Time Bandits (1981)

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Terry Gilliam--Once Again At His BEST!

Terry Gilliam's works are always magically a bit odd and off center, and keep the viewer mystified and off balance, and in the end...it all works out. Somehow. The relationship between Sean Connery's King Agamemnon and the protagonist (Kevin) is sweet and not-quite-happy-ending enough for me, but the film is a masterpiece in the fantasy genre. July 19, 2008

Does NOT Stand the Test of Time

My husband, 11 year old daughter, and I watched TIME BANDITS the other evening. My husband remembered it from his college days as being extremely funny, and thought we would all enjoy it. The whole family loves British comedy, and we were really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, TIME BANDITS has not held up well over the years. We all sat there a bit glassy-eyed and slack-jawed, waiting for the laughs.

For some reason that I cannot quite my finger on, this film just isn't funny anymore (if it ever was). With supposedly Monty Python-esque humor, I would have thought that TIME BANDITS would have become a sort of timeless classic similar to the Monte Python films. But what works for Monty Python, what makes THEM classic, doesn't work or is severely lacking in TIME BANDITS.

The plot is old, predictable, disjointed, and, quite frankly, boring. The pace is plodding and tedious. The special effects, while they may possibly have been innovative in 1981, look cheap and cheesy. The acting, from this "all star" cast is mostly dreadful, although John Cleese and Sean Connery both deliver their typical fine performances. The ending is bizarre, and while I understand what the director was going for, fails miserably. And, as others have stated over and over, the quality of the disk transfer is just horrible - dark, jumpy, and full of artifacts.

I was temped to give this a two-star rating based solely on the performances John Cleese and Sean Connery, but why bother? You can see both of them in much better films. TIME BANDITS is dated, dumb, and dull. NOT RECOMMENDED.
July 13, 2008

Pure Chaos

Terry Gilliam movies are a mixed bag, but rest assured they are always going to be surreal. The silly premise of a band of international thieves stealing a map from the Supreme Being and running amuck with comic escapades involving historical figures is wonderfully goofy gold mine to work with. Unfortunately, many of the scenes are just not that funny. Napolean's obsession with short people was just obvious and was pretty dull to watch. The scenes involving ancient Greece, outside of a great festival scene, was slow moving and didn't really do much to advance the plot. The Robin Hood scene, on the other hand, was hilarious, as well as the recurring joke with two lovers they constantly interfere with.

The villain, who else but The Evil Genius, was hilarious, and the movie kicked in to full gear when the band set out into the "Time of Legends". The chaos on the screen in the climactic battle made up for some of the misses in the film.

Oh, and there's satire of materialism, some theological studies, and an extremely amusing conception of The Supreme Being at the end. Overall, it's all too odd to feel you're being beaten over the head any of the underlying messages, and just adds to the general weirdness.

Not Gilliam's best, but good when you're in the mood for something completely different. April 26, 2008

Return the map. Bring back what you have stolen from me!!

Chalk another one up that many people laugh at me when I mention this movie. What is funny was my father who couldn't stand this movie every time I was watching it and I had to turn the channel. After a few hundred times, he gave in, and likes it now.

Basically, a band of dwarves work for the "supreme being." They "borrowed" a map that can lead them to time portals anywhere. Little did Randall who was the leader of this group realize that the Supreme Being also created evil who was played by the lengendary all around evil actor, David Warner (Jack the Ripper in Time After Time, and the master controller in Tron). It also stars Monty Python regulars; Michael Palin (wrote it also) and John Cleese. While Randall and his crew are trying to slip away from the Supreme Being, they end up in a little boys room (Kevin played by Craig Warnock) and take him with them as the Supreme Being once again catches up with them. They have to worry about him as well as Evil who wants the map for his own personal gain (to rule the world). Throughout the movie you meet, Sean Connery who plays a king in ancient history as well as the British fireman who on a call is sent to Kevin's house, Napoleon, Ogres, and Robin Hood (John Cleese). Who will succeed? Evil? The Supreme Being? Randall and his band of thieves? Will Kevin be able to go home?

Delightful movie with a decent amount of comedy. The adventure and silliness certainly smells like a Monty Python movie. John Cleese always seems to get the right parts that fit him (except Rat Race). This is a fun and enjoyable action/comedy for the family. It certainly has got some history in it (the past). Randall and his little gang of thieves (since they lie and steal) might throw a red flag to parents and the floating head of the Supreme Being might scare some children but it's still enjoyable after 27 years. As always, Davind Warner plays a good evil character. My favorite was him as well as The Supreme Being. At first it was scary seeing just a head chase you, but I like when he would appear and say," Stop!" Give back what you have stolen from me." Return the map!"

There was talk of a sequel but Randall died as well as Wally (jack Purvis) in the same year, and the sequel was axed. April 12, 2008

Lots of fun, sometimes funny, and a great film

I was a high school student when this was new and the hype machine was out in full force. I'm glad I didn't watch it then. I watched it now. I enjoyed it a lot. The other reviewers can tell you why. March 14, 2008

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