Manticore : Les Jumeaux légendaires

The Iraq setting is unique and a definite plus for "Manticore". The daylight photography of the barren, rocky, landscape is interesting. The acting is average. The script relies heavily on conjuring up a beast from the past, that is about as likely as a children's bedtime story coming true. Now that I have built up expectations, prepare for a massive letdown. The Manticore itself is not only ridiculous, but displayed in c.g.i. that is totally unacceptable from any angle. There is no nudity, laughable gore effects, and a story that leads to one of the most preposterous conclusions ever. If the Manticore had been depicted as something that you actually believed was in the film, it would have helped. - MERK

After watching crap like Raptor Island from the scifi channel, I had shall we say, LOW expectations but was pleasantly surprised. Despite a no name cast with the exception of Jeff Fahey, the acting was solid. In terms of plot, it was REAL DIREVITAVE of James Cameron's Aliens, and a had a few moments from other classic action movies like Predator. But as a low- budget knockoff, it was done quite well. I know a lot about the limitations directors have on low budget action movies. WIth little money or time, its hard to make an action movie that is as slickly made as this movie is... The FX weren't that good however but that's largely the problem of the budget, not the director.

Soldiers fighting the war in Iraq are tasked with locating and safely returning a reporter (Chase Masterson) and her cameraman (Benjamin Burdick). Well, the squad does find the two of them at some point, but they find something else, too: an ancient mythical Persian creature called a Manticore that's been contrived back into being by a bloodthirsty baddie (Faran Tahir).

Robert Beltran of 'Star Trek: Voyageur' is the stone-faced officer in charge of a squad that also includes Heather Donahue of "The Blair Witch Project" fame. The cast, for the most part, actually isn't all that bad, but their characters are pretty dispensable. You don't much care what happens to most of them. The reporter character played by Masterson is particularly insufferable, and you spend the whole running time hoping and praying that she buys the farm at some point. Other than Beltran and Donahue, the only other "name" present is Jeff Fahey, who's solid as Beltrans' commanding officer.

The script isn't so hot, and as it plays out it does become extremely reminiscent of both "Aliens" and "Predator". On the plus side, we do get to see some highly enjoyable gore effects - the monster (resembling a lion with wings) makes utter mincemeat out of various victims. Too bad the monster itself is so badly rendered; it looks just awful most of the time. Excellent location shooting in Bulgaria helps matters some.

During another recent review of mine, I did mention that a lot of these types of movies tend to blend together after a while, and 'Manticore' does nothing to stand out in any way. It's only recommended if you're a big fan of the principal actors.

Four out of 10.

The first 15 minutes looks like it could have been shot on the outskirts of Baghdad. Having spent 2 years working in Iraq I thought the movie crew did an excellent job with location. The background portraits of Sadaam with the eyes scratched out was a nice touch. Equipment used by the US Army is close to what is actually used except that none of the actors used Level 3 plates. As they add 25Kg to the weight of the body armor I understand why they were left out. The TV reporter should have been wearing black Kevlar Helmut with black body armor used by civilians working in Iraq. For some reason they were not provided with Personal Protection gear.

The movie is entertaining, and makes a fine "B" movie. You will be disappointed by the special effects. It would have been better if only parts of the Manticore were shown. A claw here or tail there. With this movie less would have been more.

I think it was still worth watching on HBO, Cinemax or Star Movies.

I thought the plot had potential, but the special effects were very poorly done. It would have been better if we had never seen the "manticore" -- just shadows or a claw here and there. And I won't even comment on the helicopter crash.

The acting, though, was a pleasant surprise. Robert Beltran and Jeff Fahey (whose performance in "Silverado" is one of my all-time favorites) turned in good, solid performances. The real surprises came from A.J. Buckley, Faran Tahir and even some of the more minor roles, like Jeff M. Lewis and Richard Gnolfo. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.