It's not often you find toys so cool for so little money.

The Lego Lightsaber Duel scored highly not so much for originality or design but for sheer cuteness. I mean, it's Darth Maul, and he's 2 inches high. Not hard.

I sound like a hypocrite since I've been complaining that in recent years, Lego has become such a marketing obsessed company. It's not about the blocks anymore.

I remember when it started. The Pirates set. Sure, that shark was cool. As was the cannon that actually fired those little round blocks. But was it Lego? Not really. Not really at all.

Then all the other stuff. Space exploded. magnets, underwater sets. It was too much.

The Lego Lightsaber Duel represents the utter demise of creative Lego as we know it. Marketed characters. Specialized pieces galore. And yet I love it.

Pros: Darth. Come on.

Cons: Darth is not wielding the double bladed light saber. Also, there are a bunch of weird pieces which I put together the way they instructed me to build because really, it's such a weird piece of something. What is it? The engine that Qui-Gon bartered for? I don't know. I think they just needed to get rid of some claws, antennas and other stuff. I know the only reason I got this set was for Darth.

Five stars, because Darth commands it.

Further Links: New York Times on Lego