The LEGO Ninjago Movie sets review – part 3

While we have discussed some of the other sets from The LEGO Ninjago Movie in batches, I thought it would be best to talk about the #70617 LEGO Ninjago Movie Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon separately. First of all, because this is the only substantial structure in the collection (besides the exclusive #70620 LEGO Ninjago Temple Ninjago City), and thus hard to pair with anything else, and because it has so many unique features. So let’s take a look. 🙂

When I first saw pictures of this set, it immediately reminded me of the #7419 LEGO Adventurers Orient Expedition Dragon Fortress from 2003 – one of the nicest oriental architecture themed LEGO sets ever released, and one of my favorite sets of all time (see picture below). The official images of The LEGO Ninjago Movie set show a similarly large, stocky and imposing structure, but it is actually very different in shape, once you see it in real life. While the front of the building and the general shaping may look similar, The LEGO Ninjago Movie temple is actually much taller (19 inches or 49 cm), but also much narrower than the Dragon Fortress. You basically get a very nice facade, but there is not much space behind for play. Because of this, the #70617 LEGO Ninjago Movie Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon appears to be more of a display set rather than a set for play.

The temple actually does have some nice play-features, which we will discuss below, however the look of the building from pictures is definitely deceiving. The main part of the structure is only six studs wide, with an additional four studs for the gate section. Because of all the play-featured and structural decorations are crammed into such a narrow space, there is not much room left for placing minifigures, or playing out any scenarios. I think the set still looks very nice and has its merits, however I just wanted to make sure you are aware that it doesn’t exactly look like as you would expect. (Below, I have included the video-review from JANGBRiCKS, which will allow you to see the temple from all angles.) For kids, it would probably be best to place this set on a large baseplate, so there is some room for play, and even build up the walls and floors so the ninja can actually fit inside.

As far as play-features, there is a secret entrance, trapdoor function, rock-dropping and dynamite-dropping functions, blade-shooting and chopping-sword traps, dungeon, a hanging cage to capture a minifigure inside, and a pull-out section with poles for minifigures to leap between to reach the treasure chest (you can see all of them in action in the video-review below). All of the play-features work very well, it’s just that you kind of have to hover the minifigs outside the building to use them (except for the ground floor, where there is enough room to actually put the minifigs inside). The tall tower in the middle is pretty much useless for any play, and there are no play-features in this section. (See product animation below.)

The architectural detailing of the #70617 LEGO Ninjago Movie Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon is quite beautiful. The colors, small decorations, and interior detailing all come together tastefully. I especially like the construction of the door and the frame around it, the scroll, the cage, the transitioning from rock to building, and of course the guardians. A lot of the small details are achieved with stickers (26 in total), however if you don’t like stickers, you could probably leave most of them off, and replace them with brick-built or printed options. Speaking of printing, The LEGO Ninjago Movie writing style is used all over the set, which you may have fun translating with The LEGO Ninjago Movie Alphabet Translator, or just watch the video-review below where JANG translates the texts for you.

A major highlight of the set is the two stone guardians. LEGO must have known this, because the instructions make you build the guardians first. They are sort of a cross between lions and dogs, and they are very poseable and expressive. They are also an excellent introduction for building animal statues. And they are larger than you would expect!

Once you finish building the guardians, you begin building the temple itself. Parts are divided into eleven bags, with the first two bags building the guardians and three of the minifigures (Kai, Lloyd, and Garmadon). The third and fourth bags include Zane, Jay, Nya, and Cole, plus all the parts for building the stone base of the temple. The fifth and sixth bags finish the walls of the first floor, the seventh bag starts adding some of the dark-blue roof elements, and the eighth bag includes the pieces for the front gate. The ninth and tenth bags make up some interior decorations and the tower, and the last bag adds the broken steps at the front. While this set is pretty large (1,403 pieces), there are so many interesting details, that putting it together never becomes boring. The only hard part is applying all those stickers. Use an X-acto knife or something similar to lift off the stickers from the sheet, and apply them to the pieces. This way, you won’t get any fingerprints on the elements and stickers, and you can take your time positioning them just right.

Another major draw of this set – besides the nice temple facade and the guardians – is that it includes all the ninja, and even Garmadon! Kai, Nya, Cole, Zane, Lloyd, and Jay all wear traditional ninja suits with their regular hairpieces. I really like these suits because they work very well for regular ninja, not just the ones related to The Ninjago Movie. Garmadon wears a great little jungle cape piece – the same as we have seen in the #70608 LEGO Ninjago Movie Master Falls set. There is also an eight minifigure; the statue inside the temple. He comes with a Vermillion armor, the same as in the LEGO Ninjago TV show sets, which is an interesting crossover between the TV show and the movie. And you also get a skeleton, that you could consider the ninth minifigure.

Here is the official description of the set: Join a ninja mission to infiltrate The LEGO Ninjago Movie Temple of The Ultimate Ultimate Weapon. The temple features a secret entrance, trapdoor function, rock-dropping and dynamite-dropping functions, blade-shooting and chopping-sword traps, dungeon, a hanging cage to capture a minifigure inside, and a pull-out section with poles for minifigures to leap between to reach the treasure chest. Includes 7 minifigures with assorted weapons: Kai, Nya, Cole, Zane, Lloyd, Jay and Jungle Garmadon (with 4 arms and new-for-August-2017 jungle outfit decoration) and 2 buildable temple guardian figures. Temple of The Ultimate Ultimate Weapon measures over19” (49cm) high, 14” (38cm) wide and 11” (28cm) deep. Temple guardians each stand over 3” (10cm) tall. 1,403 pieces. Price: $99.99 – BUY HERE

Overall, I would say that the #70617 LEGO Ninjago Movie Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon will mostly appeal to LEGO fans who like oriental architecture and decorations, as both the building and the stone guardians are very nice. The set might also be interesting to those who would like to collect all the ninja from the movie without buying several of the other sets. With 1,403 pieces, and a price of $99.99, the price-per-piece ratio is excellent (only 7 cents!). In addition, this is one of The LEGO Ninjago Movie sets that you can earn Double VIP Points on this month (199 points!), so you get an even better deal! You can find it, along with the other sets in the collection, under The LEGO Ninjago Movie section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like The LEGO Ninjago Movie Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon? Do you have it already? Or are you planning to get it? Feel free to share your thoughts and own review in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

• LEGO Ninjago Movie Sets Review – Part 1 (#70606, #70607, #70608)
• LEGO Ninjago Movie Sets Review – Part 2 (#70609, #70610)
• LEGO Ninjago City Available Now & More!
• LEGO Ninjago: Wu’s Teas MiniEpisodes
• The LEGO Ninjago Movie Collectible Minifigs
• The LEGO Ninjago Movie Website & More!
• The LEGO Ninjago Movie New Trailer & More!
• LEGO Ninjago Hands of Time Sets Review