Monarch of the Moon

Last night, we watched the first episode of this new 6-episode serial that is s'posed to be an homage to 1940s serials.

It turns out that it's actually a Naked Gun-type spoof of serials (at least, it is based on the first episode) that has some impressive things in it, but which to me if it were an actual WWII serial would be one of the worst.

Blane Wheatley is the chain-smoking hero the Yellow Jacket, who can fly and control actual yellow jackets. Monica Himmelheber is his chain-smoking secretary/girlfriend, and she's the best thing in the episode (there's a running gag involving her being bonked on the noggin that is the only thing I found amusing here). Kimberly Page is the Dragonfly, a femme fatale Japanese agent who speaks like The Craw on Get Smart. There's a lot of references to "Japs" and "Krauts" and Y.J. has a professor-sidekick who is dull, which is supposed to be humorous.

The DVD comes with both color and B&W versions; oddly, they both look awful. The B&W looks like the color has simply been turned off, and the color looks like a B&W that's been colorized. Neither are satisfying, but after sampling both we chose the latter for episode one.

Stay tuned.

Comedies, even spoofs, are more difficult to make than most people realize. and when it comes to spoofing an old film style, most professional directors fail. Mel Brooks succeeded with "Young Frankenstein" but failed with "High Anxiety" and "Silent Movie". Others have failed spoofing the old 40's serials, the only exception being a movie that is not truly a spoof of the serials, but yet is funny and exciting: "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

"Monarch of the Moon" is another attempt to spoof the Flash Gordon, Batman and Zorro type serials from days gone by. Its obvious that these people love the genre and had a lot of fun making this, but, for the most part,it doesn't work. The main deficits in the film are slow pacing and a mix of acting styles and skills. Some of the actors are playing their roles fairly straight (Yellow Jacket, the Bear Scout kid and Dragonfly for example), while others are spoofing stereo-types (his drunken sidekick) while yet some others are playing it for silly slapstick (the secretary). Individually, many of these work, but together in a film, they clash against each other. Additionally, the script can't decide how far to go in the spoof and sometimes steps too close to absurdity and is occasionally derisive of the genre. There are a couple of funny lines and a few good performances, but for a seemingly long, slow-paced film . . .its not enough.

One does have to compliment all involved for their effort and for the detail they gave to the project. Good costuming, good CG, good makeup and good sets. The music score is okay as written, but is apparently performed on less-than-great synthesizers and so has a cold, distant, unexciting feel.

Worth seeing for those of us who are budding, low budget filmmakers, but I'm not 100% sure that it was worth the 20 bucks for the DVD.

I wasn't expecting much when I started to view Monarch of the Moon, I am a fan of the classic serials of the 1940's & 1950's so I thought I'd give it a try.

I mean how good could it be for a low budget film? ...as it turns out very good indeed. True it had a low budget ($75,000), but the acting, writing, and even the effects added up to a great film.

Our hero Cal (AKA The Yellowjacket), an army fighter pilot who, while captured and tested on by the Nazis, gained the super power to communicate with yellow jackets. A power that the government now uses on secret missions. Cal along with his team (the scientist, an air head of a secretary, his alcoholic pilot buddy, and the boy scout) must stop the axis powers from destroying America. Oh yes, the axis powers have forged an alliance with The Monarch of the Moon, who supplies them with advanced technology.

I'd have to say that my favorite character was Cal's arch-nemesis: The Dragonfly. As with all Asian bad guys that appeared in the old serials she is played by a caucasian actress, Kimberly Page, who nails the character. Very exotic and very evil. The included commentary track tells how the director wanted her to play the character straight, no humor at all, while the other actors play very over-the-top. This combination works very well, and The Dragonfly comes out as the most remembered character.

The DVD set includes the original version of the film, along with a black & white version (for us purists out there), and a commentary track. The 2nd DVD is the teams first film "Destination Mars!".

This serial spoof is a hoot from beginning to end. If you are a fan of the old Saturday Matinée serials, you will most likely enjoy this, as I did. I rented this from Blockbuster,and ended up buying it. All the clichés are intact, and the actors play their (ridiculous) characters with extreme earnestness. The cinematography includes scratches and fading at times, to give the impression of age. This must have been an interesting experience in movie theaters, as each episode ends with "continued next week", and the following episode recaps what you just saw. There are plenty of laughs, but perhaps you need to be a serial fan to "get" all of the references.

I had no idea what this was when I sat down to watch it, and my first thought was 'what the hell is this?' It took a few minutes to realize that, instead of being a totally inept movie, this was a spoof of old action/adventure films, particularly serials. I ended up enjoying the movie and am glad to have seen it.

For a movie that is really over the top, it is quite subtly done. I know that those two things seem contradictory, but they both apply. The subtleties are what make this work.

However, this movie takes a bit of flexibility to enjoy. If you go into it with preconceptions of what it should be, you could be quite disappointed. Regardless, I heartily recommend _Monarch of the Moon_.