Time Bandits (1981) Reviews

• It's a wavelength thing

  655352000-04-03

  It IS a wavelength thing. Terry Gilliam's films are ALL Terry Gilliam films. They all have that certain something, some kind of feeling about them that makes them instantly recognizable. The same can be said of the Coen brothers. Unfortunately, movies that are that personal and unique do not work for everybody. For the people that just can't get into Gilliam films, I hope there's another filmmaker that inspires childlike wonderment in you. Because it's a great feeling. Time Bandits is magic. I've seen it many times (over 10) and each time, I find something new about it. It's a fine example of a movie that works for children and adults alike. When I saw it for the first time at age 8, I enjoyed the fantasy, adventure, and basic good vs. evil story. As I got older I started appreciating the social commentary on consumerism, the Python-esque humor, and just how imaginative and skillfully done the movie is. After watching it again yesterday, I'm having trouble deciding which is the better movie; Brazil or Time Bandits.

• Masterful fantasy, in the purest form

  constructionbob2000-07-27

  Finding Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits" in the bargain bin at the local movie store was too good a deal for me to pass up, and I'm so glad I didn't! This movie is probably one of the greatest modern-day fantasies I've seen, due primarily to the amazing vision of Gilliam. I was disappointed with it on my first viewing years ago, expecting a rehash of Monty Python material, but yesterday watching it I just couldn't stop grinning. This movie knows its sources, and sends them up right. For starters, I love how Gilliam handled the boy 'hero' in "Bandits". He's not anyone spectacular, aside from an active imagination (over and above his banal parents), and he really doesn't contribute much to the story-it simply passes him by. Most of the other characters don't like him that much even. (the "stinking Kevin" line just makes me howl!) He's also not that cute, which is a rarity with child actors and which sinks most films with them. Plus, the danger of the story doesn't stop at him, as shown by the rather sobering finale. No 'It's all a dream' type cop-out here. Having studied the form of the fantasy as explained by Tolkien myself, Gilliam obviously understands how it works. Of course, because it works, "Time Bandits" is just plain fun. The plot's out of nowhere-just kind of trips along through time and space and stranger things. Napoleon as a height-obsessed drunkard? Robin Hood as the aloof, unlikely leader of a band of violent, too-merry men? Agamemnon as the ideal father figure? It's all here, plus the technocratic, pyromaniac "Evil" vs. the Supreme Being. Ah, you always knew He was an staid Englishman in a pinstripe suit, didn't you? ("Dead? No excuse for laying off work.") Perhaps it's not Gilliam's masterpiece, as "Brazil" could be argued for that...though one could also argue "Time Bandits" gives a bleaker perspective through the contrast of the fun and whimsy. If our reality is depressing now, and Kevin's was, is the fulfillment of our fantasies any better? Perhaps Randall said it best himself - "Heroes, bah! What do they know about an honest day's work?" :-)

• God's "employees" off for a bit of white collar crime.

  JerryP-21999-06-28

  A terrific little fantasy that, not surprisingly, has flavors of Monty Python. My children and I first saw it in the early '80s on a night ferry from Harwich to Zeebrugge. I've seen it a few times since, and marvel at the creativity that went into the film. God's "employees" trying to use a map of the universe to track down treasure is the theme; running around through time trying to find the treasure is the game. The cameos by Cleese, Connery and the rest are some amusing highlights, but the Time Bandits themselves really make the story. The climactic scenes with the Evil Genius made me think more than a little of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. I think it is a well done bit of fantasy for older children and adults; it helps to know a bit of history going into it. I wouldn't let my six-year old granddaughter see it -- at least not yet -- but she and her sister probably will love the adventure in a few years.

• History By Way of Gilliam

  BaronBl00d2000-02-11

  For my money, Terry Gilliam is one of the more innovative, creative, and fantastical directors of the last two decades. His films easily bear his stamp of absurdist humour, witty dialogue, sheer fantasy, dream-like sequences, and always a generous dose of black comedy. Time Bandits is certainly no exception, but rather a stepping stone for greater works such as The Fisher King and the wonderful Brazil. The film tells the story of a group of dwarf-like "crooks" who leave their jobs with God(the Supreme Being) for a life of crime via a map they have "stolen" from their job place. This map holds all the secrets to time holes in the fabric of creation. Thus the bearers of the map can go forward and back in time as they please. They use the map to steal, at which they have little skill, and become rich, at which they miserably fail. Gilliam transports them and us through time to meet such interesting notables as Robin Hood, Napoleon, Agammenon, and the Evil Genius(devil-like entity). The film is grand in its scope and still wanting, for it is tackling a story of epic proportions. Still, Gilliam delivers a pretty good film both visually stunning in certain sequences and brimming with philosophical questions such as the necessity of evil and the election of choice in life. The film is also very funny in many parts, due in large part to a great cast. The protagonists are all quite good. John Cleese plays as likable a Robin Hood to be seen with his almost overly polite manner. The best performances go to Ian Holm, playing a drunken Napoleon obsessed with his size, David Warner, playing the malevolent Evil Genius with relish, and lastly to Sir Ralph Richardson, playing the Supreme Being like a bureaucrat concerned with balancing payroll and the like. Gilliam explores the bureaucratic mentality with even more scope in his Brazil. All in all, Time Bandits is a fun and entertaining picture.

• A wonderful work of imagination.

  barnabyrudge2003-10-19

  How's this for a zany plot? A bunch of mischievious dwarves steal a map from the Supreme Being which shows them how to find holes that lead to various historical periods. One such hole brings them out in a small boy's bedroom. The boy joins them, and together they visit diverse lands such as Napoleonic France; Sherwood Forest during the days of Robin Hood; the Titanic; the Middle East during the reign of Agamemnon; etc. Oh yes, and all the time they are being pursued by the Devil (referred to here as "Evil"), who would dearly love to steal the map for himself. Time Bandits is an outlandish, often hilarious, always engaging fantasy story with a magical cast. It wins over the audience by offering them a refreshingly unique story, and littering it with memorable episodes which vary in tone from hilarious to frightening, from historical to mythological. Lots of energetic performances add to the fun, with Ian Holm doing a superb Napoleon, Sean Connery an imposing Agamemnon, and Ralph Richardson a delightfully eccentric Supreme Being. The film's peculiar ending used to upset me as a youngster, but now I appreciate its ingenuity and it evokes in me memories of a famous Philip Larkin poem which begins with the infamous line: "They f*** you up your mum and dad, they may not mean to but they do.......". Time Bandits is a triumph of imagination. It isn't quite flawless, due to a bland performance by Craig Warnock as the boy and a somewhat dismal episode featuring an angry ogre, but flaws aside it is certainly one of those films with which it is always a pleasure to while away a couple of hours.