Reviews

The movie read like a book! I like the idea of the chronicles... At first I was thrown off and annoyed with his narration and running commentary. I wondered what the point of it all was, then (hours later mind you) I was like, DUH, chronicles. Anyway the line to die for was definitely:

"It's been a while since I smelt beauty." Or something to that effect. Hilarious.

It's going to be a successful franchise if all subsequent movies are as good as (and maybe better? like it can get much better) this one was. Watch it, the time does not fly by, but every minute is worth it. Awesome shots during this one particular fight scene (during the end, the quick montage was well placed and timed) made buying the DVD when it is released, a great new want!

Wow! Wait...Wait.WOW!

It is very interesting that a lot of the actors that played memorable characters in the film have pretty good careers today. I was looking at the list and I was like, "He was not in that film!" "WHAT".

Again, if you look at my other comments, you will know that I love epic films and this was another one my parents just bothered to record when it played on TV years ago. (I really need to thank my parents for taking the time one of these days.) Again, this is a film I last saw in 1998. I made sure I watched it when I left it, stupidly enough, so that I could remember the entire thing as long as possible. Halle was awesome, her attitude, body language, speech, she was made for this role, and I could say vice versa. This is the one movie that made me acknowledge the fact (when she was still Oscarless) that she indeed deserved, and would soon be getting an Oscar. She conveyed the passion and pain of her character's journey. Indeed, I cannot distinguish Halle from Queen in my mind, they are synonymous. It was well written, well casted, and well received by me. If you doubt me, take a look at the full casting list and you might be surprised. If you can, watch it!

I must add that the only reason why I left these two films behind is because I was so sure they were big here and would be easy to find/buy. I am so sorry I was wrong. It's just another reflection on America's media content choices. Films with history, meat, and bone often get neglected and relegated to the bottom feeders. I guess because they are educational to some degree...hey, don't hate, be honest, I think it's true.

Why cry and grit your teeth? It was a show that was conveyed using strips of cellophane rapidly running in a loop so that the photographed images appeared to be moving. `Ergo' (love that word usage in Matrix 3) it is called a movie. Now, we have been conditioned to accept and appreciate these Hollywood movies while growing up. There is a reason why most PG-13 movies are the way they are, and this was a good example. They (the establishment jokingly referred to in J&TPussycats) want us to spend our money. If you've watched this film (like I have) then, they succeeded.

Two observations: You were entertained: whether you like it or not, and whether you enjoyed the entertainment or not. You really had no choice: this weekend, there were not a lot of good movies being mass distributed.

As a side note, some people talk about getting the two hours used to watch this film, and their money, back. Honestly, how many minutes and hours, and how much of an effort have you used bashing it? Do you not consider this time wasted? And why not? Because it was the opportunity to bash something you may never do, or be good at if you did do?

It was good to me. Mainly because the true purpose of films/movies is to create a world (real or contrived) and remain true to it. I specifically refer to this movie as a movie and not as a film (ask me why another time). It is a summer movie too! C'mon! The world of the movie was created in the first scene; it was even a completely filtered scene. I mean, stop the madness.

I love this film! I have been looking for it for the past 5 years. I grew up watching this film over and over. In fact, for a brief history:

my parents recorded this film off the T.V station it played on (I can't remember which, though I've looked for it at the three major ones) and when we moved to Nigeria, I watched it for the first time. This was years after they had recorded it of course. I watched it often, since it's long and it took three tapes for the entire film, it was my favorite chore (self-imposed of course) to watch it and make sure the tape was not ruined. You can imagine how many times I took it upon myself to ensure this.

Basically, the last time I watched it was in 1998! And when I was coming back here that year, I did not have enough space in my suitcase to bring all the books and films I wanted to. So sadly, it got left behind.

I am a film student today, and I want to see if the film still holds up to the ideals it did when I was 17. It is definitely a must watch! If you like epic movies like "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben Hur" you will love this film. The history of the people, the effects of the explosion (which I must confess were a bit repetitious and made me think of foam buildings sometimes), the characters, the world the characters inhabited...WOW! I could go on...Films like this one (well, this film really) made me yearn to learn the Roman culture so much that I actually made it a goal (which I have met, and hopefully will again) to visit Rome and see the Colosseum. Gladiator, eat your heart out! This film showed the culture of the people and their lifestyles, not just blood and gore.Watch it if you can. I wish it were released in theaters--if they ran films that long.

Very smart use of editing and special effects. The story was told, and a little changed, but the change was not too drastic. It was just right. Now, I'm going to watch it again, this time with the excuse of taking my little sister!