In a nutshell, I really liked this miniseries; Gerry Butler kicks serious ass in every way which I'll get into later, but first I have to tear apart the bits that bugged me or made me die laughing from corniness.
Acting:
Okay, is some of the acting in this movie mind-numbingly cheesy and bad or what??? I almost had to skip right past all the scenes where it's just Aetius and the emperor, even if it meant missing the exposition.
Powers Boothe: his acting improved somewhat when he shared scenes with Gerry - they had a really good on-screen rapport - but otherwise, - nuh-uh! The way he drops the poisoned wine goblet, it's so unnatural and stiff looking, I snert every time I see it!
Simmone Jade McKinnon: I appreciate that doing accents is difficult - but, ADR anyone?
Costumes:
Scenes:
HUN DUDE: "But her sword was the bloodiest..."
ATTILA: "And she's the sexiest piece of a$$ this stinking village has ever seen. Don't you know every other woman in the village is wearing layers of furs and burlap and sh*t? So what's your POINT!!!! Shut UP!!!! Don't you know I'm still a virgin? Geez!"
Okay, now for the good stuff.
Gerard Butler - I like the look - I didn't think I would, as I saw his Dracula audition first with this look and thought it was way out there, but it's perfect for this movie.
I love that he did most/all of his stunts.
As always with Gerry, tons of range of emotions and believable reality to his performance. The guy was obviously born to be an actor - he's such a pro with only his own experience to draw on.
Of course the beefcake shots rock my socks off no end, but I won't bore you with the details, you know 'em already. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the scene of him practising archery on horseback shirtless. Yum.
I also really liked Pauline Lynch. The look she gives him after teasing him about the red-haired woman is so poignant. I feel like her. 'Here's this amazing guy that will never notice me, the crazy toadstool'.
I really liked Steven Berkoff too - nice subtlety to his acting - lots conveyed with just a look or a nod.
It doesn't bother me that this is totally historically inaccurate (except for the costumes) - it's a fun ride. I like all the horseback riding and sword-waving, and I thought they did an excellent job filming the horseback duel between Attila and Bleda. The soundtrack has some nice touches too.
Definitely worth buying the DVD!
Acting:
Okay, is some of the acting in this movie mind-numbingly cheesy and bad or what??? I almost had to skip right past all the scenes where it's just Aetius and the emperor, even if it meant missing the exposition.
Powers Boothe: his acting improved somewhat when he shared scenes with Gerry - they had a really good on-screen rapport - but otherwise, - nuh-uh! The way he drops the poisoned wine goblet, it's so unnatural and stiff looking, I snert every time I see it!
Simmone Jade McKinnon: I appreciate that doing accents is difficult - but, ADR anyone?
Costumes:
- N'Kara's peasant girl outfit when we first see her - every other woman in the village is wearing layers of furs and burlap and sh*t, yet our girl is wearing the swimsuit issue "Hun summer gown", revealing most or all of her thighs and cleavage. And don't get me started on that 80's wave hair with the roots showing.
- how much money did they spend on this? And they couldn't afford real silk velvet for Alice Krige? It's so obviously polyester stretch velvet. Which, um, wasn't invented yet in 400 A.D. (Well, at least they said A.D. and not C.E.).
- Honoria's sexy blue bath outfit - yeah, it's nice, it looks hot, but uhhh, corsets weren't invented yet either!
- That Ismay/Titanic guy's Victorian neckerchief under the Roman robes - what the ...?
Scenes:
- the "N-Kara almost gets killed but Attila spares the hottie" scene - this makes me laugh so hard every time.
HUN DUDE: "But her sword was the bloodiest..."
ATTILA: "And she's the sexiest piece of a$$ this stinking village has ever seen. Don't you know every other woman in the village is wearing layers of furs and burlap and sh*t? So what's your POINT!!!! Shut UP!!!! Don't you know I'm still a virgin? Geez!"
- the "other guy dies drinking the poisoned cup meant for Aetius and Attila" scene - watch this one over a few times. The goofy double take the guy does when he sees Aetius after having just had a sip - cracks me up so badly. This is right before the "Aetius flings the poisoned cup away from him dramatically having just escaped death" moment (see above Powers Boothe).
Okay, now for the good stuff.
Gerard Butler - I like the look - I didn't think I would, as I saw his Dracula audition first with this look and thought it was way out there, but it's perfect for this movie.
I love that he did most/all of his stunts.
As always with Gerry, tons of range of emotions and believable reality to his performance. The guy was obviously born to be an actor - he's such a pro with only his own experience to draw on.
Of course the beefcake shots rock my socks off no end, but I won't bore you with the details, you know 'em already. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the scene of him practising archery on horseback shirtless. Yum.
I also really liked Pauline Lynch. The look she gives him after teasing him about the red-haired woman is so poignant. I feel like her. 'Here's this amazing guy that will never notice me, the crazy toadstool'.
I really liked Steven Berkoff too - nice subtlety to his acting - lots conveyed with just a look or a nod.
It doesn't bother me that this is totally historically inaccurate (except for the costumes) - it's a fun ride. I like all the horseback riding and sword-waving, and I thought they did an excellent job filming the horseback duel between Attila and Bleda. The soundtrack has some nice touches too.
Definitely worth buying the DVD!