User blog comment:Starscream7/BIONICLE: Universe - Chapter 1 (Official)/@comment-1788742-20111201040014

I just finished watching Chapter 1. I thought the plot was fairly decent, though I found several plot holes that were left unexplained without reason. The most glaring of these was probably why Teridax arrived in person with all his minions, when he could not have known that they needed backup. At first I'd actually thought that Branar or Stronius had called him for backup, but then, when Teridax asks, "do you have the Ignika?" of them it became clear that he'd come on his own with his minions. It seems rather odd that this was left unexplained. There were several other plot holes as well that I thought could have been better explained, though I didn't really have a problem with the plot overall. (Though I must add it seems illogical that the Toa and Glatorian would want the Ignika to recreate Spherus Magna, as it didn't provide a tactical advantage for them. I think it'd make more sense if they wanted to use it against Teridax, or at least for leverage against their enemies)>

I enjoyed the setting, though I think it would have fit better as the Tesera arena, it didn't really feel Iconox-ish at all. Music seemed fine as well.

The major drawbacks to this are the motion, dialogue, and special effects. The Dialogue, while quite funny at times (especially during the fights) seemed quite stilted and awkward, especially toward the end of the third part, when Tahu is speaking with the OoMN agent, and during the battle scenes. The awkward dialogue, combined with the lack of any real stop motion or special effects, makes the entire thing not seem fast-paced or intense, even with the music. Rather, it amounts to basically a slideshow at some points, and while some parts of the battle seemed fairly well put together, the slowness of the movement of the MOCs made it seem far more poor then it could have been.

The special effects were also quite lacking, and for me, Marendar as a MOC was a slight disappointment. While I knew what to expect, I thought he'd be given something else, something to make him truly frightening, as well, like some special effect that made him appear more menacing. The other MOCs were what I expected, and they weren't bad.

However, I know that the lack of a larger amount of fast-paced action and special effects was because, mainly, of Slice's sudden departure, and what you did well with this film, you did well. I think the next chapters have a promising future, and I'll continue to watch them, because I did enjoy much of the film. Good luck!