The Lego Movie Super Cycle Chase set review

The Lego Movie is out on DVD! Awesome! Now those who missed it in theaters can experience it in the comfort of their own home! ...But I'm not reviewing the movie itself. No, just another Lego Movie set. However, this set is a bit more expensive than the previous two I've reviewed and involves more pieces. Today we're looking at the Super Cycle Chase set.



First up are the mini figures as always. This set includes five of them. One of them is Emmet, who is exactly the same as the one from Bad Cop's Pursuit. ...In fact, that one is from the Bad Cop's Pursuit set and you would never have guessed unless I told you that. Then we have three RoboSWAT mini-figures, one with a different face and various accessories for them to hold including a bundle of dynamite. That hat the visor eye one has on is exactly the same as the one worn by Garbageman Grant, only black. I left the vest and helmet off of one so you can see the detail on the torso and the Super Secret Police emblazoned on the back of the vest.

The final mini-figure included is Wyldstyle. This exact one pops up in the Cloud Cuckoo Kingdom set as well along with Emmet. She features a black and magenta PVC folded down hood for her jacket. Her body is the perfect example of how Lego does female mini-figures: paint the front and back with 'voided space' at the sides to give the illusion of a typical feminine figure where the mini-figure body simply can't. (the pegs for the legs have to go up in there) There's even drawn in lines for...well, breasts. She's a Lego woman, after all. More interestingly is the graffiti running down the right side of her jacket. It's on her right arm as well, and carries down onto the front of her right pant leg and foot. The pattern is also on her back, but not the back of her legs. Why would you want paint where most of the time it's not going to be visible because they're seated? Her hair piece has magenta and cyan stripes on it. Like Emmet and Bad Cop, she features an alternate face...that's only really subtly different.

As for that...thing beside them, that's one of the things built in bag 1. I suppose it's some sort of police trap, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to stop anything. There's a white bar in the back that sits next to the rolled up chain. Pushing down quickly on it flicks the roll over. This thing would probably be the first thing I cannibalize for other builds out of this set.



The same can't be said for this awesome thing. This is the Super Cycle. I should mention that this set is based on a scene near the beginning of the movie, and Wyldstyle builds it out of the alleyway they're in. Yeah. A female character that does something actually useful in a kids' toy movie. More than I can say for Transformers unless looking pretty counts, but that's a subject for another time. There are very few bricks used in building the Super Cycle - it's almost all panels aside from the outer curved bricks. There's a lot of stickers used here, and while my sticker job could be better, I've done worse. Some of it represents Wyldstyle's graffiti to spruce it up some, others parts of signs like the NO ENTRY sign near the bottom. I dig it. There's plenty of room for Emmet to lean back a bit with the Piece of Resistance attached to his back, though he has to be put into the Super Cycle first and then Wyldstyle. She has to come out first when taking them back off of it. The reason is because of her hood getting in the way of Emmet's feet. I also find that she works best having the handlebar assembly put into her hands and then plugging her in followed by the assembly just in front of her...though sometimes you may want something like the panel with the NO ENTRY sticker on it to poke her legs down all the way onto the studs. And of course how do you make a bike awesome? You have pipes spewing flames out the back. But does it have an awesome gimmick? No, it just rolls. But it sounds nice with the chain wrapped around the gear for the rear wheel rolling across an at least somewhat hard surface.

But amazingly enough, that isn't the main build of the set! I bought it mostly for that bike, but then I opened bags 2 and 3 and assembled this beast:



The pursuit car. This thing is huge. And burly. It looks like it just doesn't care what's in the way of the Super Secret Police, it'll just drive over or through it! Again, there's some stickers used here, including a familiar badge on the hood... There's room inside for two mini-figures to sit, though not directly side by side as their arms will bump into each other. Big beefy rubber tires allow the beast to roll like a dream provided the stopper pieces on the outside of the axles are leaving at least a tiny bit of breathing room between them and the Technic bricks (bricks with holes through the sides) the axles are in. A couple of bars allow a mini-figure to hold on to the side for the ride, a nice touch. Don't know what to do with that bundle of dynamite? Need a spot for at least one of the RoboSWAT rifles? The back lifts up to reveal a storage space so you don't need to worry about losing this stuff. The roof easily detaches to allow access to the space inside for putting mini-figures in or taking them out. And there's a spot to store the handcuffs inside, too! The handcuffs are slightly flexible, enough to clamp down on both of a mini-figure's arms at the same time. As for the gimmick, the sides swing up to reveal flick-fire missiles! ...They actually don't work so well here, though...

And of course, everything here except the mini-figures can be used to make whatever crazy contraption your imagination cooks up along with anything from other Lego (and non-Lego) sets.

So do I recommend Super Cycle Chase? Kinda. That trap thing kind of brings it down slightly for me simply because I don't care much for it, but someone else could see it and have a boatload of ideas for the pieces. And I really didn't need another Emmet. But I like Wyldstyle and probably won't bother with Cloud Cuckoo Kingdom despite coming with Unikitty. And the RoboSWAT guys are neat. I also love both vehicles this set builds. $50 or so, however, is quite a bit to ask for. A Lego enthusiast probably already has this, but for the average person that happens to like Lego... It's a fun build, just think about if you want to drop the money on it right away, especially if you've never played with Lego before and don't yet know if you like it.