Film Review: Time Bandits (1981)

almost 3 years ago

(source: tmdb.org)

It is difficult to put "Monty Python" and "family entertainment" in the same sentence. Yet, it was Terry Gilliam, the most irreverent and the least restrained member of legendary comic troupe, that directed the most family-friendly piece of Python-related cinema with his 1981 fantasy adventure Time Bandits.

Protagonist of the film, played by Craig Warnock, is Kevin, 11-year old boy who lives with parents who neglect him for the sake of television game shows and expensive gadgets. He found the solace in his room where he read about ancient history and myths. One night his room is invaded by group of six strange-looking dwarves led by Randall (played by David Rappaport). They used to work for "Supreme Being" and stole his map, which allows them to travel through various points in space in time in search of fortune. Kevin reluctantly joins them when they are pursued by their former employer and later finds all kinds of interesting adventures at 1796 Italy, medieval Sherwood Forest, Mycenean Greece, RMS Titanic, mythical Time of Legends and, finally, Fortress of Ultimate Darkness. There awaits Evil Genius (played by David Warner) who wants to lay his hands of the map in order to remake the universe according to his evil schemes.

Time Bandits is arguably the most conventional of all Gilliam's films and the easiest to digest for general audience. It owes a lot to the script, co-written by Gilliam and Michael Pallin, that tells its story from the perspective of a child. There is a great deal of awe the protagonist and the audience feel when experiencing ancient history or the worlds created by myth and fantasy. Even the choice of dwarves as Kevin's companions has less to do with their comic effect and more with practical issue of them being of the same height as the protagonist. Gilliam shows great deal of imagination and the skill in which recreates those fantastic worlds with relatively meagre resources is truly impressive. Time Bandits nevertheless has certain problem with the script. Namely, it is not completely family-friendly, because there are lot of dark overtones, especially during segments that show Napoleon's campaign in Italy or at the very end. The cast is of varied quality. John Cleese is forgettable as un-charismatic Robin Hood, while Ian Holm as Napoleon looks more like caricature over his obsession with his height. David Warner is solid, but not particularly remarkable in the role of cosmic uber-villain. Most of the dwarves, with exception of hyperactive Rappaport, aren't too memorable (including Kenny Baker, best known for playing R2D2 in Star Wars films), Sean Connery in the role of King Agamemnon is the only one that gives truly great impression, playing the heroic father figure that seems perfect for Kevin. He appears relatively briefly in the film, but his impact is one of the most memorable things about this film. Those expecting Monty Python's level of hilarity are, however, going to be disappointed, but this is an adventure film instead of comedy. There are some funny scenes, some including Ralph Richardson as the incarnation of "Supreme Being" as absent-minded business executive. Time Bandits is nevertheless a very entertaining film that should be recommended even to those viewers who aren't Mony Python's fans.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)