Lame Movie Scene = Lame Set

4183 The Mill
The Chronicler's Rating - 2/5
Price ~ $40.00
Year Released - 2011

In the case of Star Wars it is so easy.  With 6 movies, a tv series and a host of video games and other material from the expanded universe Lego has an almost endless pool of material to draw from in order to create new and exciting sets.  From locations to vehicles there are a lot of options.  This is not the case however in some of the other franchises Lego has ventured into.  I saw it first in a few of the Indiana Jones sets that just left you saying "um I recognize that is an accurate recreation of a scene from the movie but... it is kind of lame". The Mill is such a set. 

Once you create the ships and a few of the more famous locales like the Fountain of Youth and the Isla de la Muerta (which Lego has done) the pirates franchise doesn't

have a lot of other noteworthy locations to turn into sets.  The problem with this set is that it is hard to imagine anything to really use it for.  Lego has released an actual mill set in the Kingdoms theme (7189 Mill Village Raid) that has a working windmill which operates the mill equipment in the building so I can't even say that this set would work in a medieval setting as an actual mill because there is a much better offering concurrently available.  This set has no equipment inside other than the bell and the wheel is built not to grind grain but detach so the young builder can recreate that ridiculous scene from the movie which tried to be funny but to most was just lame.  The fact that this set is recreating such a lame scene does not help it much. 

FOR PARENTS

This set is not designed to create great play possibilities, it is designed to recreate a scene in which the primary appeal was witty dialogue and a ridiculous set of circumstances.  In my opinion the movie failed on both those counts but even if it had succeeded that is very difficult to recreate into a satisfying Lego set.  The result is a set I would advise you to avoid.  If your child is interested in the mill aspect of this set for a medieval story head over to the Kingdoms section of the store and pick up 7189 Mill Village Raid as it is a much better set. 

FOR KIDS

On every front I would advise you to spend your money on a different set.  The pieces on this set can be found in almost any castle set, the figures are available in other sets (or will be soon) and the play possibilities with The Mill are so limited that I think it will quickly bore you.

CONCLUSION

for the most part Lego has done an excellent job of making great sets from the Pirate's franchise.  Unfortunately, with The Mill they were undermined by the fact that this is not the greatest scene and therefore the need to adhere to movie accuracy resulted in a lame set.  Spend your money elsewhere.

Happy Building

The Lego Chronicler