Just saw brotherhood of the wolf and I loved it!

[G.A. Donis]

By the way.....

I really think a D&D version of that sword is in need. I'm not very good at that kind of stuff, but would love to see it converted.

 

[Pielorinho]

I think you can count me in the "didn't like it" camp. There was definitely some good stuff about the movie, but overall I was left unhappy with it.

I'm no action movie aficionado, but maybe Crouching Tiger has raised my expectations for fight scenes -- and I found the fight scenes in this movie to be mostly uninspired.

And kung fu in rennaissance France? eh?

Afterwards, I thought of a quote by a famous surrealist, dissing someone else's work. Surrealism, he said, isn't a telephone in a jar of marmalade. Surrealism is explaining how the phone got there.

The kung fu in France was just a telephone in a jar of marmalade.

SPOILERS AHEAD
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The Indian character was such a bundle of cliches that I winced every time he came on screen. He was really awful.

Near the end, when Evil Brother Dude threw off his cloak, was I the only person expecting him to start singing, "I'm just a sweet Transvestite...."? I laughed loudly at that point, which is something I try to avoid doing at movies, no matter how ridiculous they are -- probably loud enough to annoy the people around me.
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END SPOILERS

That said, the movie had some cool stuff about it. The acting was pretty good (except for the sidekick); the female leads were cool; the overall idea of the story was very interesting.

If they'd cut out the sidekick entirely and cut out 90% of the fight scenes in the movie, focusing instead on the mystery part, I would have enjoyed the movie much more.

Daniel

 

[drnuncheon]

Re: By the way.....

I really think a D&D version of that sword is in need. I'm not very good at that kind of stuff, but would love to see it converted.

It's in Bastion Press' Arms and Armor. I think it's called a serpent sword.

J

 

[drnuncheon]

What did people dislike about it? You're the second person that has said people didn't really like it, but other than the subtitles, I don't really see what there is to dislike.

I think the monster, unfortunately, looked terribly cheesy. I'd rather never have gotten a good look at the thing.

The "kung fu in France" didn't bother me any more than the Force does in Star Wars - it's simply part of the base assumptions of the movie. Europe and North America certainly had traditions of unarmed combat more sophisticated than brawling (savate and the like) - it's not like Asia has a monopoly on them.

J

 

[Pielorinho]

Europe and North America certainly had traditions of unarmed combat more sophisticated than brawling (savate and the like) - it's not like Asia has a monopoly on them.
J

Maybe it's just my ignorance, but that sure looked like Asian-cinema-style kung-fu to me. If it was based on a real form of European unarmed combat, I woulda benefited from a brief exchange between characters explaining it ("Nice kicks, Pierre!" "Thanks, I was the savate champion at universite!")

For some reason, the kung fu in this movie bothered me less than the Madonna songs in Moulin Rouge. Maybe because Brotherhood of the Wolf seemed to take itself so seriously, whereas Moulin Rouge knew that it was one big gaudy overfrosted delicious cupcake of a movie.

Daniel

 

[G.A. Donis]

Thanks drnuncheon. And I could be wrong, but I've heard that the French had developed a "kickboxing" martial art by this time period. Many cultures have developed forms of self-defense/fighting that involve various hand and foot techniques. How a Native American could/would have learned any of these forms to the degree Manni evidently had is open to debate

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie on all levels and thought that the fights were very well done. The punches and kicks all seemed to have some weight behind them and could be "felt". But as the saying goes "your mileage may vary"

 

[RangerWickett]

Hey, I made that sword over a year ago, long before it got published by Bastion. Of course, I took the idea from Soul Calibur's character, Ivy. That weapon's great fun in the hands of a Fighter/Duelist/Lasher. It's a sword, no, it's a whip, no it's grappling hook. Great fun.

 

[uv23]

Re: By the way.....

I really think a D&D version of that sword is in need. I'm not very good at that kind of stuff, but would love to see it converted.

Ha, that was such a great scene. My friends laughed when he threw off his jacket but I think I just oogled out "coooool" in a pleased child-like fashion. My favorite scene hands down was when the girl had her flashback. It was terrifying, again largely in part due to the sound and that great blue/liquid/acidy filming effect.

 

[Wolfspider]

I think that the characters NOT explaining away the martial arts made it even more believable. They didn't bother giving an explanation that the audience wouldn't buy anyway, instead just kicking and hitting away like pros.

I wouldn't worry so much about realism anyway. It was certainly a fantasy movie through and through, not a bit believable really. But thoroughly enjoyable. I also didn't think that it took itself too seriously at all....the villians were thoroughly evil cultists, the heroes were larger than life, the backdrops grand and menacing. What's to hate?

 

[EOL]

In the very first fight, in the rain, who was it, the Naturalist or Mani, the Indian? I have a bet riding on the answer.