Knights of Bloodsteel

"Knights of Bloodsteel" is a TV production which shines in a comparison to other TV series of the genre, such as "Conan" or "Beastmaster". The limited budget of "Knights of Bloodsteel" lead to less dragons (maybe one per hour) and more character development which is a good thing, unless you prefer movies where something goes BOOM every two minutes.

The 4 knights of Mirabilis need to be pushed to go on their mission, they don't see themselves as heroes and mind their own business rather the community. The Evil One isn't just evil for the fun of it, but he needs the desired magical object of the week, a little glowing red thing, to save his son. Other baddies aren't simply obedient servants - they pursue their own goals instead. To sum it up, the characters seem quite realistic which is rare in the genre.

I loved the scene when Perfidia (an elf) asks Maya (a human) to go down on her knees. Perfidia wants to make her a member of the Mirabilis knights. Maya however thinks it's the arrogant elves again and shouts angrily at her. A complete misunderstanding like it could happen between people who know each other for a short time only, but few fantasy films allow their heroes to make such silly mistakes.

"Knights of Bloodsteel" is a good fantasy film, definitely more than I expected. Try it if the mega-buck blockbusters haven't overpowered your sense of taste yet.