Terry Gilliam is a fantastic director, and he proves his ability in this film, which shows the purity of youth and the necessity to love and to be loved. With returning cast members of his later film Brazil (people such as Ian Holm and fellow Monty Python alumni Michael Palin), Time Bandits is a very well made movie that rocketed the movie-making of Gilliam into full effect.
Kevin, an 11 year old boy who is ignored by his parents who are always trying to keep up with their neighbors’ technology, is a bored history buff who is looking for a friend. One night, Kevin wakes to find that a knight has burst through his wardrobe and then rides off into the forest that is his wall. Another night, six dwarves fall out of his wardrobe and they begin to push his wall down the hallway. They are chased by the Supreme Being and fall into blackness. The time travel begins as the dwarves and Kevin visit Napoleon Bonaparte, Robin Hood, and Agamemnon, who treats Kevin like a son. With a recurring evil figure simply known as Evil, Kevin and the dwarves must stop all of the bad happenings and help out the Supreme Being.
Best Aspects: Great writing, acting and directing and a good ending.
Bottom Line: A. Good film. I feel that Brazil is better, but this is still a wonderful film.
Right, Brazil is a better film, but Time Bandits has more universal appeal. Its hard for most people to “get” Gilliam’s movies, but I feel like Time Bandits and 12 Monkeys are the ones that most people do “get”.
Well, to me, Twelve Monkeys is his best film just because it includes the remnant of every good Gilliam movie: a crazy ending. The film was really well done, and I think that it is a classic in modern film. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas was probably my second favorite film by him because it was just awesome (I saw it under the influence of certain… herbs…), and I was amazed at how striking the movie was. Gilliam is just a great director, and I look forward to his future films. If you want to see some of his great more recent films, Tideland and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus are both fantastic.