Wolfhound

Not surprisingly, the new wave of Russian directors & films kick some asses, for sure. For the ones who haven't seen "Admiral", "Mongol" or "The 9th Company", "Wolfhound" might be quite a nice surprise. This movie is very well made, full of high tension fighting scenes and quite a nice plot (slightly touched by clichés like LOTR or Conan, of course). No, it's not Peter Jackson, no Hollywood sky-high budgeted movie: it'a a nice movie from Russia. I think we'll hear about Mr. Ledbedev (the director) quite soon. Anyway, this is only the first book from the four ones on the subject,right? What it's more interesting is that, even the leading lady-actress starred in "The Bourne Supremacy", the rest of the cast is quite new to us. And they don't disappoint, if you just don't make the big mistake to compare them to the Hollywood stars, living in a different system with different rules. Before 1989, living in Romania, I was intoxicated with Russian movies (the war ones, quite good, the classics - exceptional, but some of them were really crap), maybe more than other people behind the Iron Curtain. Now, it's good to see there is a new fresh breath in the Russian movie-making.

I admit that I rented this movie initially because I wanted to watch something 'bad'. Sometimes I do that as it's a fun mix to be able to find something to make fun of. 'Wolfhound' sounded like it would be an entertaining joke - some low budget tragedy of a movie with a bunch of men running around with swords.

However, while it wasn't the most amazing film I'd ever seen, there was very little to make fun of as I was shocked to find I actually enjoyed watching it. (Yes, the fight scenes are hokey at times, but the way it's done you kind of start to transcend the action on screen and imagine more than there is. It's hard to explain, but things are constantly moving even if it doesn't make the greatest sense.) I can understand how anyone would feel this is derivative. It didn't add too many new and original ideas, and yet there was enough interesting to keep the somewhat generic plot from becoming tedious. Wolfhound's bat is an obvious gem, but there's enough other things to wonder about the various characters (the details that are glossed over sometimes) to keep you wondering despite the somewhat plain meta-story.

Lush, interesting scenery also pops up from time to time, giving it hints of Lord of the Rings, and yet it's somehow nice not having over-exaggerated scenes.

The clincher, though, is that there was something altogether too real about the movie. More than once I found the world 'believable' thanks to subtle special effects and a kind of grittiness that makes the characters, while not altogether perfect, human. Once I was done, I was crying out in appreciation that the movie didn't drift into the usual Hollywood marketing, overacting, or other posturing drudgery. (The bat didn't talk, dance, and sing and inspire a line of breakfast cereal! Rapture!) It felt fresh and real, something altogether missing from most of the blockbuster movies I've seen recently (and thankfully devoid of the usual overpaid action-movie actors trying to upstage each other!) It may not become a favorite of mine, but it was a breath of fresh air. A movie instead of a sales pitch for a series. And I'm quite thankful for that. I hope the cast all the success in the future... hopefully without letting it go to their heads.

Also, next time maybe they can light their sets better or afford better cameras. :)

The quote on the DVD cover for Russian fantasy/adventure flick Wolfhound describes this as 'Conan the Barbarian meets Lord of the Rings', and that is definitely what the film aspires to be, boasting a story that is remarkably similar to the Schwarzenneggar movie, and with director Nikolay Lebedev clearly attempting to emulate the epic grandeur of Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy in his more elaborate set-pieces.

However, despite some fun moments and excellent production values—plenty of rubles having clearly been spent on state-of-the-art CGI and brilliant set design—Wolfhound cannot match either film in terms of sheer entertainment value. It falls way short of Conan, its barbarian lacking Arnie's physical presence, and its narrative lacking the scope of the epic Middle-Earth movies, with Lebedev's chaotic direction and editing sapping potentially impressive scenes of excitement (the 'rousing' finalé is a noisy, confusing whirlwind of in-your-face effects).

If you're an avid fan of the sword and fantasy genre, then I recommend checking the film out—it's got enough fun stuff in it to make it worth a go (Wolfhound's trained bat is particularly good); it is certainly no worse than a lot of the CGI-laden tosh that comes out of Hollywood. Just don't expect to be blown away—give it a week and you'll have forgotten all about it.

5.5 out of 10 rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

For start let me say that I am aware that this was adaptation of Mariya Semyonova's book which btw I haven't read, but I have read a lot of other fantasy/adventure books including many of Conan's adventures and I must say that this movie reminds me most of him (with some name changes and some addition of strength to main character).

Volkodav visually looks very appealing and CGI was done well and not on expense of storyline (like most of Hollywood flicks this days). Although story was somewhat predictable and not very original it was nevertheless enjoyable experience.

It was also refreshing seeing some of Slavic Mythology adapted to widescreen (and to be honest it would be nice to see some of ancient folk tales adapted into movies - it could be even commercially very profitable accompanied with adequate marketing)

yes, its old fashioned and riddled with clichés yet I found it much more satisfactory then last Conan (2011) movie.

My Rating 7,5/10

It's true, I started with low expectations. I also rated this higher because I don't see many Russian movies. But let's face it, it was better than Eragon, Narnia and Terabithia put together. With a lower budget, it is comparable to Lord of the Rings.

Of course, the plot is not terribly original, but it's not a cheap copy of something else, either. Even from the start you know this is a heroic fantasy and the film fully delivers both in action and special effects and background story. It also suffers from the Russian book worm: a lot of characters, sometimes you don't know who is who, since they all look dirty and long haired. The men too :) The sound is not really professional, the music seems added on the film with no real consideration of what is going on.

However, it was really enjoyable. If you take Conan, you add a bit of Lord of the Rings and a little of the Sergiu Nicolaescu movies, you get an American-Romanian Wolfhound :) The ending is a bit pathetic, but the lead character is truly well played. The other actors are mediocre at best. And no, the bat does not turn into an eagle, it's just bad CGI.