- This charming little film tries so hard to succeed, that I call it the "Little Film That Couldn't". There are enough flaws to make even the most sympathetic of critics complain. However, I can't help but like it! It's kind of a poor man's "Star Wars"; in that a marriage of swordplay and lasers is the main "deux est machina". In essence, just a standard "fairy-tale" with the prince and princess, etc., etc., etc. The twist here is that an alien "Beast" holds the planet in thrall, with his "symbiotic-stormtroopers" and teleporting castle! Unfortunately, the film's logic defies even its own cosmography! The motivations of the "Beast", are never clear, and why an "alien" with super-technology would be interested in a planet stuck in the middle ages is beyond me. During a crucial scene, we are led to believe that the teleporting castle will appear in a specific spot. It is incredibly convenient for the heroes, that this castle never seems to appear on the other side of the planet. "Firemares", or not, our heroes would certainly have trouble crossing vast continents in 24 hours!
- To its favor, this flick has plenty of action, and dark intrigue. The characters in many ways are appealing. The problem lies in their lack of development! The cinematography is beautiful, though the final scenes in the "Beast's" lair seem hurried and contrived.
- This film also boasts what I consider to be the best line I have heard in many years! While the heroes are "a'questing", one of their party, a young boy, asks a mystical Cyclopean what he would want, "if he could have anything in the world!" The philosophic giant replies almost immediately, "Ignorance!"
- This film is filled with familiar faces from British filmdom. It is the second screen appearance, of a little-known actor by the name of Liam Neeson. Robbie Coltraine went on to play the lead in the BBC-TV series "CRACKER", and Freddie Jones has "supported" many fine films.
- I know that if I had been asked by that little boy, I would have wished that Peter Yates had a larger budget, and that he had taken a little more time with this film. Perhaps then, even the staunchest critics would have appreciated this "Little Film That Couldn't"!
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