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DARKEST KNIGHT 2
The first question with any sequel is, did I miss anything by not seeing the first one? I tracked down a copy of the first one, DARKEST KNIGHT and told myself that if there were any unanswered questions I would just pick up the first disc. Then I discovered that it's just a television series that's been converted to a pair of feature films. This was self evident with the opening credits that played like I was watching HERCULES or XENA. In fact, that's exactly what this series is trying to be. Replacing a demi-god and a hottie for a legendary figure of epic fiction. Ivanhoe. Of course the odd parts of the film is that Ivanhoe acts a lot like Robin Hood and dresses like a Templar knight from time to time. That last bit is unforgivable because in the novel Ivanhoe, the main baddie is a Templar knight. And, of course the dragon on the cover makes us hope for some kind of appearance by the mythical beast. No chance I'm afraid.
Produced by Joseph D'Morais
Directed Mark Ezra and Terry Marcel
Written by Ben Aaronovitch, Mark Ezra, Phil O'Shea, and Ashley SidawayIvanhoe - Ben Pullen
Rebecca - Charlotte Comer
Odo - Peter O'Farrell
Prince John - Cameron Rhodes
Falco - Todd Rippon
Mordour - Jeffrey Thomas
The basic plot concerns the evil Mordour (Glad to see the writers had caught up on their Tolkien before putting pen to paper) who is able to travel from mirror to mirror, enabling him to murder Prince John's enemies in their sleep. Of course it is up to Ivanhoe with his woman Rebecca and their comedic sidekick, Odo, to stop the machinations of the dastardly duo. And let me take just a moment to state that while I am fond of good looking red heads in cinema, I am not fond of women who have what may be the worst dye job on the face of the planet. Red heads are actually more of a copper color with a few highlights. Rebecca actually has RED hair. Blecch!
So, if you're a big fan of the aforementioned series' like HERCULES and XENA, then this may be your cup of tea. The producers were smart enough to keep close to the basic formula that made those series' popular. Unfortunately, they resorted to special effects that make it look like an episode of POWER RANGERS. For those of you looking for good sword and sorcery, I hear that they're releasing all of Arnold Schwarzenegger's old movies. Go buy CONAN. You'll thank me for this later.
Bio Info for Douglas Waltz
In the spare time afforded him between a full time job for the local phone company, Douglas is happily married with five, that's right five, children. He is a staff writer for the Print magazine Cult Cuts and does work for the webzine (www.cultcuts.net). He also publishes his own small press zine called X-Ploitation. In addition to that he's working on an annual publication of short stories from various writers called On The Night Highways. And if that wasn't enough he's about to shoot his first short film, Phone Sex, sometime this summer.