Well, it wasn't a *complete* waste of time & money. Not like, say, Braveheart.
Our hero (Vercingetorix, pronounced variously Ver-sin-GET-orix and Ver-sing-ga-tor-eex) sees his father killed when he expresses the need for a king of the Gauls. Time passes, the little boy grows up to be Christopher Lambert with bad hair and a scraggly mustache.
There were some nice authentic celtic touches, and a whole lot of Hollywoodisms. In a rather surprising turn, the re were NO BRITISH ACTORS in the main roles. C. Lambert (French) plays the Big V., Klaus Maria Brandauer plays GJ Caeser with a german accent, and Max von Sydow is the head druid, Gettafix. (Sorry, but with all this -ix names I just substituted an Asterix name if I missed the name given in the movie).
The editing was choppy, dialogue muddy and motivations indiscernable. Battle scenes had the Gauls using the point of their swords and Romans using the edge, though most of the horsemen used their spears like spears and javelins instead of lances (a point in the movie's favor). I assume that a lot of the extras we re-enactors, as there seemed to be a lot of "re-enactor physiques" in the Gaulish and Roman forces. The actors playing the Tuetones (Germans) all had to henna their hair to get the role, it seems.
Glorantha-wise, the movie would be a good example of the infighting that the Argrath might have to face. It also shows why politics are too important to decide by drinking contests and food fights. The Women of one Gaulish city use their _Find Another Way_ affinity to distract the Romans, who are then surprised by the Gauls after what seemed to be half an hour of horn-blowing and "Death to Ceaser" chants.
This movie borrowed heavily from Braveheart in the genral pacing and flow of
events, as well as the events portrayed. At least the main battle (the siege
of Alesia) was done better here than the battle of the Stirling Football
Field was in that Mel Gibson movie. The siege, a case of double-envelopment
(Gauls surrounding Romans besieging Alesia) is one of the strangest in
history, and the general situation was as portrayed in the movie.
Unfortunately, this movie didn't have the budget (or stuntmen) that
Braveherat did, so there is much less in the way of action scenes. A lot of
battle is alluded to by Romans throwing pilum, Romans shooting bows, Gauls
running, Gauls riding at the gallop, etc.
Would I watch this movie again? Well, maybe, if it was free. I certainly don't feel the need to *rent* it again...
Ohm and there is very little to do with druids. They appear at the beginning
(plotting against each other), Gettafix shows up a few times throughout the
movie, and that's about it. I suppose "Druids" sounds better and people can
actually say it, as opposed to Vercingawhosis.
Roderick
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