JDFP
02-Nov-2009, 02:13 AM
** Minor SPOILERS Below **
I finally had an opportunity to see "Knightriders" for the first time the other night with my dad. Both my dad and I immensely enjoyed it.
I was a little hesitant in going into it because of the long running time after seeing "Martin". I didn't particularly care for "Martin", I did enjoy how it gave new mythos to the vampire and presented a unique story -- but execution wise, it just didn't work for me. I'm not saying I disliked the film, I just didn't personally care for it. I thought it could have used quite a bit more work.
However, with "Knightriders", I was extremely pleased. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars (and gave it four on my Netflix account since they only let you rank in full stars). With that said, I've only given "five stars" to about thirty films out of the 1200 I've rated with Netflix. I think it could have been more tightly knit for the story, the two and a half hour storyline could have easily been cut down by a good 30 minutes with a bit of editing, but overall it was just an incredibly entertaining story and I was extremely impressed with Savini's (as Morgan) and Ed Harris's characters and their portrayals of the characters.
A few moments that really stood out to me -- Savini especially when he is being named "king" as he bows, I thought it was very powerful to see him, as such a strong-willed character, breaking down into tears. Another scene with him is as he's witnessing the fight in the hotel room with the other "knights" and realizing that he could not set up a new "kingdom" himself except through the right means. Savini's character was just very compelling for me. Savini gave so much life to the character as Morgan, and I loved the performance. I did find myself asking though: "Is Savini really acting, or just being Savini?" a few times.
Dad and I (both HUGE fans of "DAY") ended up laughing our asses off in the scene where Joe Pilato is yelling, especially when we noticed Taso Stavrakis and John Amplas both in the background. I kept waiting at the end of his "rant" to look at Stavrakis and say: "C'mon, Ewain, we've got better shit to do!". Needless to say, we both had a huge kick out of this.
I think Ed Harris also did an incredible job as the king. The imagery, symbolism, and every element of this film was just incredibly well done. After watching this wonderful film, it just made me realize how great it would be to see Romero do another type of drama film instead of his traditional zombie flicks. Man, this was just a classy and well-done film. His dead trilogy will always be highest on my list of his films, but "Knightriders" was just a hell of a film that I really enjoyed, and leaves me wanting more of this type of dramatic film from Romero.
j.p.
I finally had an opportunity to see "Knightriders" for the first time the other night with my dad. Both my dad and I immensely enjoyed it.
I was a little hesitant in going into it because of the long running time after seeing "Martin". I didn't particularly care for "Martin", I did enjoy how it gave new mythos to the vampire and presented a unique story -- but execution wise, it just didn't work for me. I'm not saying I disliked the film, I just didn't personally care for it. I thought it could have used quite a bit more work.
However, with "Knightriders", I was extremely pleased. I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars (and gave it four on my Netflix account since they only let you rank in full stars). With that said, I've only given "five stars" to about thirty films out of the 1200 I've rated with Netflix. I think it could have been more tightly knit for the story, the two and a half hour storyline could have easily been cut down by a good 30 minutes with a bit of editing, but overall it was just an incredibly entertaining story and I was extremely impressed with Savini's (as Morgan) and Ed Harris's characters and their portrayals of the characters.
A few moments that really stood out to me -- Savini especially when he is being named "king" as he bows, I thought it was very powerful to see him, as such a strong-willed character, breaking down into tears. Another scene with him is as he's witnessing the fight in the hotel room with the other "knights" and realizing that he could not set up a new "kingdom" himself except through the right means. Savini's character was just very compelling for me. Savini gave so much life to the character as Morgan, and I loved the performance. I did find myself asking though: "Is Savini really acting, or just being Savini?" a few times.
Dad and I (both HUGE fans of "DAY") ended up laughing our asses off in the scene where Joe Pilato is yelling, especially when we noticed Taso Stavrakis and John Amplas both in the background. I kept waiting at the end of his "rant" to look at Stavrakis and say: "C'mon, Ewain, we've got better shit to do!". Needless to say, we both had a huge kick out of this.
I think Ed Harris also did an incredible job as the king. The imagery, symbolism, and every element of this film was just incredibly well done. After watching this wonderful film, it just made me realize how great it would be to see Romero do another type of drama film instead of his traditional zombie flicks. Man, this was just a classy and well-done film. His dead trilogy will always be highest on my list of his films, but "Knightriders" was just a hell of a film that I really enjoyed, and leaves me wanting more of this type of dramatic film from Romero.
j.p.