Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows

Release Date: October 11, 2005

Tag Line: The final battle of Metru Nui

Description: The legendary Bionicle heroes are snared in webs of deceit, intrigue, and betrayal in  
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows. Even more secrets will be revealed from deep within the world of Bionicle, as the Toa face all-new villains in the most action-packed Bionicle movie yet. With one final duty to fulfill before they can build their new home on the island of Mata Nui, six great Tao heroes return to Metru Nui and find their once-glorious city shrouded in shadows and overrun by a sinister army of spidery, web-slinging Visorak. Mysteriously transformed into strange, beast-like creatures known as Toa Hordika, the Toa realize their mission to rescue the stranded Matoran—held captive by dark powers—will be anything but easy. Poisonous foes, extraordinary friends, and epic trials and triumphs are spun into this all-new CGI-animated adventure!

Running time: 76 minutes

Rating: Not rated

Scoop Review

Plot: Fairly decent. When you’ve already put out two movies that were successful on the straight-to-video market, you don’t have to come up with anything ground breaking for the third installment. There is an interesting “What makes a leader” thread that runs through the entire plot, which is good for kids to hear. As a matter of fact, it would be good for some adults to hear, as well.

Acting: There were cases of over-acting in some instances, but it wasn’t atrocious. Good guys will be good guys and bad guys will be bad guys. Besides, over-acting isn’t exactly something that children concern themselves with when watching a movie.

Special Effects: Entirely computer-generated, so it’s better than 2-D animation. However, the setting is so dark and dreary that it’s difficult to enjoy the CGI to its fullest extent. So I enjoyed it to a partial extent.

Ridiculous Dialogue Sample:

• “That’s the first good thing I’ve heard since I’ve been hideous.”

Parent Appeal: The best parts for parents will be the battle sequences. That’s where the CGI is put to optimum use, and after all, these are Bionicles. They were made for battle. There are also some attempts at back-and-forth banter and clever dialogue, but those never quite get off the ground. At the very least, chances are good that you won’t fall asleep.

The Bottom Scoop: This is one of many DTV animation series on the video shelves these days. Bionicles, of course, started out as toy robots, ones that you can put together and customize. Every time you turn around, toys have their own TV show or movie. If that had been the case in my day, I wonder how many people would have watched Silly Putty Unleashed or Lincoln Log Cabin. Anyway, the third installment of the Bionicles saga is slightly above average. The first two movies in the series are Bionicle: Mask Of Light and Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui.

Recommendation: If you followed the Bionicles through two movies, go ahead and pick up this one, as well. Because, believe me, it looks like there’s going to be a fourth one, and you don’t want to fall behind, now do you?

Quality Rating: Three scoops

Riff Rating: Three scoops

Reviewer: Matt Deutsch

Quality Rating:
Riff Rating:
What do these scoops mean? Click Here. Buy DVD Movies Mentioned In This Review at our Store. Bionicle: Mask Of Light Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui   Straight-to-Video Scoop’s movie review of the straight-to-video or direct-to-video (DTV) release of Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows is for entertainment purposes only. Straight-to-Video Scoop is not liable for the reimbursement of video store rental fees incurred by visitors to this website. Have a nice day.