Bionicle VII: Sea of Darkness

Bionicle VII: Sea of Darkness (also known as Bionicle 7 and Bionicle Ignition 2: Ruins of the Lost in Europe) is a 1987 Vlokuzuian science-fiction action tokusatsu superhero film. It is the thirteenth Technic Heroes installment and the seventh Bionicle installment.

Plot
The film starts straight after the events of Bionicle VI: Island of Doom, Ryota Maximino, Akita's father hires the six teenagers as the workers of the MURC (Mahri Underwater Research Centre), near Abeta.

13 months later, the Mask of Life's descent ends in the deeps of Mahri near the MURC, an underwater basement. Upon sight, it becomes an object of interest to the people who are working for MURC as well as the Barraki; six former warlords sent to the Pit (a prison that sits on the lip of the city) after their crimes as part of the League of Six Kingdoms.

But after the Pit was damaged in the Great Cataclysm, they escaped into the surrounding ocean and were mutated by its mutagen waters. Believing the mask can change them back so they can rule the Kingdoms once again, the Barraki battle one another for possession of the Ignika.

Meanwhile, the Toa Inika continue their descent through the stone cord where they battle Vezon and an army of murderous Zyglak. Upon reaching the depths of the sea, the Mask of Life transforms the heroes into the water-breathing Toa Mahri - complete with new masks and weapons.

The team engage in combat with the Barraki and their aquatic Rahi armies upon arrival, but in the midst of the battle, Matoro is imprisoned in the Pit by a robotic Maxilos guard that reveals itself as Makuta Teridax, who possessed the robot after his essence followed the Toa through the stone cord.

He informs Matoro that Mata Nui's life can only be saved if the Toa shatter the cord, and although not trustful in the villain's words, he relays the information to his team-mates. They agree and evacuate Matoran from both locations before proceeding to destroy the cord; sending Voya Nui plummeting into the ocean and demolishing Mahri Nui in the process.

But by the time the Toa Mahri retrieve the Ignika, Mata Nui dies. Believing there's still hope, Matoro - the one person who can touch the Ignika without becoming cursed - races towards a hole in the seabed with it before Voya Nui descends to close it, leaving his team to continue battling the Barraki.

Once in, he falls through a waterfall in what resembles a large cave and hears a voice from inside the mask telling him to put it on. In doing so, Matoro learns of the Ignika's history and how to use it to resurrect the Great Spirit.

Now knowing it is his destiny to sacrifice himself to save the universe, Matoro uses the Ignika's powers to teleport the Toa Mahri back to El Kadsre and make them amphibious before the mask turns his body into pure energy that saves the Great Spirit. Meanwhile, the Maxilos body that Teridax inhabited is found badly damaged after a ferocious battle with the Barraki's armies, and is so presumed dead. Mata Nui has been saved, but remains asleep.

Cast

 * Antanico Matsushita as Akita Maximino/Jaller
 * Goro Yukimura as Hiroshi Yoshimura/Matoro
 * Sandra Ozlins as Danny Ripley/Hahli
 * Phillip Stringer as Leo Terrell/Kongu
 * Zlata Lugnov as Irwin Davey/Hewkii
 * Talon Winter as Wilson Harshal/Nuparu
 * Garnet London as Pridak
 * Hideki Takahashi as Ehlek
 * Terrence Nash as Carapar
 * Zeke Simpson as Kalmah
 * Zinoviy Vasilyev as Mantax
 * Kenta Hisakawa as Takadox
 * Minoru Hayashi as Ryota Maximino
 * Kichirou Ito as Yuuto Maki
 * Kouki Hashimoto as Nik Nakahara
 * Cal Gardener as Bristol Trent
 * Ryota Ružička as Hikaru Kato/Teridax
 * Marcel Casey as Dekar Hamilton/Hydraxon
 * Jurou Yamashita as Takuya Yamaguchi
 * Vendelín Černý as Aden Aylmer
 * Sandra Harper as Teresa Donalds
 * Qasim Amjad as Chinasa Opeyemi
 * Ayumu Takahashi as Hachirou Oshiro
 * Gregory Ayers as Maxwell Coupe
 * Saburo Yamauchi as Yuota Francis
 * Arata Tachibana as Souta Minami
 * Rick Sowards as Nathanaël Philips
 * Ryoichi Yamaguchi as Rin Mishimoto
 * Deven Elliott as Lenny Jon
 * Misaki Fujita as Mitsuko Mori
 * Seong-Jin Fukui as Minato Ueda
 * Miguel Ferrer as Daren Elvis
 * Sho Nakajima as Ryo Watanabe
 * Yuudai Fujimoto as Souta Yamamoto
 * Taro Yamada as Fred Tamashi
 * Hideki Hamasaki as Jiro Fujioka/Tahu
 * Jonacus Reinder as Adam Jullen/Kopaka
 * Yasi Tanaka as Hana Fujioka/Gali
 * Sylvester Jalen as Andrea Hashimoto/Lewa
 * Hank Jeroem as Mick Kendal/Pohatu
 * Dean Norman as Jarrod Baxter/Onua
 * Christopher Berger as Turaga Vakama
 * Vaughn Nathans as Turaga Nuju
 * Maja Prebensen as Turaga Nokama
 * Mervyn Cropper as Turaga Matau
 * Akira Yamaguchi as Turaga Onewa
 * Noach Irwin as Turaga Whenua
 * Haruka Yukimura as Toa Lesovikk
 * Shichirou Yamasaki as Nocturn
 * Shouhei Fujita as Karzahni
 * Isamu Himura as Kenta Kato
 * Minato Maeda as Miyu Kato
 * Hitomi Abe as Etsuko Kato
 * Sunan Atitarn as Masaru Kato
 * Yuzuki Maki as Masaru Kato
 * Naoki Takenaka as Sachiko Kato
 * Zhong Ma as Suzu Kato
 * Jon Ebne as Reynold Brent
 * Rin Yamaguchi as Kuro Yoshimura
 * Shizuka Matsushita as Minoru Yoshimura

Production and release
Filming of Bionicle VII: Sea of Darkness lasted from May 3, 1986 to August 26, 1986. Despite the film taking place in underwater and in the underwater basement, the movie was almost filmed entirely in the El TV Kadsre Studio Centre for the inside and underwater scenes, while the outside scenes are filmed in Abeta and El Kadsre City.

The film was premiered at the 35th Abeta Film Festival on June 1, 1987, while the film was released in theaters in the Vlokozu Union on June 15, 1987. It was released internationally on July 1987. The film was released on VHS, TVD and Laserdisc on November 1987 while the extended version was released on January 1988 as part of the Technic Heroes Extended Pack and alternate version, released on October 1990. The film was first released on DVD on June 15, 1997.

Reception
The film received positive reviews from critics.