Well intentioned sword and sorcery adventure has a few things going for it but there are far too many shortcomings to overcome.
Our hero Hawk (John Terry) has inherited the "Mind Sword" from his father after he is murdered by his other son the evil Voltan (Jack Palance). Voltan has an army behind him while his brother gathers the stereotypical small band of hero's to help him defeat his brother. The small band includes a giant a dwarf and an elf and each gets a suitably stilted introduction.
John Terry is ineffective and seems out of his depth at times, the fact he had some subsequent success seems to indicate either; poor casting, the obviously poor dialogue he was saddled with or a lack of direction. The largely British supporting cast is somewhat subdued and while they don't stand out they also don't embarrass themselves, they include; Annette Crosbie, Harry Andrews, Bernard Bresslaw (Carry On films), Roy Kinnear, W. Morgan Sheppard and Cheryl Campbell. Jack Palance as the villain of the piece is way over the top.
The film sticks with many fantasy archetypes but strangely flips other on their heads. The result being that when these variations on the fantasy staples occur they are glaringly incongruous.
The story is absurdly straight forward and simple as is the structure of the film, perhaps given a better budget it could have achieved more. The special effects are straight out of the era in which the film was made, and having a limited budget means they are somewhat embarrassing especially when they are poorly executed. We get big puffs of smoke to hide things, fairly cheap matte paintings for all the buildings, sped up film and spliced cuts to give the impression of speed.
The films score is a very odd mix of orchestral and disco and while it may be appreciated my some it was far too strident and obtrusive to my ear.
Despite the problems a true aficionado of fantasy might enjoy the film if they aren't too discerning.
Our hero Hawk (John Terry) has inherited the "Mind Sword" from his father after he is murdered by his other son the evil Voltan (Jack Palance). Voltan has an army behind him while his brother gathers the stereotypical small band of hero's to help him defeat his brother. The small band includes a giant a dwarf and an elf and each gets a suitably stilted introduction.
John Terry is ineffective and seems out of his depth at times, the fact he had some subsequent success seems to indicate either; poor casting, the obviously poor dialogue he was saddled with or a lack of direction. The largely British supporting cast is somewhat subdued and while they don't stand out they also don't embarrass themselves, they include; Annette Crosbie, Harry Andrews, Bernard Bresslaw (Carry On films), Roy Kinnear, W. Morgan Sheppard and Cheryl Campbell. Jack Palance as the villain of the piece is way over the top.
The film sticks with many fantasy archetypes but strangely flips other on their heads. The result being that when these variations on the fantasy staples occur they are glaringly incongruous.
The story is absurdly straight forward and simple as is the structure of the film, perhaps given a better budget it could have achieved more. The special effects are straight out of the era in which the film was made, and having a limited budget means they are somewhat embarrassing especially when they are poorly executed. We get big puffs of smoke to hide things, fairly cheap matte paintings for all the buildings, sped up film and spliced cuts to give the impression of speed.
The films score is a very odd mix of orchestral and disco and while it may be appreciated my some it was far too strident and obtrusive to my ear.
Despite the problems a true aficionado of fantasy might enjoy the film if they aren't too discerning.