Yeah, I took a couple weeks off for the holidays, but I'm back at it now. This week, since there wasn't a new fantasy movie to review (I love you guys, but I am not sitting through 47 Ronin just to tell you how bad it is), I'm going to review one of my childhood favorites: Time Bandits!
Time Bandits is a time travel romp from the mind of the grand
master of weird, Terry Gilliam (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,
Twelve Monkeys). Its tone is more akin to Gilliam's work with Monty Python than
anything else, especially the first third of the movie. Many of the scenes play
like individual Monty Python skits, Its also very kid friendly, almost to the point of
giving in to sheer silliness.
The main plot centers around six dwarves and their theft of
a map that allows them to time travel by showing them where holes in the
universe exist. It belongs to the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson —
Dragonslayer), so of course Evil (David Warner — Tron) wants it. The dwarves
just want to use it to steal from famous people like Napolean (Ian Holm — Lord
of the Rings).
The main character is a boy, Kevin, who has accidentally found
himself stuck with the dwarves on their adventure. He spends a lot of the movie
trying to convince the dwarves to stop their thieving. But when they get into
trouble, it's Kevin who gets them out of it. Kevin is in this for the
adventure. He doesn't want to go home. His family is boring and they really
just want him to go to bed on time. There isn't very much character development
or change here. Kevin doesn't change as a person or decide he likes his home
and family.
There really doesn't seem to be a point to the movie at all,
except to have a bit of fun. No great questions are explored (except when Kevin asks the Supreme Being about the nature of evil: God's response is one of the funniest lines in the movie), only the trouble
that seven people can get into while hopping from place to place through
magical portals.
As a kid, I loved this movie. It was always on my to-see
list and I never got to see it enough. Now, as an adult, I'm put off a bit by
the mindlessness of it. It plays as some sort of dream, all the way until the
final credits. Nothing really makes sense, the editing was horrible and the
events were disjointed and didn't really have a bearing on the finale. Much of
the dialogue was silly:
Evil: "I have the map! And the day after tomorrow: the
world!"
Mom to Dad: "If you were a real man, you would have
gone back in [to a burning house] for the blender."
This is definitely a film for children ages seven and up.
There are a couple of scary scenes, but nothing bloody. But be careful of the
ending. For very young children you might have to explain a few things by the
time the credits roll.
Overall score: 8 out of 10 (for children), 6 out of 10 (for
adults)
—This movie does not age well at all.—
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