|
Brotherhood of the
Wolf A Review by |
| The foreign film
that has been getting some pretty solid reviews, has pulled the ever busy duo of Angel and
Vigilante to the movie theaters to check out what this foreign flick had to offer. Once
the subtitles became second nature, the duo found themselves to enjoy the movie
quite a bit....amidst its faults. For two years, the monstrous Beast had been terrorizing the region of Gevaudan, attacking mostly women and children. It is said to be of colossal size and dragon-like and often rumored of being the devil. All of France was shaken by these inexplicable killings. Delegated by the Royal Court, Gregoire de Fronsac arrives in Gevaudan one autumn night. His mission is to find the Beast and to eventually destroy it during a hunt. Strong, spirited, and rational, the young noble horseman is accompanied by the taciturn Mani, a Mohawk Indian that he met in New France during the Seven Years War. This movie has some of the most captivating and gruesome visuals I've ever seen in cinema. I mean the opening scene of this film will have you questioning what in God's green Earth have you paid money to see. Its truly disturbing. There's also some nice camera work with shutter speed filming throughout various parts of the film. The action scenes were some of the best I think I've seen in awhile. Owing some homage to the likes of "Crow" while other times creating an action/adventure type of feel that is absent in a lot of films today (Lord of Rings being exception). This movie is not without its faults. I question what this movie will go under when it heads to blockbuster. It's part fantasy, part action film, part romance, part adventure. Personally, this film was made to appease a wide range of audiences. It does that, but it also pisses some audiences off because it doesn't pick one genre and run with it. The action/adventure/fantasy fade in and out of each other pretty regularly, albeit roughly. But the Romance in this film is very blatant, and truly unnecessary. In fact, the entire last few minutes of the film that help put closer on the love story isn't even necessary because the love story is seriously underdeveloped. Hell, its not even mentioned until the resolution returns. The acting in this movie
is ok. Sameul Le Bihan does well as the leading man, but I found myself more liking to
Mark Dacascos as the native American Mani. He really has a flair for humor and
timing, with just facial expressions (sub titles remember). Plus, his fighting scenes are
top notch. I question the female roles in this film, as basically they served very little
purpose and seemed only to come about to continue the story instead of have any purpose on
their own. I may be spoiled by the deep characters of "Crouching Tiger", but
they just don't have as much substance here. |
-Now that you've read something, he's written. Wouldn't you like to find out more about Vigilante? Here you go. |
