The movie opens with an execution. No sooner have three men been hanged
than the captain of the guard, Marquet, orders soldiers to bring the
next three. Among the three is to be Philip Gaston the Mouse (Matthew
Broderick). But he is not in his cell. He managed to escape through a
tiny hole in the floor. After navigating the sewers and making good his
escape, Mouse beelines away from Aquila. Thinking he is far enough
away to celebrate, he buys a round for the house and declares himself an
escapee from the Dungeons of Aquila. Sadly, he discovers that the
cloaked men at the tavern tables are soldiers of Aquila, Captain Marquet
among them!
Mouse is rescued from his folly by the intervention of Etienne Navarre (Rutger Hauer), the former captain of the guard in Aquila. Navarre takes down a couple of the soldiers then makes his escape on his impressive black horse, Goliath. His hawk even gets in on the act, delaying pursuit. Though grateful of the rescue, Mouse is eager to be on his way but Navarre dragoons him into service. That night, Navarre is missing during a wolf attack but a beautiful woman, Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer) is inexplicably present. She approaches the wolf fearlessly.
It turns out that Navarre is the wolf by night while Isabeau is the hawk by day. They are cursed lovers, doomed to travel together but be forever apart. The curse was laid upon them by the Bishop of Aquila, who was madly in love with Isabeau and could not allow another man to have her. Mouse learns the particulars from a drunken priest named Imperious (Leo McKern) who lives alone in an abandoned castle.
Mouse is the central character of the film. He knows there is magic from the start and wants nothing more than to go his own way, especially once he learns that Navarre plans to return to Aquila and kill the Bishop. He is repeatedly foiled in this and becomes more and more sympathetic to Navarre and Isabeau.
The special effects - if they can even be called special - are disappointing. Whenever Isabeau turns into a hawk, we see a hawk that is obviously bound to a stand that is just off camera while a bright light shines from behind. The transformations of Navarre aren't much better. The music is out of place for the time period of the film. It's very 80s and sounds like a synthesizer.
Navarre is the cool character of the movie. He wears black, is a werewolf of sorts, has a double crossbow, a pair of swords (a long sword and a two-handed sword), a big warhorse, and a hawk. He's got player character written all over him. Mouse is entertaining. He seems like a low level thief who finds himself in an adventure for characters of much higher level, which might explain why he is always trying to run away. Much of his thieving has the subtlety of an elephant.
All in all, a good movie and worth watching.
Mouse is rescued from his folly by the intervention of Etienne Navarre (Rutger Hauer), the former captain of the guard in Aquila. Navarre takes down a couple of the soldiers then makes his escape on his impressive black horse, Goliath. His hawk even gets in on the act, delaying pursuit. Though grateful of the rescue, Mouse is eager to be on his way but Navarre dragoons him into service. That night, Navarre is missing during a wolf attack but a beautiful woman, Isabeau (Michelle Pfeiffer) is inexplicably present. She approaches the wolf fearlessly.
It turns out that Navarre is the wolf by night while Isabeau is the hawk by day. They are cursed lovers, doomed to travel together but be forever apart. The curse was laid upon them by the Bishop of Aquila, who was madly in love with Isabeau and could not allow another man to have her. Mouse learns the particulars from a drunken priest named Imperious (Leo McKern) who lives alone in an abandoned castle.
Mouse is the central character of the film. He knows there is magic from the start and wants nothing more than to go his own way, especially once he learns that Navarre plans to return to Aquila and kill the Bishop. He is repeatedly foiled in this and becomes more and more sympathetic to Navarre and Isabeau.
The special effects - if they can even be called special - are disappointing. Whenever Isabeau turns into a hawk, we see a hawk that is obviously bound to a stand that is just off camera while a bright light shines from behind. The transformations of Navarre aren't much better. The music is out of place for the time period of the film. It's very 80s and sounds like a synthesizer.
Navarre is the cool character of the movie. He wears black, is a werewolf of sorts, has a double crossbow, a pair of swords (a long sword and a two-handed sword), a big warhorse, and a hawk. He's got player character written all over him. Mouse is entertaining. He seems like a low level thief who finds himself in an adventure for characters of much higher level, which might explain why he is always trying to run away. Much of his thieving has the subtlety of an elephant.
All in all, a good movie and worth watching.
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