Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless, 5 May 2009
Fantastic blend of sci-fi, fantasy and historical drama; never have vertcally-challenged people been part of such a celluloid masterpiece. Black and surreal humour abounds, the cast is top-notch, and the effects stand up well today. Oh, and the child actor's pretty good too.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gilliam at his Best, 6 Jan 2008
For my money, Terry Gilliam is one of the more innovative, creative, and fantastical directors of the last two decades. His films easily bear his stamp of absurdist humour, witty dialogue, sheer fantasy, dream-like sequences, and always a generous dose of black comedy. Time Bandits is certainly no exception, but rather a stepping stone for greater works such as The Fisher King and the wonderful Brazil. The film tells the story of a group of dwarf-like "crooks" who leave their jobs with God(the Supreme Being) for a life of crime via a map they have "stolen" from their job place. This map holds all the secrets to time holes in the fabric of creation. Thus the bearers of the map can go forward and back in time as they please. They use the map to steal, at which they have little skill, and become rich, at which they miserably fail. Gilliam transports them and us through time to meet such interesting notables as Robin Hood, Napoleon, Agammenon, and the Evil Genius(devil-like entity). The film is grand in its scope and still wanting, for it is tackling a story of epic proportions. Still, Gilliam delivers a pretty good film both visually stunning in certain sequences and brimming with philosophical questions such as the necessity of evil and the election of choice in life. The film is also very funny in many parts, due in large part to a great cast. The protagonists are all quite good. John Cleese plays as likable a Robin Hood to be seen with his almost overly polite manner. The best performances go to Ian Holm, playing a drunken Napoleon obsessed with his size, David Warner, playing the malevolent Evil Genius with relish, and lastly to Sir Ralph Richardson, playing the Supreme Being like a bureaucrat concerned with balancing payroll and the like. Gilliam explores the bureaucratic mentality with even more scope in his Brazil. All in all, Time Bandits is a fun and entertaining picture.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Watch Time Bandits Time and Time Again, 18 Jan 2009
A sadly overlooked and underated gem of a film. Suitable for both adults and minors alike, the clever, subtle humour in particular serves as a good launching pad towards adult sophistication for young viewers. I mean what other film produces a Napolean obssessed by the height of historic world leaders? Or an ogre that moans about his sore back and 'bloody spots' on his face? My daughter first watched this on video back in the early 1980s before her teens. Along with that of the Marx Brothers, the verbal humour endemic of Time Bandits enriched her wit. Now in her 30s and firmly embedded within a refined social circle, the film continues to occupy a prominent place in her DVD collection.
Time Bandits is one of those timeless films that can be viewed time and time again and still discover something new each time.
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