Everything is awesome and everything is cool when you're part of a team, and who doesn't want to be part of the ever-growing and insanely fun Lego team?
The Lego Movie was certainly a fun movie to watch. That is why expectations were high when it came to the Lego Brickumentary. Learning about the humble beginnings of these creative blocks should be fascinating, to say the least.
Lego Brickumenary is a film by Daniel Junge and Kief Davidson that delves into the origins of the iconic Lego blocks that Danish toymaker Ole Christiansen introduced it in 1949 in Billund, Denmark.
The documentary showcases how the brand and the ingenious building blocks have revolutionized academic areas such as engineering and psychology, since these fields have been known to use Legos as a tool to create models for actual machinery and devices, as well as their creative uses as tools for parts of speech and language therapy for children.
The documentary shows how Legos are deeply ingrained in our society with conventions such as AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego) and LUGs (Lego User Groups) that have gatherings in Seattle and Chicago that allows people to socialize and reminisce their childhood with Lego creations. Artists have also been known to use Legos as part of their creative expression and creations.
But not everyone is wowed over the one hour and thirty-five minute film. Online critics and reviews say that the documentary feels more like a lengthy infomercial than an informative and entertaining film that even the funny narrations of Jason Bateman cannot salvage.
A review from a NY Daily News writer encapsulates the general view of audiences who have seen the documentary. Lego Brickumentary "is a rambling 90-minute look at the impact those ubiquitous Danish toys have on the culture," says Jordan Hoffman in his review.
But the documentary does have redeeming factors. Scenes where the modern artist Nathan Sawaya incorporated Lego blocks into his creations spark creative ideas in our own minds and remind us that even though we have progressed in age, it is never to late to pick up a set of Lego blocks and let our imaginations fly.
Even ReelTalk movie reviewer, Donald Levit agreed that even though it is a long advertisement for the brand, it does not mean it is a bad film. "Ninety minutes of PR. Which does not mean that it is not fun, in parts," he writes.
But perhaps the documentary is still worth watching even though most reviews seem discouraging. After all, the Brickumentary seems to address all the questions Lego newbies and long time Lego aficionados have regarding the seemingly humble interlocking plastic blocks that have successfully ingrained its presence throughout the decades into our culture and lives.
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