Review of The Princess Bride (1987) by Janne K — 27 Jan 2013

I wanted to watch this film due to the cult status it seems to hav achieved as an incredibly entertaining film that simulanously mocks and deconstructs the genre. However for me I felt it didn't quite hit the mark as often as others seem to believe it does.

There are, of course, plenty of hilarious moments of wit and satire and the framing device of the grandfather and young boy works really well as a comment on the power and function of storytelling. Yet at other moments it just seems to succumb to the cheesy nature of the genre: maybe that's the point, I don't know, but that left it feeling a bit flat at times and left me feeling a bit unsure.

That being said it was still entertaining with some great action scenes. The acting was amazing from Cary Elwes and many of the supporting cast, although I personally found Robin Wright less than engaging.

There just seemed to be something missing at times and my level of enjoyment was not consistant throughout although I also get the feeling that rewatching will reveal more rewards on the satirical front, which might be why it has such cult appeal.