Michael_Elliott A Lego Brickumentary (2014) *** (out of 4)Jason Bateman narrates this somewhat long-winded by highly informative documentary about the history of LEGOs and why everyone loves them so much. The documentary covers how the company got started, the early troubles with fire and then goes into detail about how the company evolved over the decades to become a global phenomenon. We get interviews with fans, master builders as well as people who have a dream job of creating new models. If you're a fan of LEGOs then you'll certainly love this film as it really does tell you everything you need to know about the company and its fans. The documentary does a very good job with the history but it also gives you a good idea of what they plan on doing in the future including how they got fans involved with what they come up with . We get to see some of the amazing large creations that superfans have come up with as well as some of the fan-made movies.

MartinHafer A Lego Brickumentary is a very good and very well crafted documentary--whether you are a Lego lover or not. While I enjoyed The Lego Movie, I never bought my kids Lego and don't collect the toy...and I enjoyed it quite a bit, as did my non-Lego loving wife.When the film begins, you see the narrator...and it's a walking talking Lego man (actually, it's the voice of Jason Bateman set to the movements of a cute Lego character). He begins with talking about the history of the Lego company, which was started by a wood carver, Ole Kistiansen, in Billund, Denmark. With very humble beginnings, it managed to grow the second highest grossing toy company in the world! But the film is much more than just the history of the company. What follows is discussion of the love of the toy...often by adults. Among the many topics covered are the work of the Master Builders who make huge creations for the company, the creation of a full-size X-wing fighter made of Lego blocks, Lego conventions, AFOLs (adult fans of Lego), the use of Legos as a therapy tool for autistic children and much, much more. I was very surprised, as this really doesn't sound very interesting as I write it, but it really was a very interesting and occasionally moving documentary. A few scenes even brought tears to my eyes (but don't tell my wife)...it was amazingly interesting considering it's just a toy.The bottom line is that although Legos seem like a rather mundane topic, the film is extremely well made and never left me bored. Plus, you've got to love a film with wonderful ending credits like you see in this movie. If you are interested (and everyone probably would be if they give the film a chance), it's out this week on Netflix and is well worth your time. And, if you are a AFOL, you will absolutely adore this film.

CleveMan66 Parade of the Virgins! That's what I thought when I saw that "A Lego Brickumentary" (G, 1:33) focused mainly on adult Lego enthusiasts. Then I saw married couples and families in this documentary… so I couldn't use that particular line. Next I thought that I could just mock the adults whose main hobby was building with Legos as being simply uncool. That's when I saw award-winning singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker and Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard all extol the virtues of the plastic bricks. At that point… well, I was kinda led to take this documentary a little more seriously. And that was only the beginning.The movie does begin at the beginning, explaining how Lego bricks were invented and became one of Denmark's most famous exports, but who knew that so many adults took those colorful little bricks so seriously? Jason Bateman narrates the documentary which spends most of its time introducing us to adults who have made Lego a way of life, and showing us many, many different uses for this construction "toy".After we meet Lego "master builders" who are full-time employees of the company, the film introduces us to ordinary people in different countries who became self-made Lego innovators, some of whom have been welcomed into the Lego corporate family. There are also clubs and conventions for those who refer to themselves by the unfortunate-sounding acronym AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego).Then things get serious. The documentary shows us how Legos have been used in modern art and to build a full-sized replica of a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter. Legos have even been used in city planning and in therapy for autistic children. Throughout the movie, an animated Lego minifigure ("min-fig" for short) pops up to provide moviegoers with explanations of the movie's main points, but mostly, this film is about the people, the surprising variety of people all over the world using Lego bricks in a surprising variety of ways."A Lego Brickumentary" follows several of these Lego-centered stories and brings some of them to interesting and satisfying conclusions. The movie was more interesting and wide-ranging than I thought it would be, but it was still not much more than a Lego commercial on steroids. The documentary is fun, but it plays out as a long visitor's center video at the Lego factory or one of the Lego theme parks. "B"

Paul Allaer I grew up in Belgium, and as a young kid in the 1960s, LEGO was one of my primary toys. I must've spent hundreds of hours playing and building LEGO stuff. Then I passed on the love for LEGO to my young son here in the US 30 years later. When I found out that, if not parallel with, then certainly as a result of the smashing success of the (CGI, not brick-made) "Lego Movie", a documentary was being made about the LEGO phenomenon, I couldn't wait to see it."A LEGO Brickumentary" (2014 release from Denmark and the US; 93 min.) opens with seeing 3 LEGO minifigs on a space ship, and the narrator (Jason Bateman) telling us he'll explain later what that is about. Soon after, we get a LEGO 101 on the company's roots and history. But it's not too long before we finally get what we all came to see this for: bigger, better, ever more imaginative if not out-right exotic LEGO creations. Along the way, we get the LEGO celebrity fans (Ed Sheeran singing his hit single "Lego House", NBA player Dwight Howard, etc.). Co-directors Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge decide to keep things very light-hearted. There is only the slightest critical comment about LEGO, and even there, it's turned into a plus for LEGO (how the company turned things around financially by listening better to its customers). The best part of the movie comes in the second half, when the co-directors look at the possible therapeutic effects of playing with LEGO, and also where a Danish university math professor examines whether he can come up with a formula for finding how many different positions just 6 or 7 LEGO bricks can be used/interlocked.In the end this film is nothing more than an unabashed love letter to LEGO. It's pleasant (to see the LEGO creations) but it's also devoid of any critical tone, and hence there is also no strong narrative that pulls you in, reason that I rate this 6 stars. The movie opened just this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The early evening screening where I saw this at was not particularly well attended, which really surprised me. Given the strong brand that LEGO is and the very positive response to The LEGO Movie, I would've expected more people for that on its opening weekend. If you are a LEGO fan, you should definitely check this out, but you should also keep your expectations modest. If you are not into LEGO, I'd suggest you check out something else to see.