I rewatched it today and I interpreted it as Vakama having some sort of anxiety and depression. He has these vivid visions where everything goes to shit and constantly beats himself up. His arc is about him not killing his inner demons but simply being aware and accountable for them. That's why he's one of the more mature and wiser Turaga.
I also think Vakama is a bit relatable when his situation is taken into account. Originally, he was little more than a skilled mask maker, so skilled in fact that he was given the exclusive task of creating the mask of time. This suggests he was smart and wise prior to the events of the second film, much like he is as a turaga. During the film though, a series of things happen that tends to make just about anyone somewhat whiney and confused. First, he is made a Toa almost out of the blue. On top of that, he is established as the leader of a group of other fresh new toa he hardly knows. They say with great power comes great responsibility, but he just had two great and extremely stressful powers/responsibilities thrust upon him in one go. Then after much hardship and life/death adventuring, the leader of his own city, someone he looked up to, declares him a traitorous imposter, turning the whole city against him and the others in a single event. Stuff happens, he still can't manage to make a mask despite mask making being his entire life before heroship, and he is the only Toa that can't figure out his mask power, causing an inferiority complex. Lastly, he is plagued by visions he can't fully understand, causing him to wonder if he is actually just insane. ALL of this on top of being constantly hunted by famous killers...Honestly I am not at all surprised that he had trouble keeping his composure.
Sorry for the wall. >_< This doesn't mean I sympathize with all whiners though. Kylo Ren is a legitimate whiner. He had nothing really to complain about, he was just bummed that he wasn't intimidating and powerful like darth vader.
A bit late in this reply, but if you read the books, especially during the collecting the discs arc, Vakama was able to kinda ride the high of being a toa, despite the doubts in his mind and he's able to pull the team together around himself. However, the scene with Duma decrying them as fakes was so impact because it brought his fears to the forefront. The Movie cuts out all of the important set up for his character, leaving us to get to know him just as he's at his worst and feels the most doubt. If this were traditional hero's journey, it'd be making a movie all about the belly of the whale scene, when the characters are in their darkest hour. We're given no time to get to know them properly. I've always felt Bionicle would work better as a TV series, and not a movie because then we could get the drawn out conversations between Whenua and Nuju about weather it's the past or future that are more important to consider in learning. I'm especially sad that they cut out all mention of the Toa's past lives as matoran and cut out the other matoran characters. Ahkmou, everyone's favorite little traitorous asshole, Nuhrii, The teacher jealous of his student, Vhisola, with a serious case of teacher worship. The Interaction with their past lives really humanized the Toa, made you feel for them, especially Vakama. If this had been a series, and we'd gotten to understand their character more properly, it would have shown how deeply the rejection had effected him, not just painted him as Debby Downer.
@@phantauss13 I would 100% watch a Bionicle TV series. I am familiar with some points of the books, though I only read a few because they were a bit hard to find as a kid and I haven't read them in many years aside from part of one recently. I agree a TV series may have been a better idea. X3
Survivor’s guilt, yes. But also being psychologically tortured, mutated into a monstrous form, more psychological torture, guilt over releasing Makuta, psychological torture,,,,
The short yet oddly dark bionicle books for the Metru Nui line is very damn interesting. The search for the great disks was like, two or three books in total, and so much more happened, and Vakama was built up a lot stronger, sadly, the movie never shows this. I remember reading it and especially as they travel to Mata Nui, the traversing there is Odyssey inspired for sure, but by god they don't get a break in the books haha. It's just a ruthless journey, so much so that I believe that's one of the reasons they become turaga so quickly, they did so much in such a short time they sorta used up all their energy, expending the last of it to awaken the Matoran. But it's just what I'm sorta remembering from the books. Have a good one!
Makuta was loading the matoran into the spheres because if matoran ceased to maintain work within the great spirit robot, Mata Nui would die. The spheres also wiped their memories of metru nui, which Makuta hoped to exploit and become their new ruler. This is why matoran don't remember metru nui or previous toa while they lived on the island of Mata Nui
15:12 Matoran mask powers are inert unless they become a Toa, as is the case with elemental abilities. The Turaga *do* have their mask/elemental powers but to a much weaker extent than to what a Toa is capable of. To compare: A Turaga of Fire can light a torch, whereas a Toa could burn your whole village to the ground, if so inclined.
6:26 As a recall, this is actually the first arc in the canonical story, collecting the great disks (10/10 naming) is very important yet glossed over in the movie.
I hate how glossed over the entire Metru Nui plot is in the movie. The Bionicle really should have been portrayed through a TV series, rather than movies, as the amount of plots and characters can only truly be portrayed through having multiple mini-movies rather than one big movie.
It's been canonically confirmed that Makuta's species (the actual Makuta, the one we've known this whole time is actually called Teridax) are beings made out of "antidermis", a gasseous substance, in shape-shifting armor. In fact, in the Mask of Light movie, had he and Takanuva NOT fallen into Energized Protodermis and fused and had Takanuva instead removed his mask, his Antidermis would've leaked out and he would've died. And no, Jaller couldn't have used Lhikan's mask power, as Matoran lack the mental discipline to do so. All these masks do for the Matoran is keep them from dying.
As a lifelong BIONICLE fan that followed the story from the beginning and has read every book, comic, and online serial, I feel obligated to tell you that Makuta has wings here but does not in MOL because in Adventures book 10: Time Trap, they were disintegrated by a being that's sole purpose is to hunt down the Mask of Time. In the book, Vakama makes a deal with Makuta that prevents him from messing with the island of Mata Nui for a year.
It's weird how people call Sidorak a bad character _WHEN HE FUCKING DECEIVED THAT TIME SENSIBLE BEING AND LATER ON MAKUTA HIMSELF AFTER THE TOA HAGAH CAPTURE._
I feel like the potential of the universe was really wasted with the movies. Especially with all the crazy shit going on in the other material. Teridax's plans within plans, the Dark Hunters and Order of Mata Nui having their 'secret' war, places like Xia and Stelt, Mahri Nui, and Voya Nui. So many interesting stories they could've done. But they had to promote that year's toys.
incidentally, did the dark hunters storyline go anywhere, like their members eventually dying or something, or where they completely forgotten by the time the finale rolled around?
aceotaku Iirc, a lot of the members did die in the finale. The Shadowed One either survived or was replaced and most of the other surviving members were fragmented and separated. They kinda fell into disorganization.
Imagine a BIONICLE TV show in the same vein as Star Wars: the Clone Wars. Multi-episode story arcs, with different story arcs switching from setting to setting and character to character, allowing for the universe to be properly expanded (but still going in a general direction to eventually conclude the story), and an art style that is both stylized and gritty. It would probably take so many seasons to properly portray that it would never be feasible, but whatever.
Vakama: A warrior of brain more than brawn, likely capable of an intense gurella war duel against Makuta. Makuta: Attempts and gets hit by same attack manuver 4 times in a row. Then he dies like a jobber. Also Vakama: BRUH. Fight Choreographers: This is fine.
Fun fact about Vakama: the writer of his character admits that his arc is his one true regret for the series, which explains his general downer personality. Also, can we talk about how both All American Rejects AND Chris Daughtry offered up songs to be used in commercials? How insane is that?
YAY BIONICLE!! Gotta love the Bionicle lore, which is single-handedly one of the most unique universes I've seen. Regarding the toys, nothing really blew my mind as much as the design of the original Bohrok: striking, unique, memorable, and loads of fun. It was all of these things, and it was SIMPLE (critical point!). I really disliked how overly complicated the newer designs were.
I can't wait for your review of the third movie. I remember the intro scaring me immensely; the silent showcase of Makuta's frozen body, then a scary, clawed hand scratching a shard out of the ice, then the Toa's ship sinking followed by a hand reaching out and grabbing the camera in a very jumpscary fashion. But by far the scariest part was the introduction of the Vizorakh; a sudden burst of energy hits our heroes, immobilizing them and knocking them over. Then complete silence which was quickly broken by red eyed spider monsters howling up into the skies, closing in on our heroes, with their drooling vertical saw-mouths serving as the last frame of the scene... literal nightmares for weeks., good god.
I think Vakama's imposter syndrome can largely be attributed to him comparing himself to Lhikan, which is made apparent many times throughout the movie, especially in one of his visions where he's standing next to Lhikan, but Lhikan is significantly bigger, showing that Vakama views himself as inferior to Lhikan. Lhikan was also literally one of the greatest Toas of all time, and was respected and idolized by everyone, which is clear from the way the Matoran were always awestruck when he appeared before them, and from the numerous statues of him shown throughout the movie. Vakama had huge shoes to fill, and trying to live up to Lhikan's legacy at this early stage inevitably made him feel like he was a disappointment. He also had visions he didn't completely understand, where the true meaning of these visions wasn't always relevant to their situation in the moment, leading to doubts of his sanity both from his teammates and himself. Combine all of that with Vakama being thrust from his comfort zone as a master mask maker, into the completely unfamiliar responsibilities of a Toa, and Vakama's lack of self confidence makes total sense in this movie.
Vakama's main problem is that even in the end hes still holding on to the idea of making the mask of time. Its relatable to someone who grew up watching this movie
Okay. I've never watched, bought, or played with Bionicle. I'm only here for Scarfulhu. This meant that this review was like sitting on on a bilingual public speaker talking to a bilingual audience, so at random points during the talk he'll suddenly start talking a language I don't understand before seamlessly switching right back to english, and I'm the only one who noticed. Still had fun, though.
here's the gist: magi robot people have magic masks. Makuta is satan and put God in a coma, and six (or seven) legendary heroes rise every few years to fight Masked Satan and save the world. ANd then Masked God wakes up and kicks Masked Satan's ass after going on space adentures. it's weirrrrrd.
I remember feeling sorry for kids who liked this stuff because things like this and Avatar just seemed poorly made compared to things I liked. I used to be big into anime when this stuff was coming out, but even when i was a small child I liked Batman the Animated series and Spiderman and X Men and Dragonball Z. I just always thought this stuff looked stupid and MY stuff was cool lol. After reading Aceotaku's review there, I think I made the right choice. =]. But I agree, I enjoy these reviews.
As a fan of Bionicle when I was a kid, the story was weak, but the world building set up by the comics and the online game got me hooked. That, and I thought the toys were cool.
15:00 Technically, Matoran masks have powers, but... Basically, the masks have a power on their own, but require the elemental power of a Toa or the vastly diminished power of a Turaga as a power source to be able to use them. Matoran just don't have elemental powers and therefore cannot use the mask. But if, say, Tahu grabbed the mask off a random Matoran, He could use its power.
Most matoran kanohi are actually powerless. If Tahu were to take Jallers hau he would be able to use it since it's a noble kanohi but if he were to take takua's pakari, matoro's akaku or hali's kaukau he couldn't use it since they are powerless kanohi. Why do I remember so much about this.... Source: bionicle.wikia.com/wiki/Kanohi
What I learned from this review: 1. I am able to basically cry from the nostalgia of seeing this movie that I haven't seen since 2004 2. Bionicle has actual lore, and it's deeeeep. 3. Some people are waaaaay into Bionicle
Vakama blamed himself because he got caught. That was what he was upset about. He got caught, and thus Nidihki used him to exploit Lhikan's weakness - protecting the Matoran. That was the point of Vakama blaming himself.
I do agree with Scarf though, that Vakama wouldn't have been able to do anything regardless, but still, when someone gets hurt or captured because of your involvement - I.e; Vakama not getting out of the room - it is natural to take the blame, like you said.
God damn I went and re watched those music videos because the one with the Inika and All-American Rejects was so nostalgic for me but... were the songs always so 'twelve year old going through their angsty "I hate life" phase'-ish? then again I was like twelve when that music video happened so I was probably in that phase...
It's almost as if reducing it to a cameo, binding Vakama as he looks for a disc, is a terrible way of shrinking down a huge sub-arc of the Metru Nui storyline and one of Bionicle's weirdest villains.
Makuta looses his wings in a 2005 book called Time Trap set between Bionicle 3 and... I guess the end of this movie? Before Mask of Light anyway. It was in a fight between him and The Shadowed One, the guy in charge of Kreka and Nidiki from this movie (if that's the right spelling). Here's the TLDR (from memory, probably haven't read it in over 10 years): The Shadowed One is in Metru Nui looking to get revenge on the Toa who he thinks have killed Kreka and Nidiki. Makuta and Vakama are there looking for the mask of time, which was lost at the end of this movie (and is used in either the 2002 or 2003 plot, I can't remember...). Anyway, eventually The Shadowed One finds out it was Makuta who absorbed Kreka and Nidiki at the end of this movie, and I think then he burns off his wings with laser vision or something like that (it's been a while). Hopefully that clears some things up.
I believe the reason given for Makuta's abysmal fighting skills was that he was still absorbing Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk and had to manually suppress them which left him with limited physical ability.
By the great spirit, the nostalgia is real. I think I'm gonna go watch the movie again and then play some Bionicle Heroes. I miss the classic Bionicle so much..
I am a full six years late but I’ve always viewed Vakama’s guilt less over what he could have done and more over the fact that likhan was only there because of him.
When Makuta grabs those stone pillars, I don't think they hurt him. I think he hits the pillars before they reach him, if you look closer. Could be wrong though. I remember that when he uses his shadow hand, he can't get rid of it until it returns to his body as it is a part of his essence or something.
2004 was actually my favourite year in Bionicle. It's also the only year I have every set from. As for why Makuta was capturing matoran in those pods, is so he can wipe their memories so they forget about Mata Nui (their 'god') and reawakening them at a later time so he can be the one they worship.
True, though there is no explanation as to what he as "Dume" told the Matoran. His evil plan was one thing but what did he tell the Matoran in order to make them go in there? (Eh, then again the Matoran would walk off a cliff if Dume told them to).
I feel like Vakama blames himself for Lihkan's capture at the start precisely because Nidhiki dangles him over the furnace to manipulate Lihkan into giving himself up; Lihkan is the big Toa hero and protector of the city, not to mention the only Toa left at that point, so Vakama naturally values Lihkan much more than himself, as he's basically just another Matoran who's only real skill is mask making. If Vakama wasn't there then Lihkan could have maybe defeated the dark hunters or at least escaped their clutches as he did in the opening scene. Nidhiki says to Lihkan that: "Compassion was always your weakness." so Vakama recognises how he was used as a hostage and feels regretful about it. Interesting though when Dume blames Vakama and the Toa for Lihkan's disappearance, Vakama suddenly objects to this and blames the dark hunters; fair enough as that's what actually happened, but completely contradictory to his stance up to that point in the film where he constantly blames himself and takes responsibility for Lihkan's capture.
15:13 ok, in the Bionicle universe there are 4 types of mask. Legendary: one of a kind mask Great: toa's masks Noble: turaga's mask Powerless: matoran's mask Likhan's mask was a GREAT kanohi Hau, which transforme it self into a NOBLE kanohi hau. (the noble are not as powerful as the great) when vakama take the mask and gave it to jaller. It transformed it self into a powerless kanohi, just like the rest the one from takua!
As a kid, I preferred this film because it came closer to the serious attitude I wanted to see in a Bionicle movie. Based on the MNOG and the commercials, I always imagined Bionicle's tone to be Princess Mononoke with Power Ranger-style action scene whereas MoL came across as more Saturday Morning Cartoon-ish. Now that I'm older though, I recognise that MoL, on its own merits, is just a stronger product. Not great, but comparatively passable.
To answer your question there are three tears of masks in the BIONICLE universe. Great, Noble, and Powerless (strongest to weakest). Matoran (normally) wear Powerless masks, which become Great when the become Toa, then become Noble when they become Turaga. Matoran cannot use any mask powers due to not having enough power of their own. Turaga can use Noble due to having limited power. Toa can use Noble and Great due to having immense power.
Man, even when I was a kid I thought the "heart of Metru Nui" thing was vague to the point of being hokey. Like, just a smidgen of specificity could have saved lives here, Lhikan.
there are a lotnof books that were written that fill in a lot of plot holes that the movies didnt answer. the movies were honestly just made to sell the toys.
2:49 Goddammit now you've got me thinking about a sitcom set in Metru Nui. That is simultaneously the worst and best idea ever. 6:25 I love Nuju's face here. He's just looking at Vakama like "...the fuck?"
i know you kinda said you don't need to know about the mask power for jalla but if i may indulge my inner bionicle nerd.....he DOES become a toa during the third "arc" (toa ignika and toa mahri lines) so...there ya go. also great video
Yeah, Duma isn't a heroic-sounding name, but when you really think about it, neither is Vakama. We're used to him being a hero, but someone unfamiliar who just heard the name would probably think he's a villain.
Idk man, if I was chosen to be THE leader of THE 6 heroes and couldn’t figure out my special abilities or anything of that matter, I’d be pretty depressed too lol. Even as an adult, I find Vakama extremely relatable in that aspect.
Makuta may have not lost his wings voluntarily, but he can shape shift at will if he desires, though he does require a power source (such as another being) if he wants to achieve a larger form. It’s the same reason he was able to fit his mask behind Dume's.
honestly the biggest missed opportunity of this film is not taking advantage of the streight up Orwellian tone other media set up, like the online animations for the Vahki which are basic propaganda shorts with lines like "Obedience is happiness" "Trust in Turaga Dume" and "Thoughts can be dangerous" that would have been much more interesting
"And he might have looked something like 3:33." Honestly, I would've just shown the Toa Iruini set, which was supposed to be Nidhiki and very clearly is Nidhiki, but someone decided he'd be Iruini instead. Hmm..........................
4:55 I think it'd be more akin to the irrational response of survivor's guilt. without Likhan dying at the moment. He feels guilty for being unable to do anything to help who was at the time, the last toa.
Here we go! I didn't watch the first one, but I did watch this one as a kid. It was... ok, I guess. But you make it a million times better, Scarf. Keep being the best.
2:07 Okay, I know I've heard that song before, but I can't remember where now! (EDIT: Never mind, it's from Doom II and it's called "Running from Evil".)
12:09 Basically his plan was to put the matoran to sleep so he could 'reprogram' them. Basically they would sleep and lose their memories, while Makuta would First crash mata nui's systems , destroy his Consious , take over his body, reawaken the matoran , and porclaim himself their god.
A wonderful review! I would like to make a few pointers, however: 1, We do know that some Matoran are capable of fighting! In the Mask of Light, we see guards lined up and/or guarding every village we come across. While it is true that they don't have the skills of a Toa, and Vakama has little to no training in combat, the questions of "What if...?" and "Could I have...?" often plague the minds of many who stand helplessly. 2, Honestly, I thought the mysterious Turaga was Duma's brother that he imprisoned! I did not expect him to be Likahn. 3, Teridax looses his wings in a book whose events were supposed to happen between BIONICLE 3 and 1.
I would write an entirely pretentious internet comment in order to sound witty and charismatic which would garner some recognition in order to shroud the ever-growing reality that the fact of the matter is that the universe as we know it would eventually come to an end with everyone blinking out of existence until there is nothing left. Quaint
I guess I also might have seen the other movies, but that’s because I remember the pods… Even though I remember waiting for a conclusion to mask of light lmao.
Anaru_ LST I agree with you. I mean the foreshadowing in this game is insane. I mean the Mata Nui Robot, Bohrok, Metru Nui were all forshadowed in this game
that AMV and the ads with the Move Along music were just pretty badass, not like the song by the Barcode Brothers on the Nestle Bionicle promotional CD but its as epic as that song as well.
How come no ones talking about the fact Makuta Teridax is literally wearing 2 Masks on top of each other, Turaga Dume's Mask of Regeneration over his own Mask Of Shadows?
I rewatched it today and I interpreted it as Vakama having some sort of anxiety and depression. He has these vivid visions where everything goes to shit and constantly beats himself up. His arc is about him not killing his inner demons but simply being aware and accountable for them. That's why he's one of the more mature and wiser Turaga.
I also think Vakama is a bit relatable when his situation is taken into account. Originally, he was little more than a skilled mask maker, so skilled in fact that he was given the exclusive task of creating the mask of time. This suggests he was smart and wise prior to the events of the second film, much like he is as a turaga. During the film though, a series of things happen that tends to make just about anyone somewhat whiney and confused. First, he is made a Toa almost out of the blue. On top of that, he is established as the leader of a group of other fresh new toa he hardly knows. They say with great power comes great responsibility, but he just had two great and extremely stressful powers/responsibilities thrust upon him in one go. Then after much hardship and life/death adventuring, the leader of his own city, someone he looked up to, declares him a traitorous imposter, turning the whole city against him and the others in a single event. Stuff happens, he still can't manage to make a mask despite mask making being his entire life before heroship, and he is the only Toa that can't figure out his mask power, causing an inferiority complex. Lastly, he is plagued by visions he can't fully understand, causing him to wonder if he is actually just insane. ALL of this on top of being constantly hunted by famous killers...Honestly I am not at all surprised that he had trouble keeping his composure.
Sorry for the wall. >_< This doesn't mean I sympathize with all whiners though. Kylo Ren is a legitimate whiner. He had nothing really to complain about, he was just bummed that he wasn't intimidating and powerful like darth vader.
A bit late in this reply, but if you read the books, especially during the collecting the discs arc, Vakama was able to kinda ride the high of being a toa, despite the doubts in his mind and he's able to pull the team together around himself. However, the scene with Duma decrying them as fakes was so impact because it brought his fears to the forefront.
The Movie cuts out all of the important set up for his character, leaving us to get to know him just as he's at his worst and feels the most doubt. If this were traditional hero's journey, it'd be making a movie all about the belly of the whale scene, when the characters are in their darkest hour. We're given no time to get to know them properly.
I've always felt Bionicle would work better as a TV series, and not a movie because then we could get the drawn out conversations between Whenua and Nuju about weather it's the past or future that are more important to consider in learning.
I'm especially sad that they cut out all mention of the Toa's past lives as matoran and cut out the other matoran characters. Ahkmou, everyone's favorite little traitorous asshole, Nuhrii, The teacher jealous of his student, Vhisola, with a serious case of teacher worship.
The Interaction with their past lives really humanized the Toa, made you feel for them, especially Vakama. If this had been a series, and we'd gotten to understand their character more properly, it would have shown how deeply the rejection had effected him, not just painted him as Debby Downer.
Amen man, Amen
Wasn't Makuta's Morbuzakh Plant that was in the Great furnace important as well?
@@phantauss13 I would 100% watch a Bionicle TV series. I am familiar with some points of the books, though I only read a few because they were a bit hard to find as a kid and I haven't read them in many years aside from part of one recently. I agree a TV series may have been a better idea. X3
In all fairness to Vakama, it was probably due to survivor guilt.
Honestly, I love it.
And being autistic
Survivor’s guilt, yes. But also being psychologically tortured, mutated into a monstrous form, more psychological torture, guilt over releasing Makuta, psychological torture,,,,
@@monochromayhem7422And gaslighting from Matau
@@kidprime6863To be fair if your friend started having visions you'd think they were just hallucinations too
The short yet oddly dark bionicle books for the Metru Nui line is very damn interesting. The search for the great disks was like, two or three books in total, and so much more happened, and Vakama was built up a lot stronger, sadly, the movie never shows this. I remember reading it and especially as they travel to Mata Nui, the traversing there is Odyssey inspired for sure, but by god they don't get a break in the books haha. It's just a ruthless journey, so much so that I believe that's one of the reasons they become turaga so quickly, they did so much in such a short time they sorta used up all their energy, expending the last of it to awaken the Matoran. But it's just what I'm sorta remembering from the books.
Have a good one!
For sure!!
Makuta was loading the matoran into the spheres because if matoran ceased to maintain work within the great spirit robot, Mata Nui would die. The spheres also wiped their memories of metru nui, which Makuta hoped to exploit and become their new ruler. This is why matoran don't remember metru nui or previous toa while they lived on the island of Mata Nui
15:12 Matoran mask powers are inert unless they become a Toa, as is the case with elemental abilities. The Turaga *do* have their mask/elemental powers but to a much weaker extent than to what a Toa is capable of. To compare: A Turaga of Fire can light a torch, whereas a Toa could burn your whole village to the ground, if so inclined.
6:26 As a recall, this is actually the first arc in the canonical story, collecting the great disks (10/10 naming) is very important yet glossed over in the movie.
I hate how glossed over the entire Metru Nui plot is in the movie.
The Bionicle really should have been portrayed through a TV series, rather than movies, as the amount of plots and characters can only truly be portrayed through having multiple mini-movies rather than one big movie.
Yeah, I want Ahkmou's treachery to become common knowledge and not something you have to do research for.
At the very least, this movie could've been divided into two parts
You're reviewing another bionicle movie?
*INTENSE CLAPPING*
Yes Bonkles are my jam, seriously I'm a lore nerd, I will answer your questions
INTENSE CLAPPING CONTINUES
Allright Lore Master Lumpy, I have a question.
Why are the Bionicles made of plastics, yet their environment is clearly organic in nature?
The matoran species, and "plants" are composed of protodermis in the lore, at least inside the Mata Nui robot
FINALLY EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEEEEE *squee* BOOM
Paul Johnson Invader Zim fan, I see. ...My taquitos. Eeeaahaaagh, my taquitos! TAQUITOOOOOSSSS
"Big four legged monster made of *knives*" Is what I'm calling Nidhiki now
It's been canonically confirmed that Makuta's species (the actual Makuta, the one we've known this whole time is actually called Teridax) are beings made out of "antidermis", a gasseous substance, in shape-shifting armor. In fact, in the Mask of Light movie, had he and Takanuva NOT fallen into Energized Protodermis and fused and had Takanuva instead removed his mask, his Antidermis would've leaked out and he would've died.
And no, Jaller couldn't have used Lhikan's mask power, as Matoran lack the mental discipline to do so. All these masks do for the Matoran is keep them from dying.
I always had a hard time taking this franchise seriously as a kid because in my language, Toa means toilet.
What language is this!? I need to know!
Swedish. It's sort of a slang word, I guess, but still. I always thought it was weird. lol
OmegaMetroid93 frankly, I think that makes it better; imagining 'Toilet Mask' toys/movies
I loved this series
If you didnt know, the word Toa comes from Maori & it translates to hero/champion/warrior
Seeing as Kid how they rapidly grow old was devastating. Especially with one of the Characters clearly noticing the Change and not looking too happy
the metru movies did whenua so dirty. he was great in the books, like a sarcastic, curious zoologist. easily my favourite bionicle character
As a lifelong BIONICLE fan that followed the story from the beginning and has read every book, comic, and online serial, I feel obligated to tell you that Makuta has wings here but does not in MOL because in Adventures book 10: Time Trap, they were disintegrated by a being that's sole purpose is to hunt down the Mask of Time. In the book, Vakama makes a deal with Makuta that prevents him from messing with the island of Mata Nui for a year.
It's weird how people call Sidorak a bad character _WHEN HE FUCKING DECEIVED THAT TIME SENSIBLE BEING AND LATER ON MAKUTA HIMSELF AFTER THE TOA HAGAH CAPTURE._
Celemimphar I was Into Time Trap as a kid. IDK why I liked that book more than the others
@@ytsejam58 Because it was more of a self contained story than the other books that focused mostly on one character, and had a great dark atmosphere.
I feel like the potential of the universe was really wasted with the movies. Especially with all the crazy shit going on in the other material. Teridax's plans within plans, the Dark Hunters and Order of Mata Nui having their 'secret' war, places like Xia and Stelt, Mahri Nui, and Voya Nui. So many interesting stories they could've done. But they had to promote that year's toys.
incidentally, did the dark hunters storyline go anywhere, like their members eventually dying or something, or where they completely forgotten by the time the finale rolled around?
aceotaku
Iirc, a lot of the members did die in the finale. The Shadowed One either survived or was replaced and most of the other surviving members were fragmented and separated. They kinda fell into disorganization.
Alma Grimm I would have loved a triology about the ignition triology (aka the daekest time of bionicle 2006-2008)
Imagine a BIONICLE TV show in the same vein as Star Wars: the Clone Wars.
Multi-episode story arcs, with different story arcs switching from setting to setting and character to character, allowing for the universe to be properly expanded (but still going in a general direction to eventually conclude the story), and an art style that is both stylized and gritty.
It would probably take so many seasons to properly portray that it would never be feasible, but whatever.
@@acidcosmos2001 The Shadowed One is alive and is trying his luck putting a new band together on Spherus Magna.
Vakama: A warrior of brain more than brawn, likely capable of an intense gurella war duel against Makuta.
Makuta: Attempts and gets hit by same attack manuver 4 times in a row. Then he dies like a jobber.
Also Vakama: BRUH.
Fight Choreographers: This is fine.
Fun fact about Vakama: the writer of his character admits that his arc is his one true regret for the series, which explains his general downer personality.
Also, can we talk about how both All American Rejects AND Chris Daughtry offered up songs to be used in commercials? How insane is that?
YAY BIONICLE!! Gotta love the Bionicle lore, which is single-handedly one of the most unique universes I've seen. Regarding the toys, nothing really blew my mind as much as the design of the original Bohrok: striking, unique, memorable, and loads of fun. It was all of these things, and it was SIMPLE (critical point!). I really disliked how overly complicated the newer designs were.
*Mati:* "Heart is a terrible power."
*Whenua:* "Hold my mask"
I can't wait for your review of the third movie. I remember the intro scaring me immensely; the silent showcase of Makuta's frozen body, then a scary, clawed hand scratching a shard out of the ice, then the Toa's ship sinking followed by a hand reaching out and grabbing the camera in a very jumpscary fashion. But by far the scariest part was the introduction of the Vizorakh; a sudden burst of energy hits our heroes, immobilizing them and knocking them over. Then complete silence which was quickly broken by red eyed spider monsters howling up into the skies, closing in on our heroes, with their drooling vertical saw-mouths serving as the last frame of the scene... literal nightmares for weeks., good god.
AstroManX100 Did he ever review Web of shadows in the end? I can't find it
Edit: He said that's planned for this year
I think Vakama's imposter syndrome can largely be attributed to him comparing himself to Lhikan, which is made apparent many times throughout the movie, especially in one of his visions where he's standing next to Lhikan, but Lhikan is significantly bigger, showing that Vakama views himself as inferior to Lhikan. Lhikan was also literally one of the greatest Toas of all time, and was respected and idolized by everyone, which is clear from the way the Matoran were always awestruck when he appeared before them, and from the numerous statues of him shown throughout the movie. Vakama had huge shoes to fill, and trying to live up to Lhikan's legacy at this early stage inevitably made him feel like he was a disappointment. He also had visions he didn't completely understand, where the true meaning of these visions wasn't always relevant to their situation in the moment, leading to doubts of his sanity both from his teammates and himself. Combine all of that with Vakama being thrust from his comfort zone as a master mask maker, into the completely unfamiliar responsibilities of a Toa, and Vakama's lack of self confidence makes total sense in this movie.
Vakama's main problem is that even in the end hes still holding on to the idea of making the mask of time. Its relatable to someone who grew up watching this movie
Vakama was voiced by Alessandro Juliani, the English dub voice actor of L from Death Note.
Okay. I've never watched, bought, or played with Bionicle. I'm only here for Scarfulhu. This meant that this review was like sitting on on a bilingual public speaker talking to a bilingual audience, so at random points during the talk he'll suddenly start talking a language I don't understand before seamlessly switching right back to english, and I'm the only one who noticed.
Still had fun, though.
Same, haha, I had no idea what was going on this entire review.
here's the gist: magi robot people have magic masks. Makuta is satan and put God in a coma, and six (or seven) legendary heroes rise every few years to fight Masked Satan and save the world.
ANd then Masked God wakes up and kicks Masked Satan's ass after going on space adentures.
it's weirrrrrd.
I remember feeling sorry for kids who liked this stuff because things like this and Avatar just seemed poorly made compared to things I liked. I used to be big into anime when this stuff was coming out, but even when i was a small child I liked Batman the Animated series and Spiderman and X Men and Dragonball Z. I just always thought this stuff looked stupid and MY stuff was cool lol. After reading Aceotaku's review there, I think I made the right choice. =]. But I agree, I enjoy these reviews.
As a fan of Bionicle when I was a kid, the story was weak, but the world building set up by the comics and the online game got me hooked. That, and I thought the toys were cool.
ArtaShrike lmao that's *exactly* how I felt watching this review
Growing up, I remembered thinking this was the best one out of the three. I always found the ending pretty sad.
Vakama is voiced by Alessandro Juliani, the English voice of L from Death Note.
He’s also in a bunch of Barbie movies like The Princess and the Pauper, Fairytopia, and The Island Princess
Wasn't he Nightscream from Beast Machines?
15:00 Technically, Matoran masks have powers, but... Basically, the masks have a power on their own, but require the elemental power of a Toa or the vastly diminished power of a Turaga as a power source to be able to use them. Matoran just don't have elemental powers and therefore cannot use the mask. But if, say, Tahu grabbed the mask off a random Matoran, He could use its power.
Good to know. I looked it up but couldn't find anything specific.
👍
(That's a thumbs-up if emojis don't show up on your computer)
Most matoran kanohi are actually powerless. If Tahu were to take Jallers
hau he would be able to use it since it's a noble kanohi but if he were
to take takua's pakari, matoro's akaku or hali's kaukau he couldn't use
it since they are powerless kanohi.
Why do I remember so much about this....
Source: bionicle.wikia.com/wiki/Kanohi
Really? I thought it had to do with the user's elemental powers.
Nope, Majora's right. (Not something I thought I'd ever say.) Sorry, Scarf.
What I learned from this review:
1. I am able to basically cry from the nostalgia of seeing this movie that I haven't seen since 2004
2. Bionicle has actual lore, and it's deeeeep.
3. Some people are waaaaay into Bionicle
Vakama blamed himself because he got caught. That was what he was upset about. He got caught, and thus Nidihki used him to exploit Lhikan's weakness - protecting the Matoran. That was the point of Vakama blaming himself.
Exactly; heck, I'd probably think like that if I was caught in a situation like that.
I do agree with Scarf though, that Vakama wouldn't have been able to do anything regardless, but still, when someone gets hurt or captured because of your involvement - I.e; Vakama not getting out of the room - it is natural to take the blame, like you said.
God damn I went and re watched those music videos because the one with the Inika and All-American Rejects was so nostalgic for me but... were the songs always so 'twelve year old going through their angsty "I hate life" phase'-ish? then again I was like twelve when that music video happened so I was probably in that phase...
Yep, the whole Inika arc was the franchise going through its angsty pre-teen phase
'06: Home of the Piraka Rap, the All-American Rejects, chain-link fences, and spines.
This is my favorite Bionicle movie of the trilogy and my favorite of your reviews, very entertaining, thanks scarf♥️
Wow cutting out that whole "Morbuzakh" dealio really hurt the plot it seems :T
It's almost as if reducing it to a cameo, binding Vakama as he looks for a disc, is a terrible way of shrinking down a huge sub-arc of the Metru Nui storyline and one of Bionicle's weirdest villains.
Well...at least it was better than the way the third movie abridged things...but a lotta things are better than Web of Shadows.
Web of Shadows... The Spider-Man 3 of the Bionicle franchise... in so many oddly-similar ways.
and frankly a bit TOO similar
That's because it was in the comics, that's also why the Metrutoran sets aren't in the movie.
Interesting verdict, considering that Metru Nui is generally seen as the best of the four movies.
I thought that was web of shadows?
Now Web of Shadows.
I had that on DVD😅
Onua in the canon was the wisest of the Toa Mata/Nuva actually.
I remember back in 2009, when I traded a classmate a $1 bag of Salsa Sunchips for a boxed Nidhiki.
That's why I still eat them.
Makuta looses his wings in a 2005 book called Time Trap set between Bionicle 3 and... I guess the end of this movie? Before Mask of Light anyway. It was in a fight between him and The Shadowed One, the guy in charge of Kreka and Nidiki from this movie (if that's the right spelling).
Here's the TLDR (from memory, probably haven't read it in over 10 years): The Shadowed One is in Metru Nui looking to get revenge on the Toa who he thinks have killed Kreka and Nidiki. Makuta and Vakama are there looking for the mask of time, which was lost at the end of this movie (and is used in either the 2002 or 2003 plot, I can't remember...). Anyway, eventually The Shadowed One finds out it was Makuta who absorbed Kreka and Nidiki at the end of this movie, and I think then he burns off his wings with laser vision or something like that (it's been a while).
Hopefully that clears some things up.
I believe the reason given for Makuta's abysmal fighting skills was that he was still absorbing Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk and had to manually suppress them which left him with limited physical ability.
By the great spirit, the nostalgia is real. I think I'm gonna go watch the movie again and then play some Bionicle Heroes. I miss the classic Bionicle so much..
Makuta Teridax lost his wings while fighting with The Shadowed One, the leader of the Dark Hunters
I am a full six years late but I’ve always viewed Vakama’s guilt less over what he could have done and more over the fact that likhan was only there because of him.
When Makuta grabs those stone pillars, I don't think they hurt him. I think he hits the pillars before they reach him, if you look closer. Could be wrong though. I remember that when he uses his shadow hand, he can't get rid of it until it returns to his body as it is a part of his essence or something.
2004 was actually my favourite year in Bionicle. It's also the only year I have every set from.
As for why Makuta was capturing matoran in those pods, is so he can wipe their memories so they forget about Mata Nui (their 'god') and reawakening them at a later time so he can be the one they worship.
True, though there is no explanation as to what he as "Dume" told the Matoran.
His evil plan was one thing but what did he tell the Matoran in order to make them go in there?
(Eh, then again the Matoran would walk off a cliff if Dume told them to).
I literally just rewatched your first Bionicle review yesterday and now this? COINCIDENCE? I THINK Nyeah probably.
I feel like Vakama blames himself for Lihkan's capture at the start precisely because Nidhiki dangles him over the furnace to manipulate Lihkan into giving himself up; Lihkan is the big Toa hero and protector of the city, not to mention the only Toa left at that point, so Vakama naturally values Lihkan much more than himself, as he's basically just another Matoran who's only real skill is mask making. If Vakama wasn't there then Lihkan could have maybe defeated the dark hunters or at least escaped their clutches as he did in the opening scene. Nidhiki says to Lihkan that: "Compassion was always your weakness." so Vakama recognises how he was used as a hostage and feels regretful about it.
Interesting though when Dume blames Vakama and the Toa for Lihkan's disappearance, Vakama suddenly objects to this and blames the dark hunters; fair enough as that's what actually happened, but completely contradictory to his stance up to that point in the film where he constantly blames himself and takes responsibility for Lihkan's capture.
15:13 ok, in the Bionicle universe there are 4 types of mask.
Legendary: one of a kind mask
Great: toa's masks
Noble: turaga's mask
Powerless: matoran's mask
Likhan's mask was a GREAT kanohi Hau, which transforme it self into a NOBLE kanohi hau. (the noble are not as powerful as the great) when vakama take the mask and gave it to jaller. It transformed it self into a powerless kanohi, just like the rest the one from takua!
Once again I'm watching your new video instead of studying.
Thanks
As a kid, I preferred this film because it came closer to the serious attitude I wanted to see in a Bionicle movie. Based on the MNOG and the commercials, I always imagined Bionicle's tone to be Princess Mononoke with Power Ranger-style action scene whereas MoL came across as more Saturday Morning Cartoon-ish.
Now that I'm older though, I recognise that MoL, on its own merits, is just a stronger product. Not great, but comparatively passable.
Loving the RuneScape music around 8:30
Jaller did have to wear that mask, because when a matoran doesn't have it's mask for a prolonged amount of time, they go into a comatose state.
4:54 I see what you did there...
Nice ME reference. I'm always a fan of those. XD
G a r r u s
To answer your question there are three tears of masks in the BIONICLE universe. Great, Noble, and Powerless (strongest to weakest). Matoran (normally) wear Powerless masks, which become Great when the become Toa, then become Noble when they become Turaga. Matoran cannot use any mask powers due to not having enough power of their own. Turaga can use Noble due to having limited power. Toa can use Noble and Great due to having immense power.
Jala does become a toa later down the line (being renamed to Jaller) when facing the piraka, although he gets a new mask...
Man, even when I was a kid I thought the "heart of Metru Nui" thing was vague to the point of being hokey. Like, just a smidgen of specificity could have saved lives here, Lhikan.
ahh those music videos, anyone else remember the advert for bionicle inika were the song was move along by all american rejects?
Man this.... this brings back my childhood....
there are a lotnof books that were written that fill in a lot of plot holes that the movies didnt answer. the movies were honestly just made to sell the toys.
2:49 Goddammit now you've got me thinking about a sitcom set in Metru Nui. That is simultaneously the worst and best idea ever.
6:25 I love Nuju's face here. He's just looking at Vakama like "...the fuck?"
11:58 Teridax and the other Makuta can shape-shift. That's how he can look like Dume.
I used to watch those Bionicle music videos all the time! :D
Can't wait for your MNOG review. That game was such a huge part of my childhood. Still replay it like once a year.
I only discovered your videos recently and i just wanted to say thanks for the entertainment. You're easily one of my favourite youtubers.
damn, that lumbridge theme playing in the background AND bionicle?
2 of my most nostalgic memories when i was a kid.
Nokama and Nuju are awesome characters!
5:22 "You can tell he's a good guy, because he's got a name like *Duma.* "
Mila would like to know your location.
I don't know anything about Bionicle, nor do I remember anything from the first episode. I just love it when Conner uploads.
i know you kinda said you don't need to know about the mask power for jalla but if i may indulge my inner bionicle nerd.....he DOES become a toa during the third "arc" (toa ignika and toa mahri lines) so...there ya go. also great video
Yeah, Duma isn't a heroic-sounding name, but when you really think about it, neither is Vakama. We're used to him being a hero, but someone unfamiliar who just heard the name would probably think he's a villain.
Idk man, if I was chosen to be THE leader of THE 6 heroes and couldn’t figure out my special abilities or anything of that matter, I’d be pretty depressed too lol. Even as an adult, I find Vakama extremely relatable in that aspect.
"I know this universe has potential but they fail to pull it off" *cough* *cough* BIONICLE G2 *cough*
Makuta may have not lost his wings voluntarily, but he can shape shift at will if he desires, though he does require a power source (such as another being) if he wants to achieve a larger form. It’s the same reason he was able to fit his mask behind Dume's.
My childhood came back" ;_; Bless you Scarfy.
honestly the biggest missed opportunity of this film is not taking advantage of the streight up Orwellian tone other media set up, like the online animations for the Vahki which are basic propaganda shorts with lines like "Obedience is happiness" "Trust in Turaga Dume" and "Thoughts can be dangerous" that would have been much more interesting
I remember this and getting these Bionicles as a kid. They were way cooler than regular Legos to me when I was a kid.
15:15 Matoran can wear noble, great or even legendary kanohi, but can't use their powers beyond keeping themselves conscious
Nidhiki was always my favorite bionicle, he's so cool.
"And he might have looked something like 3:33."
Honestly, I would've just shown the Toa Iruini set, which was supposed to be Nidhiki and very clearly is Nidhiki, but someone decided he'd be Iruini instead. Hmm..........................
4:55 I think it'd be more akin to the irrational response of survivor's guilt. without Likhan dying at the moment. He feels guilty for being unable to do anything to help who was at the time, the last toa.
I love these movies.......along with couple of the Barbie movies......don't judge me, that's my childhood man.
Here we go! I didn't watch the first one, but I did watch this one as a kid. It was... ok, I guess. But you make it a million times better, Scarf. Keep being the best.
2:07 Okay, I know I've heard that song before, but I can't remember where now!
(EDIT: Never mind, it's from Doom II and it's called "Running from Evil".)
12:09
Basically his plan was to put the matoran to sleep so he could 'reprogram' them. Basically they would sleep and lose their memories, while Makuta would First crash mata nui's systems , destroy his Consious , take over his body, reawaken the matoran , and porclaim himself their god.
OK but that still leaves the question on why he wanted the mask of time.
@@A.G.O.M. Cause it had the drip
@@PelinalWhitestrake36 ok I can get that, but the mask itself was like so useless to the plot and it’s never explained what It can do.
@@A.G.O.M. Yeah. Honestly the mask was always usless. I mean both times they were used they did jack shit
17:02 "Ah yeah" Too right, mate. ;3 Ho the relatable BIONICLE nostalgia with that outro script NOICE
It's interesting how a lot of the narrative flaws in this movie can be explained with some context
gotta love E1M1 ;)
also i always loved the mid 2000's videos, god those times were the best :D
A wonderful review! I would like to make a few pointers, however:
1, We do know that some Matoran are capable of fighting! In the Mask of Light, we see guards lined up and/or guarding every village we come across. While it is true that they don't have the skills of a Toa, and Vakama has little to no training in combat, the questions of "What if...?" and "Could I have...?" often plague the minds of many who stand helplessly.
2, Honestly, I thought the mysterious Turaga was Duma's brother that he imprisoned! I did not expect him to be Likahn.
3, Teridax looses his wings in a book whose events were supposed to happen between BIONICLE 3 and 1.
I would write an entirely pretentious internet comment in order to sound witty and charismatic which would garner some recognition in order to shroud the ever-growing reality that the fact of the matter is that the universe as we know it would eventually come to an end with everyone blinking out of existence until there is nothing left.
Quaint
I guess I also might have seen the other movies, but that’s because I remember the pods…
Even though I remember waiting for a conclusion to mask of light lmao.
MNOG is the best bionicle anything ever made. (excluding the sets themselves) Way better than the movies.
Anaru_ LST I agree with you. I mean the foreshadowing in this game is insane. I mean the Mata Nui Robot, Bohrok, Metru Nui were all forshadowed in this game
14:02 Have you ever heard the definition... of Insanity?
Good to see you back my dude. looking forward to further bionicle reviews
I am Vakama of Metru Nui. You will wear my mask, sail across the universe, and restore the heart of...Metru Nui. Hm.
that AMV and the ads with the Move Along music were just pretty badass, not like the song by the Barcode Brothers on the Nestle Bionicle promotional CD but its as epic as that song as well.
Makutas wings where actually cut off screen by a character known as The Shadowed One. In the novella time trap.
Scarfulhu and Bionicle? Y E S
FINALLY! I've been waiting for this for so long!
This is one of the most relatable videos I've seen in a while!
How come no ones talking about the fact Makuta Teridax is literally wearing 2 Masks on top of each other, Turaga Dume's Mask of Regeneration over his own Mask Of Shadows?
New video my body is ready
Makuta losing his wings is explained in the book Bionicle Adventures 10: Time Trap.