The sequel to everyone’s favourite building block toy movie, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, has given us a wider world to explore in the LEGO Cinematic Universe.
From the hustling, bustling, average home city of everyman protagonist Emmet, Brickburg in The LEGO Movie, to the Mad Max-esque dystopia of Apocalypseburg, we were treated to one of the most zany locations in The LEGO Movie 2 yet.
In other words, the LEGO movie that was created for the sole reason for selling LEGO toys now has a sequel, and its sole reason, is for selling more LEGO toys. But who’s complaining? From Emmet’s Dream House to Rex’s Explorer, the movie gave us some out of this world sets, and Geek Culture had the absolute pleasure of building the iconic half-buried Statue of Liberty-turned-town in physical form, with the LEGO Welcome To Apocalypseburg 70840 set.
This is one beast of a LEGO set. It dwarfs the LEGO Hulkbuster that we reviewed last year considerably.
And don’t even get us started on the number of pieces in this box. Actually, we’ll just get started anyway – 3,178 total pieces, inclusive of spares. With twelve Minifigures to boot.
There are a few fillers and repeats, but it’s always nice to see Harley Quinn and Green Lantern, as well as a darker Batman. Before you get started on complaining about how the hell one would build such a thing, it’s good to note that the pieces all come packed into 18 separate plastic packets that break up the building into segments.
Simply open packets 1 through 18 in numerical order using the instructions from the nigh-500-page instruction booklet (at this point, it’s an instruction novel if anything) and you’re done!
This is a really organised box, considering how chaotic the setting in the movie actually is. It’s a fairly complex build, but the instruction manual makes it look super simple by breaking the process down in a systematic manner.
Because we got lost in the building, however, we can’t show you the building process (sometimes the beauty is in the discovering!), but let’s show you what you’ll be able to enjoy once you’ve finished building Apocalypseburg.
One striking feature (besides the Statue of Liberty, of course) is the modular rooms. They’re designed such that you can lift off the top sections to reveal the inner rooms, which you can play around with using the various Minifigures available.
Don’t be afraid of breaking the parts off – the rooms are designed to be lifted easily, provided you don’t put in too much strength, of course. They fit on just as easily as they come off, making it super easy to tidy up once you’re done playing around.
The Minifigures themselves are generally well-designed, with a strong Mad Max influence on nearly all the characters, save for Emmet and Lucy.
Most of them have two expressions that you can switch to set the tone for any scene you’d like to play out on the set. Combine these with the sheer multitude of parts and the modular rooms, and you’ll have a ball of a time making out scenes.
The standout characters here are Batman, who’s all decked-out in his post-apocalyptic suit, as well as Harley Quinn, whose design takes an obvious nod from 2016’s Suicide Squad, where Margot Robbie’s take on the character has been popularised in many forms.
“Where are my pants?” Guy also makes a comeback from the first movie, looking as rugged, and pants-less, as ever, as does the chainsaw-wielding Chainsaw Dave, and the menacing Scribble Cop. Larry the Barista is also looking good here with his earnest expression complementing the over-the-top design of his coffee shop.
You can tell we had a ton of fun making up scenes with the LEGO Apocalypseburg set, so here are some scenes centred around everybody’s favourite average guy Emmet for your viewing pleasure:
Here’s more:
With a behemoth of a LEGO set comes a behemoth price of US$299 / S$400 (not inclusive of shipping). Considering how The LEGO Movie 2 is catered for children, the Apocalypseburg set is definitely not for anyone below their early teens at least, especially with how huge and complex the set is and the sheer amount of pieces to account for.
Of course, with parental supervision, everything is always more awesome when building Apocalypseburg together with your child.
GEEK REVIEW SCORE
Summary
The LEGO Apocalypseburg 70840 is one beast of a LEGO set, with tons of replayability with its modular rooms, dozens of spare parts and emotive Minifigures. The price might not sit well with some, but those who choose to get it will definitely not be disappointed with its quality.
Overall
9/10
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Design - 9.5/10
9.5/10
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Playability - 9/10
9/10
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Value - 7.5/10
7.5/10
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Geek Satisfaction - 10/10
10/10
User Review
( votes)
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
Natalie
Yonk
