A LEGO Brickumentary aims to reveal the wide world of building that exists well beyond the kitchen table.

That's a lot of yellow.

This is the wide-ranging and, sometimes, inside story of "a simple toy that become more than a toy." Jason Bateman "hosts" the film in Minifigure form. He introduces the company and its history, sharing relevant data (LEGO is the #2 to company in the world) and looking back at the Danish Christiansen family that founded the business. The film examines a few curiosities about the technology behind LEGO toys, such as the "clutch power" that allows bricks to stay tightly together but come apart easily. It looks at the company's troubles in the late 1990s and early 2000s and its expansion to include licensed brands (though, oddly, not a word about the massive video game line that bears the company's name). Mostly, however, the film focuses on the people who play with LEGOs and even some who have made the toys their life's work. The film peeks into conventions and competitions. It looks at one professor's analysis of the math of LEGO. It features discussions on the toy's therapeutic qualities and LEGO artwork. It also examines the X-Wing fighter model that was displayed in Times Square and represents the single largest LEGO build of all time.

The film focuses, for the most part, on the people who enjoy LEGOs or in some way have made LEGO a major part of their lives, but one cannot help but watch the film and feel that there are many missed opportunities for more, including an in-depth study of how the toys are made today, not on the end user side but in the factories that make the bricks and package them. There's little-to-no examination of the complexities of brand evolution, marketing, licensing, or foray into the video game market. There's a cute LEGO recreation of the company's founding years, but most everything else the film does feels a bit dumbed down and simplified. It bounces from topic to topic, teasing with some interesting concepts and people and places but never feels like it fully satisfies along the journey, leaving many details behind in favor of quick and very broad overviews from the LEGO universe. The film lacks depth in most areas, but it's still a fun and occasionally fascinating overview of the world that LEGO has spawned over the years that extends well beyond a box of bricks for a birthday or a family night of building. It's fascinating to see just how diverse are the people and the creations they make, which include everything from kit-built X-Wing fighters to recreations of the Mona Lisa, from Guinness World Record towers to a painstaking recreation of Rivendell. But it's the sights and personal anecdotes that make the movie enjoyable. Context wise, it's fairly shallow and disappointingly so.

A LEGO Brickumentary Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A LEGO Brickumentary builds a satisfying 1080p transfer. The HD video source material yields a fairly standard image for its type, offering a mildly flat and inorganic image that still presents details and colors to satisfaction. Viewers will note the intricate details on in-tight shots of LEGO pieces, while basic skin and clothing textures reveal adequate, though not substantial, texturing. Colors are bold, particularly when it comes to all variety of bright red, yellow, blue, and green LEGO pieces. Colors on clothes and backgrounds are a little more nuanced by nature and present nicely. Black levels and flesh tones are fine, though the latter can push slightly warm or pasty depending in location and lighting. Minor banding, noise, and aliasing are present but in small quantities. This is fairly typical of an upper-midrange digital image. It does everything well and nothing spectacularly but satisfies the movie's requirements as well as can be reasonably expected.

A LEGO Brickumentary Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A LEGO Brickumentary's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack isn't a "builder" of "master" sounds, but it presents the documentary's rather meager audio needs nicely enough. Dialogue -- both narration and interview clips, the latter in either controlled environments or busier locations -- comes through clearly and articulately, with a consistent center channel presence and strong prioritization. Environmental din in busier locales is minimal. Musical definition satisfies, yielding positive, crisp notes and a bit of surround presence. Sparse are the track's forays into more potent elements. A few examples of gunfire sound effects in chapter ten present with a bit of surround detail, and a space shuttle blast-off heard near the end is healthy and rattly.

A LEGO Brickumentary Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A LEGO Brickumentary contains the following deleted scenes (1080p): Bro-LUG (4:42), Little Guys and Brick Films (2:02), and X-Treme Team (14:26). Also included is an ad for LEGOLAND Resorts and Discovery Centers (1080p, 2:35).

A LEGO Brickumentary Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A LEGO Brickumentary tries to capture the magic of LEGO in a labored style that The LEGO Movie effortlessly put on the screen with a simple story of adventure and make-believe. This film interesting to a point but is, in sum, rather raw and suffers from a severe case of jump around-itis that sees it peek into a number of interesting areas rather than offer a more in-depth examination. The problem, really, is that most everything in A LEGO Brickumentary is worthy of its own documentary, and there's just not enough tome do most any of it justice. There's an endlessly fascinating world of creativity, collecting, and much more out there that the film explores, but not in any serious detail. This is a snapshot, a glimpse, a tease. The film won't necessarily frustrate -- it's charming and, for LEGO fans, packed with interesting anecdotes -- but will leave the audience wishing for more. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of A LEGO Brickumentary features good video and audio. Supplements are limited to a trio of deleted scenes and an advertisement for LEGOLAND. Recommended to hardcore LEGO fans, but casual viewers will be best served by a rental.