Review of Time Bandits (1981) by Garrett R — 01 Aug 2010

7.8/10.

I am indeed a great admirer of Terry Gilliam and his limitlessly imaginative works of wonder. Of course, every admirer of the great director should be able to understand that Gilliam?s stories are typically fractured and muddled, but who can truly resist such a visual artist?s works? I?m glad to say that ?Time Bandits? is essentially the same Terry Gilliam that I know and love. The film obviously suffers from what you could expect (the lack of a truly involved plot?.the same old-same old), but benefits from superb visual design and semi-strong performances. All in all, it?s an entertaining package. It?s speedy and simplistic enough to be passable for genuinely solid family entertainment as well as stand alone adult entertainment all the same. It?s as charming as it is well made, so most movie enthusiasts will enjoy the hell out of it. It?s ingenious in its own way, although not quite a masterpiece. And as for the children, the film will either fascinate them or have them soiling their pants out of fear. Maybe it?ll do both. Nevertheless, show it to your children. It?ll teach them a damn good deal about what a good film is at a relatively young age. It?s mostly appropriate and is fun enough to be watchable. So do them a favor and treat them to it. Everyone?s essentially guaranteed to have a ball full of endless visual spectacle and limitless imagination. So take the damn ticket already. It?s the only way to enter Gilliam?s classical visual wonderland. And for once, it?s fun for the whole family! Convenient!

Nearly all of Gilliam?s visual escapes to the unimaginably imaginative come at the expense of true story-telling. Nevertheless, I don?t consider Gilliam to be a bad story-teller all and all. In ways, he can still make his films tell a story through the psychologically demented style of his creative visuals. Plus, his premises are typically intriguing, and he executes them very well. It?s just anything in between that he struggles with. Otherwise, his films might as well be darkly beautiful in their own way. ?Time Bandits? is the story of a young boy named Kevin who escapes his boring reality into a imaginative and exciting world of adventure. He is accompanied by a family/group of dwarves who come from the land which his imagination creates. These dwarves are thieves, but also adventurers. They steal through time travel, which always serves them well. It?s just that the dwarves stole the map which grants them time travel from the ?supreme being?, who might as well represent some type of god. This of course, is a small complication. But alas, that?s the least of their worries. A rather villainous figure that goes by the name of Evil is after the map and will kill all who stand in his path. He wishes to lull the gang into his lair in order to obtain the thing he desires. So the plot essentially involves Kevin and his dwarf friends teleporting from place to place and discovering many things along the way. In the end, it?s a typical ?good vs. evil? type of story, with plenty of charm and simplicity thrown in so that your children will remain engaged. However, it still remains genuinely intelligent throughout. While not an intellectually demented trip through the darker realms of Terry Gilliam?s mind, the film is still very good. It is very, very entertaining throughout and features a likable cast of characters. Gilliam doesn?t quite capture the essence of a children?s imagination perfectly, but his vision is classic and nevertheless another example of his potential talent.

Oh, my. What a crew. I?m not completely enthusiastic about the cast, but it?s not half bad. Craig Warnock portrays the young and adventurous Kevin. It?s nothing special, but the youngster is somewhat obedient, although not incredible. The dwarves are portrayed respectively by David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, Jack Purvis, and Tiny Ross. Each of these dwarves is obviously a dwarf in reality, and they are assembled nicely. Plus, as I?ve said before, dwarves are genuinely awesome instantly. No doubt about that, my friends. There?s also quite a bit of nice cameos which include Michael Palin, Ian Holm, Shelley Duvall, and John Cleese. Not to mention plenty of cameos from the delightful Jim Broadbent. Ingenious! While I don?t find any of these performances to be particularly memorable, they are still delightful and charming enough to help this imaginative fairy tale of a film stay afloat.

I always await Gilliam?s next visual world. He can take us to a universe that no other director currently living can. He?s on of a kind, and for more than one reason. Many know him as the muddled story-teller as well as the unique visual artist, which I think should be his ONLY name. He has none the less impressed me yet again in ?Time Bandits?. I think what makes it a worthwhile film is indeed Gilliam?s design alone. It?s still as captivating and memorable as ever. He ultimately benefits from very strong costume design rather than CGI and flamboyant weirdness. To be honest, this is the least weird of Gilliam?s films, and I don?t have a problem with that. I don?t really care, as long as his film can still be genuinely good. So all and all, the production and costume design are note perfect, although they are the only completely perfect things about the film. I can?t say that?s a surprise, though. It happens nearly every time with Gilliam. The music in the film was solid, and completed the circle of art that this film becomes in time. Believe me, the visuals just keep getting more interesting as the film progresses, so at least there?s some general evolution going on in the film (even if it?s not necessarily the plot). Did I also mention that the plot is surprisingly very straightforward, if you think about it? Interesting, isn?t it.

Terry Gilliam strikes gold yet again. ?Time Bandits? is yet another unique and visually stunning effort from the director. He has once again proven himself worthy of my undivided attention. Seriously, he?s the best demented visual artist around, even if ?Time Bandits? remains family friendly and less weird than some of his films such as ?Brazil?. At least this will prepare your children for more of Gilliam?s more ?mature? (still silly) wonders. It will probably fascinate them all the same. Even if they utter a scream. You know they?re enjoying it anyways. And you?ll probably be looking at the film with an open mind and a sense of genuine wonder. At least I?d hope you?d be doing that. Anyways, I think that?s quite enough for now, my friends.