SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Mary Poppins The only complaint I have is that having some knowledge of Arab cultures, and also having children, and watching the Shrek movies, Antonio Banderas is not my idea of an Arab at all, least of all a sultan or emir. Throughout his scenes, well acted surely, I kept visualizing the cartoon cat character from said children's shows. I do not watch movies with him in it generally, so this was a minor distraction, often humorous, when it did not befit the movie itself.However the rest of the movie was wonderful. I am giving it a 9/10 stars, minus one for casting Banderas, who is far too apologetic to play a major Arab leader. I was disappointed highly with his performance, but everyone else was well cast and played. The one brother, Saleh, surprised the plot a little, and it was difficult to tell who was the Ibn Idris character and who was the brother Tariq. I spent most of the movie thinking Ibn Idris was the brother, so now I will need to review the earlier scenes specifically for those purposes.I appreciated the rich religious and cultural references and this would serve as a minor introduction to Arab culture, although I agree with another reviewer who cited it as fiction. Honor can always be enhanced thru fictional heroics. For example, the bedouin Bani Zamiri woman who he freed, he could easily have done a marriage with her, at any point. I really liked the emphasis this movie plays on religious conservatism, and how well it is paired with progressive thought. This breaks away from 'stereotyping' Arab actors, very well. They have representation of diverse Muslim-Arabs (I really enjoyed the inclusion of "African" and "Asian" actors), and it's overall a stunning, impressive story. I would gladly watch this if it went on longer. It is well worth watching if you have any interest in the topics of Islam, Arab culture, and perhaps even warfare. It's really not that bad when it comes to the fight scenes. I see much worse in Hollywood movies. It seemed a bit strange that the female lead was so beautiful compared to the other characters, and I found her to be a bit boring and cliché, poor acting that seemed out of character; ie. 'submissive' at wrong times to husband and then nonsubmissive to the father at all times. Some things that were not very clear included the costumes, such as why did he, in the end, (Emir Auda) wear his mother's tribal colors? Reviewing the beginning, it is nice to see how Prince Auda develops from a shy child to a wise leader, very much like the opening scene with his father, where his father is cautiously, carefully listening to Antonio Banderas' character. Speaking of which, it irks me how nearly everyone else is a 'proud' Arab character, but Banderas seems to skulk, and plays a bit of resentful sod, not an Arab. The rest of the actors are much better.

alan-51-111974 Antonio Banderas playing an Arab? This has to be a mistake.The main thing this movie does is to confuse you as to what era you're in, it starts off cheesy Hollywood, then moves into Lawrence of Arabia, then Dune, then confounds most of the rules of Hollywood cinema and creates something different.It drew me in, I couldn't help it, I literally sat on the edge of my seat (literally means I actually did it).It's a pseudo-history romp through the desert, it's a coming of age story and there's a bit of romance.It's more true to how history generally unfolds than most movies and I feel it's more true to how people really feel and act.I thought I knew what would happen at some points but I was time and again proved wrong.It's a strange cocktail of genius, I loved it, so I'm not going to review it technically, there's no point.

katherinewil A beautiful existential film that is unlike most modern spoon-fed reality TV motion pictures, the film addresses core cultural differences in "what is of value"; which goes right to the heart of the World's problems. Yes, the dialog of the main love-interest of the Protagonist comes off in cliché's; but the other woman does not, so I don't think it's the writer. The rest of the dialog is amazing, and over-all the screenplay keeps a Falcon-eyed view of various belief systems at play, portrayed brilliantly by each character, but without judging. I, for one, find this more important than the 'reality' of the airplane or the accents. Story has recently been sacrificed to the god of reality and accuracy, and as the great film critic Pauline Kael said: 'Good Movies are rarely perfect movies." This film had mythological elements to it, and spiritual. I am so happy to have found it among the overwhelming amount of horror, violence, and stupid films lining the shelves of Hollywood.

Movie Critic The script is like a bad Disney production with cartoon largely inaccurate versions of Arabic Muslim culture and the history it is supposed to represent (history of arabian peninsula during 20s and 30s).It is a formula imbecilic action/war movie basically a paint by numbers picture designed to beguile stupid audiences.At 55 million what a waste of money.... I hope they actually didn't kill any camels or other animals to make this trash.Some of the actors aren't bad but the SCRIPT! However what is with the accents? I thought it was dubbed for the first 15 minutes--still not positive it wasn't!I went to school with Tarak Ben Ammar the producer in Tunis. He would know better about the script's authenticity....it is simply some cynical attempt to make money. I didn't find the production values that good frankly it is almost B quality with a few hundred extras and some digital wizardry....I doubt the 55 million some of it must have gone into various pockets.DO NOT RECOMMEND