|
Directed by: Terry Gilliam Starring: Craig Warnock, Sean Connery, midgets I decided to track down Time Bandits since I've enjoyed Gilliam's other work (namely Brazil) and the concept for the film sounds imaginative enough that I figured it would almost certainly be a good movie. I was suprisingly disappointed. The concept is entertaining, and it does manage to provide a few good moments. The adventure is still exciting for most of the film, if very disjointed. The movie's deliberate attempts at humor almost always hit the mark, which is ultimately disappointing since they come so rarely. The movie is, honestly, over-complicated, especially for something that should have some appeal for children. The characters spend so much time getting themselves into (and out of) overly-convoluted situations that there's less opportunities to fully mine the comedy potential. The cast zaps around places and time periods, which is fun, but each visit requires introduction, some bad luck, and the execution of an elaborate scheme. It'd be different if this was just the climax scene, but the movie is constantly sidetracked in complicated plots which aren't all that entertaining. The acting is, at its best, tolerable. The poorest actors in the film (the midgets and the limp, uninteresting main character Kevin) receive the vast majority of the screen time, while the over-billed Sean Connery and John Cleese have little more than cameos. For a kid actor, Craig Warnock lacks the charm and fun that's a basic requirement for a role like this. The movie is overly long, approaching 2 hours, and there are numerous boring scenes which could've been hacked in favor of a tighter, more exciting movie. It could be a result of the DVD transfer, but the audio was bad enough that I felt I should mention it. Not 30 seconds go by in this movie without an overly loud crash, siren, shriek, or squeal. I adjusted the volume so I could clearly hear the dialouge, but even small bits of action are accompanied by excessive and repetative sound effects. The balance is completely hosed up -- a tank firing its ammunition is as loud as a pig squealing, which in turn is as loud as a creaky floor. I'm sure I'd be much more forgiving if I'd seen this as a kid, but I didn't. It does seem to be equally geared towards older viewers (and it is rather dark), so I don't think I'm being too unfair. RATING: 2.5 PROS: Concept, humor CONS: Audio, acting, length ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081633/
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2005 06:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2024 21:40 |
|
|
My older sister raves about how awesome this is, but honestly it just comes off as flat more than anything. It gets 2.5 and likes it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2005 18:05
|
|
|
I'm going to vote as a kid, because I rented this movie from the old Erol's video back in the 80's. Rented it about 50000 times. Complicated, yeah. But kids can tune that poo poo out. Bad acting? Not that I could ever appreciate. Billing? Who cares. It had a giant with a boat on his head! It had pure concentrated evil! It had dwaves/midgets/persons of small stature in abundance. It was chockablock full of adventure. I haven't watched the movie in 20ish years, so I don't know what I would give it now. But for a kid, it's easily a 4.5
|
|
#
?
Jun 13, 2005 20:12
|
|
|
I think as a kid this was one of my favourite movies. As an adult... it has problems. That said though, I think it really was groundbreaking for its time. This is where gilliam first displayed his ability to denote a sense of place, a place completely outside of anyone else's experience. Stylistically what he did with the settings and environment are completely amazing, especially if you've seen the making of and realize just how low budget everything was (though not for the time). I can still watch it though and get that impression of childlike wonder, which ups the ante for me. 3.5, flawed but still charming.
|
|
#
?
Jun 14, 2005 08:47
|
|
|
A lot of people I know told me this movie was awesome, so I rented. Those people are retarded. This film had no plot, no purpose, and was just flat out stupid. They went places and did things without ever explaining why. None of the actors were worth a poo poo, and the dialogue was boring. I sat there with a look of shock on my face that anyone thought this movie was awesome in a not-MST3k kind of way. 1/5
|
|
#
?
Jun 15, 2005 06:43
|
|
|
This movie was recommended to me by people who look at the director and the cast, and say "This movie is genius". I've always been of the opinion that other than a select few films, Terry Gilliam is HIGHLY overrated as a director, and his films often come off as bizarre and confusing for the sake of bizarre and confusing, without much substance to back it up (see: Brothers Grimm). I hoped this would be a departure from that, while still maintaining the mystery, but what I got were 2 hours of poorly strung-together scenes, non-jokes, and a forgettable plot. Half of the storyline were things you saw coming a mile away, and the other half were things you couldn't see coming only because it made absolutely no loving sense, and not in the "it's English comedy" sense, either. To top it all off, it has one of the most tacked on, stupid, meaningless endings to a film I have seen in a long time. I typically complain about formulaic and cliched comedies these days, but frankly, I'd take any of them over this overhyped piece of crap. Just another bit of ammo for my "Terry Gilliam is overrated" speech whenever people around me talk about him like he's Kubrick. 1.0 for 2 chuckles and a smirk.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2007 08:11
|
|
|
This film is pure concentrated fun, in the vein of Labyrinth or The Princess Bride. There are predictable elements, and all the big name actors are minor roles, but the story and special effects make these small things easily forgettable. It has a lot of similarities with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Very much a modern fairy tale. I don't want to keep saying the word fun, but thats really the best word to describe this kind of movie: -Space & Time traveling robber dwarfs -They sort of accidentally kidnap/recruit a child from his boring life -They posses a map which allows them to use holes in the fabric of time -Naturally use this to steal poo poo throughout history -They are pursued by a Supreme Being and Pure Evil because of said map -Narrow escapes (are there any other kind?) -Showdown with pursuers 5/5 PROS: Imaginative plot, great cinematography and special effects, tank vs wizard CONS: Children aren't the best actors, the ending might have been more satisfying if it was more cliche (can't believe I said that)
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2008 12:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 23, 2024 21:40 |
|
|
I thought it was an enjoyable movie. The main problem in my opinion was that the historical characters like Napoleon are portrayed so stupidly that it seems a waste to even include them. I like parody as much as the next guy, but I couldn't find the humor. I would show this to kids only after giving them a quick history lesson about the characters portrayed. 3/5
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 16:53
|
|
