To quote Zooey Deschanel of course ;) This film is in some ways amazing and in others utterly childish. Some of the film shots and backdrop scenes are reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, showing surprising production quality, with all the filming in Ireland it had a magical feel to it beyond the ad libbed toilet language spewed by the actors.
Meanwhile, the casting is deplorable and rough, and the decision to ad lib most lines turned it into a Saturday Night Live sketch.
Danny McBride is no acting tour de force, and his clumsy comedic big screen debut is something of a fizzle here. This would have been a top notch vehicle for Jack Black, for example, easily comparing to and equaling his hilarious performance in Year 1. Instead, we get a McBride 'best buds of the director from film school' last minute stnad in let down. (one wonders if it was Jack Black this film was actually written for and he was the one who turned it down?) He is colossally upstaged (unsurprisingly) by Natalie Portman as the rogue warrior on the revenge trail, and even by the elvish Zooey Deschanel, who plays the damsel in distress to a tee, despite some truly pornographic language she is forced to utter with a straight face.
Overall this is worth the rental if you enjoy comedic takes on sword and sorcery films. This is no Princess Bride but it's easy to see the heavy influence of that film here.
Meanwhile, the casting is deplorable and rough, and the decision to ad lib most lines turned it into a Saturday Night Live sketch.
Danny McBride is no acting tour de force, and his clumsy comedic big screen debut is something of a fizzle here. This would have been a top notch vehicle for Jack Black, for example, easily comparing to and equaling his hilarious performance in Year 1. Instead, we get a McBride 'best buds of the director from film school' last minute stnad in let down. (one wonders if it was Jack Black this film was actually written for and he was the one who turned it down?) He is colossally upstaged (unsurprisingly) by Natalie Portman as the rogue warrior on the revenge trail, and even by the elvish Zooey Deschanel, who plays the damsel in distress to a tee, despite some truly pornographic language she is forced to utter with a straight face.
Overall this is worth the rental if you enjoy comedic takes on sword and sorcery films. This is no Princess Bride but it's easy to see the heavy influence of that film here.