Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque

In ancient times, the Gods treated humans as playthings. Athena is the only one who helped humanity and trained knights to protect them until the age of Gods ended. Sienna (Madison Iseman) is the modern day reincarnation of Athena. Seiya (Mackenyu) is searching for his sister and trains to be a Knight of the Zodiac.

The special effects are fine although unimpressive. The fights are fine. I actually like the wire work and the long fights. It could be filmed better. A lot of this feels inferior. I almost want to say TV Power Rangers, but it's not that bad. It's the designs. It's Flash Gordon with CG glow. I don't know anything about the Japanese manga or the anime. I assume that the designs come from that. The story is rather basic and simplistic. The characters are one dimensional. I wouldn't say any of this is funny. It's a comic book B-movie with a middling budget.

A Saint Seiya fan since 1991, I knew going in that this movie would differ from the source material. The trailers were clear enough. A faithful adaptation, I did not expect. But maybe there was a decent film in there, with some elements of the original manga/anime. While not a trainwreck, a good movie this is not.

So how much does it stray? Well, there *are* some callbacks to the original IP. A few notes in the musical score, taken straight from the anime soundtrack. Some visuals that made my heart skip a beat, including the very first, somewhat misleading scene. They are all too few, though. This is not the Saint Seiya we grew up with.

The armors are way too different - and not particularly appealing. The fighting scenes, heavy in martial arts, guns, and military vehicles, are not what the original series was all about. Hard to tap into nostalgia when you turn your back on 90% of what people liked in the first place. But again, the main trouble lies in the story.

It's bland. The characters are poorly written. Their arcs, poorly developed. Key scenes late in the movie are laughable, including some that were supposed to be poignant. It's not altogether surprising: rather than adapt the 80's masterpiece, this movie is based on the more recent Netflix adaptation, which flopped commercially and critically.

The film's about a young man struggling to accept his destiny as a knight while spouting that nobody's fate is predetermined and the reincarnated goddess he's supposed to protect, a spunky young girl who lived in fear of being unable to control her immense power, in a rehash of the (also poorly adapted) Dark Phoenix saga from the X-Men.

It feels all-too familiar, especially with Famke Janssen (Jean Grey in the X-Men movies) overlooking the action as the movie's antagonist. There's also Sean Bean (LOTR, GOT, etc.) and Marc Dacascos (Crying Freeman, John Wick 3) in there, but everyone's acting is flat throughout. Hard to shine with the run of the mill story and dialogue.

As for newer faces, Mackenyu looks the part, but there's something lacking. You feel he may have done a better job with more decent lines. Madison Iseman as Sienna showed some charisma, but she too fell victim to the plot holes and inconsistent behavior that plague her and all the other characters.

Could the sequel, with the expected introduction of some key characters, come closer to evoking the thrills the original story did? Perhaps, but I doubt they'll get the chance to do so after botching the launch of what was expected to be a multi-picture saga. Then again, I'm not confident this creative team could have done a good job at it.

No, this is not Dragonball Evolution. The glimpses - teases, really - we get of the original Saint Seiya hint at what could have been a great film. The action scenes are well-choreographed and the main two characters, sympathetic enough. It's all 100% watchable, but nobody's recommending it to anyone, and it will be forgotten soon.

It's a shame. You had some great source material. You could have gotten an awesome movie out of it. Why the lack of faith in it? I came away disappointed and suspect many others will, as well. You want to like or at least enjoy it, but you just end up frustrated at the missed opportunity.

(+) A select few callbacks to the original manga and anime, particularly at the very beginning, in the training scenes, and for a few seconds in the movie's climax. Some actions scenes are decent, albeit heavy in martial arts.

(-) Spotty plot. Lousy third act. Bland characters and storylines taken straight from Netflix's poorly received adaptation. Movie really strays from the source material to tell a rather unoriginal story - and tell it poorly, to boot.

What do I mean by underproduced?

There is no overarching set of quality control for acting skills, special effects, and it makes the movie neigh unwatchable after awhile.

Want to be an indie film? Hire hungry actors and go cheap on effects. Want to be a blockbuster? Hire A-listers and splurge on effects.

This film is jarringly uneven in quality and even though some of the newly faced actors seem to be bent to pour their hearts into their lines and action sequences, others obviously seem to be there just for the check.

This movie would have been better if it had been run a budget 1/10th the size with actors who actually wanted to do their jobs.

If you are not from Central or Eastern Europe, most probably you won´t be familiar with a name of Tomasz "Tomek" Baginski. He was credited for his brilliant work on the "Legendy polskie" ("The Polish Legends"), a series of short movies bringing the old Slavic mythology into a screen with an extremely modern adaptation. If you are a fan of "The Witcher" series you may remember something like "Oh, yeah, isn´t it a guy who produced the first season?" If you are not, the sentence would rather be "Look, I´ve never read fantasy books and I´ve never played any games. So, where the hell this whole "Witcher" thing comes from?"

There is a purpose in this intro: Baginski has been in the movie industry for more than 20 years but "Knights of the Zodicac" is the first ever feature film which he directed.

Apparently, the idea was similar: it is a known fantasy story, so we bring it to the modern time, trying to make a dynamic and fun movie for all kind of spectators. There was only one problem: this is neither any longer the Slavic mythology, nor an adaptation of a fantasy book which plot is based on Europe´s "Dark Ages". It is a story from a completely different culture with completely different traditions and a very different vision on the things. And, for what it worth, you would make it with their money and under Sony, one of their most conservative studios. If Tomek thought they will allow him to do a sort of "The Japanese Legends", I´m afraid he was very mistaken.

We have to greet Sony as well: every time when it looks like they really cannot go lower, they make a new attempt which amazes even the most skeptical. This time they simply have not selected a right person for a right task. And, by the way, I´m not even mentioning this part or the script where "a good man helps an evil woman with kidnapping and killing children". If Sony thinks this will be welcome by parents who will watch "Knights" with their children, they are probably very mistaken.

As for Tomek, I only wish he chooses a right project next time, something where he really can contribute. If you want my opinion, it would be "Twardowski 3.14" and the expansion of the universe based on the Slavic mythology. I´d say the world would welcome these ones much more than yet another re-boot of some old glory which resulted in a questionable script, questionable characters and very questionable future for all involved personnel.

Another poorly made manga adaptation. If you claim it to be adapted from a source, then you should stick to it. Do not change the names, do not change the settings, do not change the plot. I mean, if you take the fairy godmother out of the story, replace the prince with an old man, and then turn the glass slippers into a pair of steel boots, can you still call it Cinderella? You get what I'm saying here? The name changes are atrocious, not to mention the costumes. Seiya's Pegasus armor was supposed to be lean and shiny, not robotic and grim looking. The only thing that's similar to the manga was only Athena's staff. I'm so disappointed, so I'm just gonna give it 5 stars. I should've given it a lower ratings, but I know that a lot of people have worked hard to make this movie. So I'm not gonna be a jerk here.