Today, I review a
movie that I’ve recently seen that both fits my interests alongside my
standards of high-octane, high-caliber blockbusters: The Princess Bride (1987)
Yes, you heard that
right. This is a review of the movie The Princess Bride. Why am I reviewing this? Why should I care? I mean, I am a rock and metal loving otaku
with more of an interest in being awesome and rocking out. So why should I care about romance? Because February’s almost over, and I did a
blog on my top Disney couples 2 weeks ago.
There is no excuse for me not to talk about something romantic.
And boy, this movie is
a romantic one. It’s also an
action-packed one. It’s also a funny
movie. It’s also a guide on how to
master fencing, wrestling, battles of wits, surviving swamps of fire, loaded
with flame geysers, lightning sand, and R.O.U.S. (Rodents of Unusual size),
dealing with those who are mostly dead, and finally “to the pain.” In short, if you watch this movie, either you’ll
develop a crush on Cary Elwes, a desire to be him, or even both. Same with Robin Wright, unless you already
have the same feelings for her thanks to Forrest
Gump.
But if you disagree,
then that’s fine. Good luck on the
comments, as I would guess that you’ll end up dealing with this movie’s
quotable lines being echoed below.
Now for the plot. This story is about the romance between
Buttercup (Robin Wright) and her beloved Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmboy who
goes out to sea for enough fortune for the wedding of the two. Unfortunately, he’s attacked by the Dread
Pirate Roberts and she ends up courted by Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon)
into marriage with him. Then she’s
kidnapped by Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) and his two henchmen Fezzik (Andre the
Giant) and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), in an effort to cause a war between
Florin (the kingdom the movie’s mostly set in) and Guilder. Along the way is a man in black (guess who),
a six-fingered man (Christopher Guest) who murdered Inigo’s father, screeching eels,
the fire swamp, a pit of despair, and Miracle Max (Billy Crystal). If you’re wondering how this correlates with
love, either you’ll need to see the movie to find out or you already did (I
will not have major spoilers if you didn’t, though I will discuss a few lines).
What do I think of all
this? I like it. Everything ultimately fits together, the flow
is great, I do get the sense that each scene was worth putting in the movie
from a story perspective, and the humor is well executed. Each character is distinctive, memorable, and
each have great moments, like…
…any moment involving
the man in black/Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley being a badass, like sword
fighting with Inigo Montoya (who’s put all his effort in his revenge against
the six-fingered man, Count Rugen, right down to knowing what he’ll say when
they finally meet), wrestling Fezzik (why else would you cast Andre the Giant),
and his battle of wits with Vizzini.
Also a great character is Inigo, whose Spanish origins, plight, desires,
skills with the sword, and overall personality all add up to a very
entertaining character, and all these traits are shown in one great line:
What do you think
about that?
All the others are
memorable too, like Vizzini with his personality and how he’s responsible for
how we say “Inconceivable!” when we’re dealing with things we don’t. Then you have Fezzik being the muscle-head
that doesn’t need a lot of words to be fun or engaging. Plus the other characters like the albino, the
priest in the end, and Miracle Max, easily one of the funniest characters in
the movie alongside his wife (Carol Kane at some of her funniest). As for the villains, Humperdinck and Rugen,
they are a good mix of slimy, sinister, and just outright funny, as Chris
Sarandon plays a methodical, sinister prince who never does anything right by
Buttercup and is kind of a wimp when you get down to his plans and personality. And Rugen, while not a standout villain, has
some great moment with Christopher Guest doing well as a slimy, pain-obsessed
count with an abnormality with his right hand.
As for Buttercup, the
titular character, she could arguably be the weakest character in the story,
being more of a MacGuffin than a truly-developed character. Everything seems to be driven by her beauty
rather than her personality, despite some entertaining moments due to it. Plus, she’s also has moments where she comes
off as an idiot and/or the damsel in distress, then there are moments where she
shows some intelligence. What that says
to me is that she’s an inconsistent character in many places, and there are
moments where she feels like a trophy for Westley and Humperdinck than a human
being. Shame, really, because Robin
Wright manages to act well against the awesomeness that is Cary Elwes in
arguably his defining role (so much that this may have convinced him to play
Robin Hood in his spoof of the mythos and that crappy Kevin Costner movie). Finally, she nowhere near as interesting or
funny as the rest of the cast (and arguably her funniest moments are where she
does something that causes an amusing reaction from another character).
But arguably the two
most important character are the Grandfather reading the story and the Grandson
hearing it and getting interested. This
is how the film is framed: as a story being told in a family tradition passed
on generation after generation, and will likely be passed on as the grandson
does get more interested as it goes on, like we do. And it’s sort of a meta-contextual narrative
about telling this, let’s face it, undeniably girly story between a father
figure and a young man, as if the masculine moments and elements like the
fighting, fencing, adventure, and humor helps us get sucked into the more
romantic parts of the story. And Peter
Falk and Fred Savage do a great job on this front, especially when the movie
cuts out of the story and back to them.
But for the story and
how it’s told, the technical elements are great. The camerawork is fluid, easy to follow, and
very crisp. The combination of actual
scenery and sets is also integrated perfectly.
Some of the effects may be noticeably 80s, but others, like what goes on
in the fire swamp, from the flames to the R.O.U.S., the screeching eels and
their design, and even Count Rugen’s right hand are done very well. The matte paintings are gorgeous. The stunt work is excellent, especially when
there are clashes of steel (that sword battle between Inigo and Roberts/Westley
is the stuff of legends and shows their ability to update the swashbuckling
adventure movies of the Golden Age to 80s Hollywood blockbusters and beyond),
and even has some more impressive moments, like with the Cliffs of
Insanity. If there’s a weak point here,
it’s that Mark Knopfler is better as the guitarist for Dire Straits than as a
film composer due to a very dated-sounding score reliant of a synthesized
orchestra that just sounds cheesy unless a guitar is played (and that ending
theme is just lame).
As for why this movie
has the legacy it does and why people ultimately remember it, I’d put my money
on the script. Being tight as hell, the
script, written by the author of the book this movie was based on, manages to
tell the epic story it has and focuses on everything important and give reasons
for character actions. Along with that,
the dialogue this movie has is incredible.
I’m sure that you’re quoting either the notable lines or even some
random line that nobody has brought up yet in your head as you’re reading
this. Some examples include the
aforementioned “Inconceivable,” the Inigo Montoya’s words of revenge, Miracle
Max’s mention of what mostly dead means, the explanation of “to the pain,” or
even this piece of glorious fun:
And there are even
more lines that are great, such as Westley’s “There’s a shortage of perfect
breasts in this world. ‘Twould be a pity
to damage yours.” It’s even better
considering the context of the scene. But
if there’s one line that I feel is the best, it’s “As you wish.” The story’s foundation is built on that
single line. It’s a funny movie, and
even a touching one, because of the script.
So what do I have to
say else about this classic? All I can
add is that this is probably one of the finest, funniest, and most entertaining
movies directed by Rob Reiner (the other being This is Spinal Tap) and a testament to the power of true love. Is it dated?
Sort of. The character of
Buttercup and the music may affect how this movie may play to some people. Is the cast great? Yes.
Is it funny? Of course. Should you see it more often? Why are you reading this? Rewatch The
Princess Bride! It definitely is a
favorite of mine. And I hope to show it
to my own kids.
Final Score: 9/10 (an
enchanting fantasy classic with even more classic dialogue, plus I do like cheese).
So that was my review
of The Princess Bride, and I hope you’re
February was better than mine. If you
have anything to say, feel free to leave a comment. No seriously, I’d like to know your favorite
lines from this movie to see if we can do long sections of quoting this
movie. If you’d also like to share this
with your friends, do so. That is great
for me. Finally, if you think that there’s
a movie that you’d like to know my thoughts on, feel free to tell me. But if your request is for me to keep on
rolling with this blog, do better, and find new heights to take this, may it be
my interests, passions, what I’m like when writing these, or even what my plans
for this are in March…
As you wish.
As for what I’m doing later,
I’ve got a princess to save, a wedding to crash, a prince to humiliate, and so
on.
Until next time, this
is the Rock Otaku. Live Loud, Play Hard,
and remember to not mess with a Sicilian when death is on the line.
All used references
are done under the rules of fair use and are owned by their original
creators.
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