If you haven’t touched a Lego block at least once in your life, consider yourself in the minority. The Lego empire, which began in Demark by creator Ole Kirk Christiansen, produces toy construction sets that kids, teenagers, and adults all equally adore. The interlocking brick system is valued more than any other child’s plaything for a variety of reasons, as Beyond the Brick demonstrates.
With wonderful narration by a Lego Jason Bateman, The “Brickumentary” takes us all over the world (even including my home state of New Jersey), highlighting how Lego has changed people’s lives personally and professionally. People have centered their lives around building sets that gave them employment, whether it be designing architecture or making art. There’s also those who created their own dream sets which were later distributed by Lego to stores everywhere.
We also meet the people who love Lego for the sake of the therapeutic reasoning behind it. Professional basketball Dwight Howard is seen playing with Legos during the film like it is no big deal. Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park needs to build for the sake of being in control and not somebody else’s. Singer Ed Sheeran said that when his first album went gold, he went out and bought a Lego Death Star from Star Wars. Not the first thing you’d think of when your record hit big, but here we are.
Beyond the Brick‘s biggest flaw is the construction of the film itself. To its benefit, the brickumentary covers a LOT of ground. However, not all the stories are interesting, and the transitions could’ve been soother. There’s also people shown building sets that, in the grand scheme of things, add nothing to the movie.
Still, at its best moments, Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary is extremely heartwarming. There’s no doubt that the bricks we see in stores everywhere seem simple. However, to a massive chunk of people, they are the end all be all of what it means to imagine and create. You can build whatever you want, however you want it, and nobody will judge you for that. Seeing these people be so affected by what appears to be a toy is eye opening and a joy to watch. Despite a few flaws, Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary was a wonderful inside look inside an empire that dares you to think outside the blocks.
Rating: 8.5/10
Follow the creators of Beyond the Brick on their YouTube channel.
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video game editor on Po-Break.com. He contributes his thoughts every week for Trailer Tuesday and has his own column called “A Link to the Past.” Logan’s “kid at heart” nature has led to his discussion about pop culture that many geeks love to talk about, including superheroes, Super Mario Bros., Pixar, and Muppets, among other things. In addition, one of his first pieces for the site, “Top Ten Comic Book Movies,” was picked as a “Freshly Pressed” piece by WordPress and remains one of the site’s most well-read articles. He graduated from Wagner College in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and in 2007 with a Master of Science in Education Degree in Birth-6th Grade Literacy. He also holds a Teacher of Students with Disabilities Certification from Rutgers. Many of Logan’s friends have said that he moonlights as Spider-Man but this is so not true. Wait, are those police sirens I’m hearing?! Gotta go! -thwipp-
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