There
was a time, not long ago, that we had analog clocks. You had to look at a round surface and do
math based on two pointy things to figure out what time it was. Now, we have digital clocks. You just read the numbers and know what time
it is. It’s much easier. There are those among us that would prefer
not to do away with the analog clocks, though.
(I believe the technical term is Luddite. Here’s your sundial. Now go away.)
Ian
and Barley Lightfoot are elves who live in a world once ruled by magic. Magic was difficult to use and was limited to
a select few. When easier alternatives
came along, magic slowly faded away.
Candles were easier and more accessible than lighting spells, for
instance. So, why pay someone else to
try something that’s less reliable?
On
Ian’s 16th birthday, he gets a gift from his deceased father. Wilden Lightfoot left a magical staff and gem
for his sons when they got old enough.
Wilden knew that he was dying, so he wrote a spell so that he might see
how his sons turned out.
Barley
tries to cast the spell with no luck whatsoever. When Ian tries, the magic happens. In all the excitement, something happens and
the spell only works halfway. The
brothers get their father from the waist down.
This leads to the brothers sharing an epic adventure in the hopes of
finding a replacement gem.
Some of the movie comes across as
cliché. The brothers are polar
opposites, with Barley being outgoing and boisterous and Ian being more quiet
and reserved. (Barley wants to play his
historically accurate RPG while Ian just wants to eat his breakfast in peace.)
Their overprotective mother has a new
boyfriend that neither one really likes.
Oh, and he’s a centaur police officer named Colt Bronco. So, yeah.
It does go for a few corny jokes.
It’s enjoyable, even if it is somewhat
formulaic. It’s the kind of thing you
could watch with your family now that everyone has to quarantine themselves,
except that this was just released in theaters.
(There’s talk of making movies immediately available for streaming or
download, but you might have to pay a premium for it.)
Speaking of COVID-19, this is probably going
to be the last movie I see in theaters for a while. It’s not the worst title to use a sendoff,
but I had a few that I was looking forward to seeing. AMC has shut down theaters, but it looks like
they’ll pause A-List for the time being.
It looks like I may be reviewing a lot of Star Trek and B movies for a
while.