Skip to main content

A Knight's War -- A Review

High fantasy films are becoming more numerous, thanks to vast improvements in special effect technology over the last twenty years. Aside from the big budget monsters, like The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, more lower budgeted fantasy movies are being released than ever before. A recent release, A Knight's War, is one of the better of the lower budget titles. A Knight's War concerns itself with Bhodie (Jeremy Ninaber), a knight in the service of an ancient prophecy that heralds the arrival of the Chosen One (Kristen Kaster)--a sacred, red-haired woman who will lead the charge to rid the world of all evil. Yet when the Chosen One is captured by a cult that plans to sacrifice her, Bhodie and his brother William (Matthew Ninaber) assault their lair to rescue her.

But viewers' expectations are upended for the first time in this smartly written film when the Chosen One is abruptly killed and physically sent to another mystical realm. Bhodie follows her, hell-bent to protect the Chosen One wherever she goes. A Knight's War has the trappings of high fantasy, but with a twist. Instead of following the comforting and well-trotted Dungeons & Dragons aesthetic, director Matthew Ninaber creates a far more gritty and grimmer backdrop that feels more like the middle ages that's haunted by real, dark magic. The result is an enthralling fantasy tale that's just as gripping as its higher budgeted brothers in the same genre. A Knight's War was shot in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. And the production made great use of that area's wintry locations, which only add to the harsh atmosphere and storyline of the film.

Kristen Kaster is superb as Avalon, the Chosen One. With her single-minded intensity, she comes off as being more of a force of nature, rather than a typical damsel in need of rescuing. And Jeremy Ninaber is sturdy as Bhodie, a knight who actually wears his helmet in the many battle scenes that he has--ignoring the trope where the actor's face must be seen at all times. The fight scenes have a strong drive and force to them, and the magic is portrayed as almost being insurmountable--until the heroes figure out an ingenious way to defeat it. The violence is graphic (this isn't a film for the kiddies) and despite having a few "overly chatty" moments here and there, A Knight's War stays on target with its storyline like a well-aimed arrow.

If you've noticed the actors who play Bhodie and William share the same last name as the director, it's because they're all related. A Knight's War is a family affair, with Ralph Ninaber serving as the production designer, and Jacqueline Ninaber as the production manager. I love finding small, independent films like this that are genuinely entertaining. And I sincerely hope that the hint of a sequel at the end of this film comes true. If nothing else, I'll look forward to the Ninaber family's next project, whatever that turns out to be. --SF

A Knight's Tale is available on physical media, and streaming. I saw it on Amazon Prime.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Explorer From Another World

It’s Friday night during the summer in Beutter county, an idyllic farming community in Indiana, and the good folks are settling in for what should be another humdinger of an evening. Until their plans are shattered by the arrival of an Explorer From Another World! This turns out to be an alien (Gemma Sterling) who starts savagely killing people from the moment it disembarks from its flying saucer. Local kids Eddie (Colin McCorquodale), Marybeth (Sage Marchand) and Culpepper (Nolan Gay) are planning on seeing a movie, but it looks like they’ll be battling for the very survival of the human race instead! Explorer From Another World is a wonderfully done throwback to the B-movies of the 1950s and 1960s. Ably directed by Woody Edwards (who gives himself a small cameo as Hank in the sheriff’s jail cell), the film is forty five minutes long, but manages to tell its torrid but funny story very effectively in the time allotted. And the short running time tracks when you...
Post a Comment
Read more

Presence -- A Review

Presence, the latest film from director Steven Soderbergh ( Sex, Lies and Videotape, Out Of Sight ), is based on his real life experiences with what he believes is a ghost in his own home. Inspired by his spectral roommate, Soderbergh wrote a few pages of a script, which he handed to David Koepp ( Panic Room, Jurassic Park ), who finished it. The film was shot in a house in Crandall, New Jersey, over just eleven days in September 2023 (they received an interim SAG-AFTRA agreement during the strike that year). Soderbergh shot this in the ‘found footage’ style, using only one camera, with himself as the camera operator. The result is that Presence is a haunted house story that is told from the point of view of the ghost. And it’s marvelous. But instead of the typical ’found footage’ movie, which is supposed to be culled together from film or video that is literally found after the fact, we see everything that’s happening in this house through the ‘eye...
Post a Comment
Read more

Batman: The Return of the Caped Crusaders -- a review

Holy animation,, Batman! Batman: The Return of the Caped Crusaders is a loving tribute to the 1960s TV series that manages to feel like the second 1960s-era Batman movie, thanks to the voice-casting of original Batman and Robin stars Adam West and Burt Ward, along with Julie Newmar, who reprises her role as Catwoman. Taking place in the same time period as the series, the film is filled with the social mores of the time, such as having Catwoman demurely step to the side whenever Batman and Robin battle the villainous henchmen (complete with the customary BIFF! BAM! and POW! word balloons the original series always flashed during the fight scenes). Catwoman is a part of a fearsome foursome of rogues that includes the Joker, Penguin and the Riddler as they set out to work together to wreak havoc on Gotham City. The fact that these villains team up, along with their use of a penguin-themed zeppelin later in the film, is a nice nod to the original 1966 Batman movie that was relea...
Post a Comment
Read more