Knights of the Zodiac

If you are not from Central or Eastern Europe, most probably you won´t be familiar with a name of Tomasz "Tomek" Baginski. He was credited for his brilliant work on the "Legendy polskie" ("The Polish Legends"), a series of short movies bringing the old Slavic mythology into a screen with an extremely modern adaptation. If you are a fan of "The Witcher" series you may remember something like "Oh, yeah, isn´t it a guy who produced the first season?" If you are not, the sentence would rather be "Look, I´ve never read fantasy books and I´ve never played any games. So, where the hell this whole "Witcher" thing comes from?"

There is a purpose in this intro: Baginski has been in the movie industry for more than 20 years but "Knights of the Zodicac" is the first ever feature film which he directed.

Apparently, the idea was similar: it is a known fantasy story, so we bring it to the modern time, trying to make a dynamic and fun movie for all kind of spectators. There was only one problem: this is neither any longer the Slavic mythology, nor an adaptation of a fantasy book which plot is based on Europe´s "Dark Ages". It is a story from a completely different culture with completely different traditions and a very different vision on the things. And, for what it worth, you would make it with their money and under Sony, one of their most conservative studios. If Tomek thought they will allow him to do a sort of "The Japanese Legends", I´m afraid he was very mistaken.

We have to greet Sony as well: every time when it looks like they really cannot go lower, they make a new attempt which amazes even the most skeptical. This time they simply have not selected a right person for a right task. And, by the way, I´m not even mentioning this part or the script where "a good man helps an evil woman with kidnapping and killing children". If Sony thinks this will be welcome by parents who will watch "Knights" with their children, they are probably very mistaken.

As for Tomek, I only wish he chooses a right project next time, something where he really can contribute. If you want my opinion, it would be "Twardowski 3.14" and the expansion of the universe based on the Slavic mythology. I´d say the world would welcome these ones much more than yet another re-boot of some old glory which resulted in a questionable script, questionable characters and very questionable future for all involved personnel.

If this movie was an original creation, i would understand why at moments it would look like one of those 'youtube fan movies'.

But, the source material is right there, - is rich, is vast, is deep, it has heart - and to come up with another B movie, is really sad.

Take the anime tv show from the 80s, you don't have to go to the manga, just the first episode has more soul than this. Take episodes 1-7 right until Phoenix steals the gold armor, and you have your first movie, with great stories, good character development with background depth, several heroes with rich, diverse origins, strong roots and clear purpose within the story.

It's a shame to have good and talented actors like Sean Bean, Famke Janssen and Mark Dacascos, limited by a poorly adapted and a lazy executed project.

This movie fails to send me back to the anime, and I know it was supposed to be based on the newest properties that are coming out targeting the new generations, but I think it swings and misses at all target groups.

I guess Seiya works well and he kind of has a good chemistry with Saori. His training with Marin is done well and the first fights that don't have the armor are nicely choreographed but everything else is terrible.

I couldn't care more about Famke's character, her motivations are so shallow together with Ikki, who is there mainly so there's a final fight. We have Mitsumasa who isn't Mitsumasa. The VFX looks straight from a 2012 PS3 game. There are so many futuristic ships I didn't know if the movie was supposed to be an alternative world or 20 years in the future.

But the main thing for me is that the movie didn't feel like Saint Seiya, it was like someone who saw the anime 30 years ago tried to explain it to a Hollywood producer who didn't bother to watch the original content and stick to the description given to him. In the end it didn't have the sense of humanity against gods and the sense that even when Seiya lost all his senses he would never give up.

A Saint Seiya fan since 1991, I knew going in that this movie would differ from the source material. The trailers were clear enough. A faithful adaptation, I did not expect. But maybe there was a decent film in there, with some elements of the original manga/anime. While not a trainwreck, a good movie this is not.

So how much does it stray? Well, there *are* some callbacks to the original IP. A few notes in the musical score, taken straight from the anime soundtrack. Some visuals that made my heart skip a beat, including the very first, somewhat misleading scene. They are all too few, though. This is not the Saint Seiya we grew up with.

The armors are way too different - and not particularly appealing. The fighting scenes, heavy in martial arts, guns, and military vehicles, are not what the original series was all about. Hard to tap into nostalgia when you turn your back on 90% of what people liked in the first place. But again, the main trouble lies in the story.

It's bland. The characters are poorly written. Their arcs, poorly developed. Key scenes late in the movie are laughable, including some that were supposed to be poignant. It's not altogether surprising: rather than adapt the 80's masterpiece, this movie is based on the more recent Netflix adaptation, which flopped commercially and critically.

The film's about a young man struggling to accept his destiny as a knight while spouting that nobody's fate is predetermined and the reincarnated goddess he's supposed to protect, a spunky young girl who lived in fear of being unable to control her immense power, in a rehash of the (also poorly adapted) Dark Phoenix saga from the X-Men.

It feels all-too familiar, especially with Famke Janssen (Jean Grey in the X-Men movies) overlooking the action as the movie's antagonist. There's also Sean Bean (LOTR, GOT, etc.) and Marc Dacascos (Crying Freeman, John Wick 3) in there, but everyone's acting is flat throughout. Hard to shine with the run of the mill story and dialogue.

As for newer faces, Mackenyu looks the part, but there's something lacking. You feel he may have done a better job with more decent lines. Madison Iseman as Sienna showed some charisma, but she too fell victim to the plot holes and inconsistent behavior that plague her and all the other characters.

Could the sequel, with the expected introduction of some key characters, come closer to evoking the thrills the original story did? Perhaps, but I doubt they'll get the chance to do so after botching the launch of what was expected to be a multi-picture saga. Then again, I'm not confident this creative team could have done a good job at it.

No, this is not Dragonball Evolution. The glimpses - teases, really - we get of the original Saint Seiya hint at what could have been a great film. The action scenes are well-choreographed and the main two characters, sympathetic enough. It's all 100% watchable, but nobody's recommending it to anyone, and it will be forgotten soon.

It's a shame. You had some great source material. You could have gotten an awesome movie out of it. Why the lack of faith in it? I came away disappointed and suspect many others will, as well. You want to like or at least enjoy it, but you just end up frustrated at the missed opportunity.

(+) A select few callbacks to the original manga and anime, particularly at the very beginning, in the training scenes, and for a few seconds in the movie's climax. Some actions scenes are decent, albeit heavy in martial arts.

(-) Spotty plot. Lousy third act. Bland characters and storylines taken straight from Netflix's poorly received adaptation. Movie really strays from the source material to tell a rather unoriginal story - and tell it poorly, to boot.

I am not part of the target audience for this movie. Keep that in mind.

If someone made a movie about the ancient Greek Gods for the 21st Century, and used Asian martial arts action cinematic techniques, then this would be the movie they made. And they did.

The soundtrack is loud and obnoxious. All of the dialogue is ego-oriented; i.e. "Listen to how clever I am." And the fights scenes are out of late night Kung Fu fare from the 1980s.

For all that, it's technically a competent film like all big budget films, but it's agenda is about letting female energy reign in spite of a lot of hijinks by the males, ironically led by a female character., and it's a female instructor that teaches the main protagonist how to fight.

So ... it's pretty cliche and predictable, but is it a bad movie? Eh, I'm not really partial to it, I could see all the plot points and story oriented character moments coming a mile away, including the whole "date outside your social circle" motif, and the feminine angle regarding the responsibility of wielding power and who should and why.

It's a film made for teens and so-called "geek culture". I gave it a chance, and all I can say is that I liked it better than the first Guardians of the Galaxy, but again this is a movie made for the teen comic-book crowd, and not for an older individual like me.

Loud, over the top, predictable, lots of ego oriented moments, if you're looking for some updated martial-arts action with god like powers thrown in, then look no further than this movie. But don't expect high art.