Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 20:03:49

the purpose of film is to entertain

...and this film does. when one takes into account the fact that it is based upon a comic strip concerning a character living in Arthurian England the movie becomes more enjoyable - it isn't supposed to be realistic, it's supposed to be fantasy. some of the previous review writers seem like people who would say "yeah, right!" while watching the bicylcle fly in front of the moon in "E.T." they need to concentrate on watching documentaries instead of fantasy/adventure films. the fact is: the sword fights were exciting, the women were beautiful, the heroes were noble...it was fun to watch.

2012-05-25 09:36:13

Good Adaptation of the Comic Strip

Having been a fan of Prince Valient for the past 30 years, I thought this was a very good adaptation of the strip. The action was well done, and Hal Fosters mood of the strip was preserved despite the hollywood-izing. I liked the "comic maps" which were straight from the Sunday comics, as well as Val's amazing feats -he was a medival "super-hero".

James Hitchcock 2012-05-22 18:22:45

Proof that Europe can hold its own with America when it comes to bad fantasy epics

"Prince Valiant" is, apparently, based upon a comic strip, although Imust confess that I had never heard of it before seeing the film. Thestory is set in Arthurian Britain. The king's magic sword Excalibur hasbeen stolen by a gang of Vikings from the kingdom of Thule, so Valiant,a young squire, is sent to recover it. On the way he falls in love withthe beautiful Princess Ilene (a name which can be pronounced either as"Eileen" or "Elaine", depending upon which character is speaking) anddiscovers that he himself is in fact none other than the long-lost heirto the crown of Thule, which has been usurped by the current incumbent,the villainous Thagnar. The Arthurian legends have not always transferred well to the cinemascreen. In recent years we have had the decidedly average romance"First Knight" and the decidedly below-average epic "King Arthur"."Prince Valiant", however, falls so far below average that it almostfalls off the bottom of the scale. It is not a would-be epic along thelines of "King Arthur", but rather a sword-and-sorcery adventure alongthe lines of "Conan the Barbarian", "Red Sonja" or (to take a moremodern example) "The Scorpion King".Stephen Moyer makes a particularly dull hero, acting as though he wererecovering from a serious charisma bypass operation. Katherine Heiglmakes a pretty but equally uncharismatic heroine as Eileen/Elaine; onthe evidence of this film she may have had the looks to succeed as aHollywood star, but not the talent, so I was rather surprised that shehas gone on to star in successful television series and films like"Gray's Anatomy" and "Knocked Up".Edward Fox, who stars here as Arthur,is a talented actor who should have known better than to sign up forrubbish like this. The one exception to the generally low standard of acting is JoannaLumley, still splendidly seductive in her fifties as Arthur's evilhalf-sister Morgan Le Fay, but this only made me wonder why Joanna, whois one of Britain's most popular television actresses, seems to make somany bad choices when she ventures into the cinema. There have beenoccasional exceptions, such as her cameo in the excellent "ShirleyValentine", but too many of her films have been awful ones- "Don't JustLie There, Say Something" and "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" are otherexamples. Even worse than the standards of acting are the action scenes andspecial effects. The fight scenes were all clumsily handled and thosealligators were ludicrously unconvincing. The storyline was oftenconfusing and difficult to follow and the lighting was so gloomy as tomake me think that the film-makers were interpreting the phrase "DarkAges" absolutely literally. "Prince Valiant" is billed as aBritish/Irish/German co-production, which only goes to show that thereis at least one field, the tenth-rate fantasy epic, in which theEuropean film industry can hold its own against American competition. Ican only assume that the film's European origins were the reason thatit was overlooked for a well-deserved Razzie nomination. 2/10

filmguy450 2012-05-22 06:46:00

A young squire sets out on a journey to protect a beautiful princess and discovers his destiny.

Anthony Hickox's comic adaptation is surprisingly great. Based on HalFoster's long running series, this sumptuous tale is sure to tickle thefancy of fantasy-adventure cinephiles.The cinematography by Roger Lanser is stunning. Lots of wide angles toshowoff the gorgeous landscape, to great effect. The colors burst offthe screen, and are very comic-esquire. The long takes establish thegeography well, and it makes for an interesting juxtaposition to themore claustrophobic, indoor scenes.Stephen Moyer stars as the titular character with an unknown past. Hemakes for a dashing lead, and is easily likable. In the action scenes,he is believable and looks just tough enough to be able to hold hisown. Katherine Heigl is Princess Ilene, the female lead/ love interest.Even at 19, her charm is on display. Moyer and her chemistry is strong,making their romance, which starts as a strong, obvious longing tosomething more substantial as they grow closer during their quest.As Erik The Old, Walter Gotell, in his final role is very good. AnthonyHickox himself has nice role as Sir Gwain, whom Valiant is a squire. Ididn't know it was him, and he was noble and daring, just as he shouldhave been. Edward Fox makes a strong, decisive Arthur, even morerefined and imposing. Ron Perlman shows up as a giant that knows morethan he lets on, and man, I love me some Perlman. He's having lots offun, and is used well. Warwick Davis shows up near the end, and livensup everything. He's such a joy to watch, and makes an alreadypulp-comic even more fun.Udo Kier is the main villain, Sligon, whom steals Excalibur to takeover the world. Kier is (almost) always fun to watch, and he'suber-creepy here, making for a delicious, slightly over-the-top (in agood way) bad guy. Joanna Lumley, so brilliant on "AbsolutelyFabulous", is the witch Morgan Le Fey, Arthur's half-sister. She's alot of fun, relishing the chance to play such a different character.The action is well done, and exciting. The swordplay is very real, andit doesn't feel choreographed. The larger scale battles are easy tofollow and have a nice flow to them. The detail in the armor andcostumes are incredible, and it helps to enrich the world and make itmuch more believable.Hickox's style is in abundance here, and damn, it's some style. Asidefrom the already mentioned things, like good action and all, he usescomic transitions, using artwork directly out of the comic strip. Ayear before what many consider the film to usher in this comicsaturated movie culture we are now in (Blade), this was doing similarthings, and is unjustly overlooked. But aside from the cooltransitional sequences, Hickox employs a lot of camera tricks, forcedperspective, and playing with what we can't see just off-screen. Allthat adds a nice layer of fun, and it reinforces the more supernaturalelements.This was an amazing surprise, that moves quickly, is rousing, had solidspecial effects, and good acting. An overlooked gem that helped usherin the current comic craze and deserves better than it's getting.

2012-05-21 12:36:52

I think this movie rocks!

I liked it because it had humore in it and romance and lots and lots of adventure! now those are almost hard to find I thought it wouldn't be too good BUT I WAS WRONG and I think a lot of other people would like this movie too. So order it right now and I think you'll like it.

liderc 2012-05-20 23:44:24

very good

I really enjoyed watching this well-done movie. It is not too brutal, wittyand has the right dose of humor. Besides it has a very good cast ofwell-known actors like Katherine Heigl ("Roswell") the great Joanna Lumley("Absolutely Fabulous"), who is really wonderful in her role (as usual), andThomas Kretschmann, who is, as usual, very good and very sexy. It is verywell done by director Anthony Hickox, who made such movies as the classic"Theatre of Blood" starring Vincent Price, and his directing really shinesthrough. The animated sequences are very well done and give the movie areally nice flair. The only bad performance that I could spot was the realshort appearance by the rather silly (but famous) supermodel MarkusSchenkenberg. But that couldn't mar this otherwise really good movie, itsonly flaw is that it is somehow too fast paced sometimes, otherwise I canonly recommend it.

2012-05-19 02:19:01

B Movieness At Its Finest

It often seems that the genre of the B movie is a lost art in this age of CGI and massively budgeted films. Yet out of the digital free for all comes Prince Valiant, a movie which harkens back to movies like Excalibur in its style and never takes itself seriously in its substance. Valiant is a young knight who is in charge of protecting a lovely princess. To complicate matters, Excalibur has been stolen by vikings and Morgan Le Fey needs someone of royal birth to dislodge it from the stone it has become trapped in, making Valiant the best candidate, unbeknownst to him. Add to this a dwarf, a viking harem, and some really cheesy effects and you have Prince Valiant. Perhaps what keeps this movie from being a waste of celluloid is the fact that it's fun to watch. Some of the plot devices are laughable, such as a dwarf being catapulted over a tower, a feministic princess, and Chinese fireworks in the viking palace for some reason. Yet in spite of everything, the movie is able to be cheesy and entertaining at the same time. Stephen Moyer actually isn't a bad prince, though his accent comes and goes while Katherine Heigel doesn't even bother with the accent at all. While it's laughable, it's still entertaining, which is something that makes Prince Valiant memorable in the normally bland mix of sword and armor movies.

Haplo-4 2012-05-18 09:57:44

Good, but not perfect

This is a rather funny movie with all the right fantasy-ingredients in it.The actors are alright especially Ron Perlman and Katherine Heigl. It iswell made and the cameraphoto is inspiring - I like the tempo-changes. But there is one thing Ididn't like and that was the use of animated drawings tucked inside themovie which totally destroyed it. So because of the use of animation it onlygets a 7 and not a 9.

2012-05-14 03:30:03

GOOD FAMILY ACTION MOVIE

READING SOME OF THE REVIEWS- I THINK THEY MISSED THE FACT THAT.. PRINCE VALLANT FIRST APPEARED TO MANY READERS IN MANY SUNDAY PAPERS IN THE COMIC SECTION. THIS WOULD EXPLAIN SOME OF THE ANIMATED SCENES. ALL IN ALL, I WOULD SAY THAT IT WAS VERY WELL DONE AND DONE LIKE IT WAS IN THE COMICS.

Deusvolt 2012-05-13 15:46:00

At last, a Valiant who's not a bumbling fool.

I liked the panoramic artwork which is very like the painstakingly donequarter of a quarter broadsheet spread frames of the syndicated Sundaycomics supplements of the '50s. The special effect used to make thoseartworks seem to melt into reality is awesome. This is rarely, if ever,done now because of economies of print production and advertising.That, by the way is one of the reasons, the cartoonist responsible forthe hugely popular Calvin and Hobbes, quit making the offbeat funnyseries. The Valiant here is a very competent knight unlike the one portrayed byRobert Wagner in the 1954 film who was nothing short of a bumbling foolwho managed to have accidents just when he seemed to be getting theupper hand (e.g. losing his hold on a cliff as he was espying thetraitorous transactions of the Black Knight with Norse marauders). Onlythe superb acting of James Mason as the villainous Black Knight madethat older version interesting. The fight scenes in this Prince Valiant were well executed. Kudos tothe arms master for the handsome suits of armor and weapons. The actress who portrayed Princess Ilene is stunning.

r-c-s 2012-05-12 05:46:26

nice unpretentious movie unfairly disparaged

These nice, unpretentious movies should get better press when comparedwith junk AAA+ budget kolossals. Someone complains about the 'cartoonstrips' inserted here & there in the movie...they didn't delight me,either...but I guess it was a way scriptwriters had to signal they werefilming the adaptation of a COMIC STRIP...and in turn another posterhere complains they haven't read the story at all...I find this movie just fine. I won't write about it in my memories, butit's DEFINITELY better than many AAA+ actors/AAA+ budgetproductions...at 1/12 the cost. Of course you don't have KennethBranagh, Lawrence Olivier or Katherine Hepburn here, but they aren'tneeded, either.It is the next rendition of ages old fairy tales made of sorcery,supernatural swords, pretty princesses in distress and apprentices on aquest, who discover they are the long lost sons on good kings murderedby evil tyrants.Photography is good; locations are good; acting is satisfactory, forthis kind of movies...(not JULIUS CAESAR with John Gielgud ); thestoryline is also good. It helps remembering that people who harshlycriticize these modest movies in favor of high-fidelity to whatever'spirit of the thing' wouldn't be the first to sit through a classictheatre play.To watch at least once.

2012-05-11 16:02:41

good movie!!!

i didn't like the cartoonish maps and such that happened every so often...but other that that it was one of the best knight movies i have seen

2012-05-11 10:48:21

This was great!

I saw this movie 5 times and it gets better every time you see it. I think Stephen Moyer was great as Valaint! This movie is good till the end and then some!!!! Go see it!!!

Schillo 2012-05-11 04:21:04

Disappointing, compared to the original source

Hal Foster told us his own version of the King Arthur Sagawiththe 'Prince Valiant' Comic Strips. 'Prince Valiant' was Foster's inventionand he created more than 1700 pages of adventure, romance, treachery,sinister villains, cunning heros ... you name it. One could make a greatmovie byputting any 50 pages of it to celluloid. Alas, in thismoviethey did not even try to do this. They just ripped offsomecharacters name, gave them complete new personalities,messedup a simple story and build it around some special effects(which are indeed quite nice, but not enough to justifytheentrance fee). If you like fast food movies, you might enjoyit,if you like the comic strips, you'll hate it.I recommend Prince Valiant (1954) which is not a perfectmovie,but far more authentic compared to the original source. Which is what oneshould expect when viewing a movie named 'Prince Valiant'.

Jason C. Atwood 2012-05-10 15:13:21

Classic knights-in-armor tale offers so little that's new.

I can recognize the name PRINCE VALIANT in the Sunday comics, and this isthe movie adaptation which is based from. As if I've had enough of theseCamelot stories, the swift pacing turns it on for supplementing the royalaction, which is interesting to keep you tuned in. This latest versionnearly captures the lively HERCULES & XENA look that continues topopularizethe culture here in the States. It's a pity that these routine battleslacka solid punch, turning this into a mild consequence. For a new and youngergeneration of PRINCE VALIANT followers who dismisses the 1954 originalfilmbecause of its age, this new and improved edition will certainly be it.There is a sacrifice of royalty that made the black-and-white classicssweetand tangy. The best you can really do is keep on reading the comic stripbecause several movies based on original counterparts (including TV showsand cartoons) fail to recapture a certain essence that was once made to beoriginal.

2012-05-09 20:55:16

A fun ride

While the movie may not be the most accurate movie (i.e. armored alligators), this movie is definitely one of the best I've seen in a while. It is an excellent blend of action and fantasy, and both Moyer and Heigl give excellent performances. I can't say that I followed the strip before now, but after seeing the movie I try to pick up the comics and search it out.

swakcalmm 2012-05-09 15:09:52

Romance is never dead.

Romance is not dead yet. In Prince Valiant romance and adventure is verymuch alive. I highly recommend this to everyone in the mood for comedy,adventure, romance, and fantasy. I hope you will enjoy it as much as Idid.

2012-05-09 02:36:31

Fun and Light

My wife and I were in the mood for a good adventure film so we watched Prince Valiant. This movie is a sort of prequel to the popular comic strip that has been running since my father was young.The movie begins with Valiant being the squire of Sir Gawain during a tournament at Camelot. When Gawain is unseated and knocked out Valiant disguises himself in Gawain's armor and all but wins the tournament. he would have won except that Vikings had entered Camelot and stolen Excalibur. The Vikings have left evidence to make it look like the Scotts have committed the crime. Thus most of Britain's armies proceed North while Valiant, still disguised as Gawain, escorts a princess back to Wales.Morgan Le Fey, who is behind the Viking raid on Camelot, uses her magic to discover who can pull Excalibur from a stone in which it has found itself. She sees a vision of Valiant in Gawain's armor and a raid is planned to capture Gawain. When Gawain fails at pulling the sword he is killed. It is now up to Valiant to regain Excalibur. It turns out that Valiant is heir to the Viking throne as he is the last surviving member of the Red Stallion Clan. Valiant gets Excalibur, rescues the princess (who dies and is brought back to life by Excalibur), returns Excalibur to Arthur and asks for the princess's hand in marriage. Valiant then joins Arthur as a knight of the Round Table. This then sets the stage for the comic strip.What is strange is that Prince Valiant never knew he was a prince. When he learns of his heritage, he is actually a king. It all means that he never actually gets to be known as "Prince" Valiant (although he is called "Prince" by the other knights even though he is a king). Also, when the princess is dying, Valiant challenges God to save her or make a new enemy. It is Excalibur, powered by the gods of Avalon, that responds. Prince Valiant is a fun adventure movie but one that really makes no sense whatsoever. However, if you are looking for adventure, this movie will fit the bill.

2012-05-06 07:56:21

GREAT MOVIE!!!

I loved the story, and the actors, and the fights and stuff. I didn't like the comic strip much, but I loved the movie!!! definately a worth-it movie!!!

Oric13 2012-05-06 00:34:01

A surprisingly good movie

This is one of those movies getting trashed by people without any goodreason (just like Showgirls and Last Action Hero, which I both considerto be very entertaining movies). I've watched it a second time lastnight and was pleasantly surprised at how good it (still) is.The acting is pretty good. There are no major plot holes. The numberone "bad guy" wasn't just some 1 dimensional asshole, but actually awell fleshed-out character, who was actually smarter (strategically)than the good guys.Also, he effects weren't bad at all for a movie with this kind ofbudget. And, another good reason for watching this, I got a good lookat Katherine Heigl's bare ass. :)I wasn't bored for a single moment while watching Prince Valliant, andreally what more could I ask for?All in all, a very enjoyable movie, and I highly recommend watching it.