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Brotherhood of the Wolf

Brotherhood of the Wolf

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: painfully long
Review: This film would have been much better if someone had bothered to edit it. It was excrutiatingly looooooooong! By the time it ended, I was bored out of my mind.

The cinematography is beautiful, & the story, up to a point, is engaging- but the length! The mystery surrounding the beast is interesting, but when we are finally allowed to see it, it is the silliest looking creature! It's scary, because it rips people apart, but it looks ridiculous! I though it was mechanical, but no, it's a strange species originating from Africa- oh, please!

If you like super long movies with redundant action sequences & plot points stretched out with miles between them- than this is a movie for you.

If you don't, stay away.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Delicious Swirl of Fantasy, Costume Epic, and Martial Arts
Review: THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is just what the psyche ordered for a rainy night's entertainment. Clocking in at just over two and a half hours, this megamovie is over-the-top in almost every direction and if you can relax and let yourself fly with it, this is a hugely entertaining film. Based on a story which apparently has some truth underneath the glittery crust, this French epic takes place in 18th century France during the reign of Louis XV. The King is distressed by the presence of a beast freely killing the peasants of southern France and sends our hero and his mate (Samuel Le Bihan and Mark Dacascos) to engage the evil truth of the sect of the Brotherhood of the Wolf. One of the oddly important perpetrators of Evil is the always gorgeous Monica Belluci and her counterpart of Good is played by Emilie Duquenne. In the battle to free France (and its strange "Da Vinci Code" type references to the Pope and the Catholic Church) from the Beastie and the Brotherhood, Le Bihan and especially Dacascos are given ample screen time to demonstrate their balletic skills as a martial arts practitioners.

The sets and costumes and cinematography and special effects are quite impressive, as is the fine cast and the pacing of Director Christophe Gans. For those who enjoy fantasy and action mixed with their history, this is a good way to spend an evening, there is nothing too deep to detract from the fact that this is a movie meant to entertain, and in this reviewer's eyes, it succeeds!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This film is rubbish
Review: There are several things wrong with this film. They are as follows: 1) Cheap special effects. 2) Too long. 3) Loose script. 4) Hammy acting. 5) Unrealistic inclusion of martial arts. 6) Soft porn sex scenes. 7) Almost all the main characters. 8) Boring - I don't care what the monster is! I would not recommend this movie. Why did I watch it?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Monster of a Movie
Review: Some watchers will complain of this movie dragging, and honestly, if you're not into long exchanges of dialogue about religion, politics, social problems such as racism, etc. then it will drag for you. Even if you are willing to delve deeper into the movie and aren't looking to just be entertained, there are areas where the film could have been cut shorter and the scripting could have been sharper.

Some will point out plot holes. But this seems pretty pointless when you're dealing with a movie that features a battle against a mythological beast. Some of the complaints don't seem well thought out anyway but for those that hit the nail on the head, the movie is still successful in it's presentation. Sure, a member of the Mohawk tribe using Asian martial arts is out of place, but the point of artistic expression is not to copy life, but to show it in different ways.

Mark Dacascos shines as Mani, that Mohawk character. He speaks little with his voice, but speaks volumes with his spirit and body. The role was developed with Dacascos in mind. Other stand outs include Monica Belluci but the whole cast is outstanding.

I like the "show them a little of the beast at a time" approach to movie making but I feel that a little more of the beast should have been shown. But perhaps it was? Or at least a different beast. The most literal beast would be the creature that is terrorizing the land. But the true beast could be that which lives in mankind, which hates and destroys with much more frequency and bloodlust as the afformentioned creature does.

An artistic action and horror movie that is worth purchasing. Get the special edition. Don't try to analyze whether it's a movie about political intrigue or a horror movie, or an action movie with romantic undercurrents. It's all of those and its own Beast.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poor ending, 99cent CGI efx, movie longer than February
Review: I thought this movie was a bit different from the norm when it came out, but I never went to see it in the theaters, I then waited for DVD but everytime I went to purchase it, it was "sold out". I then went to bid on it on various auction sites and people were buying it for like 20 bucks and up...I thought to myself "damn this movie must be a best kept secret and must be Exellent". I gave up. Someone I know suggested try renting it...I did...it was available.

The movie starts off as truly great, visually compelling, great cinematography, score....then it started to slowly nose dive. I honestly didn't know the movie was French but dubbed in English, I actually thought something was wrong with the DVD player in my computer and kept "pausing" and "stopping" it to make the words hopefully catch up with the movement of the lips...okay got past that. The movie started getting kind of boring when there were no fight scenes, the story line was cool but started to go all over the place with too many add ins to make the story seem better when they already had a wolf and that's all they needed, after 90min into it, all I heard was "Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah," FIGHT "Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,"
Wolf attacks "Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,Blah,". At this point all I was waiting on was the final "showdown" with the Wolf or beast. Then when this did happen and I saw the Wolf....I started laughing...I didn't even realise I was laughing instead of being "on the edge of my seat in awe".
The wolf looked TERRIBLE as far as CGI efx is concerned.
It looked like a "Ball of rubberbands" knotted together or a "ball of Yarn" but instead it was in the shape of a 4 legged animal....this is THE supposed "Wolf" that's been terrorizing people and killing them?!? Hugely disappointed in the CGI...I've seen better efx in student films or in submissions on discreet.com
(3D studio max) I was overall disappointed with the ending too, not what I expected, the movies' best character (the indian) gets killed, and the dude with the blonde wig avenges his death (another movie in itself)
It was alright, but to viewed only 1nce as it is too long to view mulitple times.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Film In Decades
Review: "The 13th Warrior" meets "Sleepy Hollow" in a thriller/period piece/love story/action/drama/horror. An incredible script based on the legend of the beast, with twists, turns, and the best cinematography to ever hit the cinema. The acting is top of the line but the dubbed English voices are lacking, so watching in French is much more worthwhile. The extras are decent but notably the extended opening fight scene. This is the best film I've seen in a theater, out of my 26 years of living. It's goth meets martial arts with great fights, amazing costumes, and a humorous script with plenty of sex and thrills.... My one and only complaint, aside from the English dubbing, is the look of the beast. Jim Henson's fx group did the work and the CGI isn't so hot in a few scenes. The look of the beast, without giving anything away, is odd at first and barely believable but grows on you and also looks better throughout its scenes and is also explained in the end, which allows forgiveness for some of it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What are you guys thinking
Review: I really did not like this movie. It was slow pace, didnt really have much of a plot, and really seemed like it didn't had much of climax. I wouldnt recommend buying it, unless you've seen it and liked it. I wouldn't even recommend renting it... it's not worth it. If you really wanna see it borrow it from someone who does own it. Otherwise, you can do better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best French things ever!
Review: "The Brotherhood of the Wolf" ranks as one of the great contributions France has made to the artistic world, right up there with Gothic architecture, Impressionist artwork, and ... uh, a few other things.

It takes a bold, unusual step, mixing just about every genre of movie together. It's part Western, part kung fu movie, part horror, part mystery, part erotic thriller, part romance, part costume drama, with a dash of comedy. Add it all together, and you don't get a mess, you get a masterpiece!

Loosely based on a true story, Samuel le Bihan plays Fronzac, the royal naturalist/ taxidermist/ gardener/ provincial military officer, who's been ordered to capture/ kill a mysterious beast who's been preying on the local countryside. While Fronzac isn't busy hunting or whoring with the young marquis and his Mohawk blood brother, he's got his eye on a young noblewoman. And yet, the beast continues to maim and kill.

Beautiful scenery and costumes, mixed with a strong acting, dymanic camera work, and a forbidding air enthrall the audience, compensating for the rather slow beginning plot.

The only disappoint lies within the beast itself. While I do complain of the overuse of CGI characters, more technology could have produced a better monster. It didn't have to look like something out of a Dr. Who episode.

So, grab your musket and three-cornered hats. It's time to hunt some Wolves!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A decent action/fantasy film
Review: Let me start by saying that The Brotherhood Of the Wolf owes a lot to both The Matrix and Crouching Tiger - and I also thought the gore was excessive.

However...

I really liked this The Brotherhood Of the Wolf. It's hard to believe that the filmmakers could take a French language period film with costumes and wigs, add some martial arts and a huge mystical beast, and come up with a cohesive story. But damned if they didn't do a great job.

Yes, the martial arts in this film are too advanced given the time period. But who cares? It's a blast to watch. I said that The Brotherhood Of the Wolf owes something to Crouching Tiger because at its heart it's more poetic and mature than an Arnold Schwartzenegger movie.

I've criticized other films for blatantly ripping off The Matrix-style fight scenes. I guess I let it slide here because The Brotherhood Of the Wolf was well done.

The acting is very good. The costumes are great. The set locations are beautiful. I expected a schlocky horror film and I got an interesting, adult action fantasy. My largest quibble was the gore. I thought The Brotherhood Of the Wolf was mature enough to trim some of the gore because it was classier than your average horror/adventure film.

Animal lovers will cringe at certain scenes in The Brotherhood Of the Wolf. Men in this film are often evil and many of the characters have no respect or love for animals.

Still, I though this was a fun, beautiful movie and I recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bashful's DVD Summary #009
Review: Best:

1) The numerous man-to-man fight scenes (which often shifted from martial arts to fist-fighting to weapons usage) were as brutal and realistic as anything you're likely to see.
2) The 2 lead good guys (an intellectual and a fighter) share a very unique and interesting relationship.
3) The deleted scenes (especially the extended beginning fight scene) are worth watching over and over.

Worst:

1) The movie is almost all "Brotherhood" and very little "Wolf". If you're led to believe that it's a horror movie, you might be very disappointed.
2) Since it's a French movie, you'll have to accept the actor's lips not moving in sync with the spoken words (assuming you don't speak French) or watch it with subtitles.
3) The exact plot of the movie is extremely hard to understand.
4) The special features are limited to deleted scenes and the director taking about them beforehand.

Recommendation:

If you're looking for a horror or werewolf movie, you definitely will NOT want this one. If you're looking for a fight movie, where lots of people get killed and injured, then this one delivers big time. If you're looking for a mystery movie, where a 1700's detective follows clues to solve a crime, then it also delivers fairly well. Overall, I like it more with each viewing and highly recommend it.


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