Time Bandits (1981)

• Year: 1981
• Released: 06 Nov 1981
• Country: United Kingdom
• Adwords: 1 win & 8 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081633/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Time_Bandits
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/time-bandits
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
• Runtime: 110 min
• Writer: Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam
• Director: Terry Gilliam
• Cast: Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese
• Keywords: cult film, magic, time travel, satire, treasure,

	6.9/10
	79/100
	90% – Critics
	77% – Audience

Time Bandits Storyline

Intrigued by history but neglected by his parents, Kevin, an eleven-year-old schoolboy, gets the chance to make his dream come true when a band of six time-travelling dwarfs appears out of thin air in his bedroom. Having stolen the Supreme Being’s one-of-a-kind map of time and space, the audacious time-bandits whisk Kevin off on an exciting journey to the depths of history, skipping from one era to another. Now, to further complicate matters, the dangerous arch-rival known as the Evil Genius is hot on their trail, bent on getting his hands on the precious map. But, who would have thought that Kevin’s seemingly unexceptional room was the entrance to a mysterious wormhole and the portal to a marvellous world of adventure?

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Time Bandits Movie Reviews

I wonder if I would’ve liked this more, or less, as a child…

After submerging myself finally into Time Bandits, perhaps too late (or too soon, if I had kids maybe it would’ve been a different experience), I found it reminded me of a live-action version of one of these animated adventures I would watch on TV as a kid, where a child would be brought into a fantastical universe away from his dull, ordinary existence, with strange friends/characters, and then go on adventures. In a couple of small ways its even palatable to the Terry Jones/Jim Henson collaboration Labyrinth. But the difference here is that it is fused with some more mature humor and some darker elements. In a way this is what the college-age fans of Monty Python in the 70’s must have seen as the perfect film to take their kids to see in the 80’s. Terry Gilliam, co-writer/director (co-written with fellow Python Michael Palin), knows how to entertain, and many sequences are terrific. It’s a shame that some of them were not as much, and a little spotty. The sheer zaniness though, and the will for Gilliam to keep throwing visual gags and intense, fun imagery, keeps it never boring.

It’s without a doubt that Time Bandits is in a sense a more ‘mainstream’ (err, accessible) picture than many of Gilliam’s other works, mostly because it tries to reach into the imagination in all people, young and old. Kevin (Craig Warnock, a good straight-character for the audience amid all the ruckus), is in a land of his own imagination, until a group of pillaging dwarfs (played by the likes of David Rappaport and Kenny ‘R2-D2- Baker) traveling through time with a stolen map with gaps through time provided by a crazed ‘supreme being’. They visit Napoleon (Ian Holm, an ingenious role), Robin Hood (John Cleese), and by accident King Agamemnon (Sean Connery, an unexpectedly cool role). But when the Evil Genius (David Warner, one of the funniest performances of the film) knows they have it, he’ll do anything to lure them in to get it from them.

This leads to a climax that in a darker, more scrambled way, reminded me of the climax of Blazing Saddles. There, like in this film, the story almost runs off the tracks, as many parts of history come into play with the forces of good versus evil. It does come to a satisfying conclusion, but in a small way is almost too much. Pauline Kael’s comment that “the film suffers from a surfeit of good ideas” is not without some truth. There are so many jokes, so much imagination, so much creativity, its like a tipping scale that balances back and forth, rarely in the middle, of how affecting it is. For children, therefore, it is a sure bet, because children (for all of the modern corporate grabbing and testing of material) thrive on material like this, where the appearance of a comedian like Michael Palin in two separate, hilarious roles, doesn’t matter as much as the sheer one-of-a-kind nature of everything put together. Some of the film is violent (as when the Evil Genius blows things up randomly), but always like a cartoon; one can sense the animation influence in the style’s bones.

And that is what separates this film from the other films and shows I saw as a child, that there is this need on the part of the filmmaker not to stick to anything really expected, while still in a ‘once upon a time’ framework. Some jokes may not be funny to kids until they get older, but images like the giant trudging slowly through the water, the dwarfs in a peril in the cages, the pageantry of the Greek sequences. It’s all delightful, but also a little overwhelming, and of course a bit much on the first go-around.

An odd little trip, fueled by wit and imagination

Even though the movie is bookended by chaos, and fueled by a sort of demented Terry Gilliam charm (not to mention the dark-but-funny violence) “Time Bandits” is really a kid’s movie. And that’s what I love about it: it’s just a young boy stealing away on an adventure from his mundane existence. Add to that the trappings of a magical cosmic map, the gallop through the Napoleonic Wars, Ancient Greece and Medieval England, and a cadre of greedy dwarfs and it’s a lot of fun. Even with that cast of familiar faces, David Warner handily steals the movie as Evil (like Sark from “TRON”, only having more fun with it). And I love that the Supreme Being turns out to be a cheeky old British guy.

It also ends with some sort of statement about modern technology, but that’s just a last-minute zinger. What this really proves is that there’s fun to be had in cult movies, and Sean Connery is awesome.

7/10

Funny, smart and always engaging fantasy adventure, with a marvellous cast

As a director, Terry Gilliam is a very unpredictable and inventive director, and Time Bandits is no exception. The film may be a tad too long perhaps, but Time Bandits does move briskly and overall is a hugely enjoyable fantasy adventure with a huge amount to like about it. It does have a brilliant concept, and the story is always engaging with a rare dull moment. The sets and costumes are wonderfully imaginative, the cinematography is beautiful and the special effects were surprisingly very good. The script is deliciously witty and smart, and the direction is unpredictable pretty much.

The film is filled with astonishing sequences particularly the climax and likable characters, as well as a fun and wondrous soundtrack. On top of all the things that made Time Bandits work so well, the cast is marvellous, Michael Palin, Craig Warnock, Shelley Duvall and Katherine Helmond are all entertaining and appealing, David Warner was great as the Evil Genius and the Time Bandits are a sheer delight, but the four standouts were John Cleese who was hilarious as Robin Hood, Ian Holm who made for a superb Napolean, Sean Connery who was suitably imposing and charismatic and I loved the eccentricity that Ralph Richardson gave to the Supreme Being.

Overall, hugely enjoyable and in my opinion a must watch for fans of the genre. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox