Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings

...but, one of the most enjoyable movie-watching experiences ever! We watched it the other night and I almost peed my pants.

Yet, I have to ask, why was this movie made? Even though it looks like they only spent about $50.00 to make it, there is no way it could have made money. And, it's not like it is a contribution to cinema. The paper that the script was written on would have been put to better use in a gas station bathroom than actually using it to make a movie. Who thought it would be a good idea to have a character that spoke in stupid rhymes (Tom Tit Tot)? Did anyone else notice that they were too embarrassed to admit that the same "actress" played both the parts of the elf queen and Max's Mom? They credited "Jack Baker" as playing the elf queen. How ridiculous! That said, I just bought it on e-bay for $1.99, so I'll be watching it over and over again for years to come and subjecting all my friends to it.

A friend bought this movie thinking it sounded interesting. After watching it we decided it was one of the worst movies ever. The storyline is cliche as are all the characters. The lines and actign leaving much to be desired. I was left utterly speechless at the of the movie not unable to find the words that expressed how horrible this movie was. If you see this movie RUN FOR YOUR LIFE AND GO SEE A DECENT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!

There are MANY home movies that are worse, plus a handful of commercial films that have worse scripts and bad acting. There aren't too many that have worse sound.

On the other hand, remembering that the folks that did this one are a small, local group of aspiring film makers, they didn't do too bad of a job in some areas. The stunt work was fairly good for amateurs, the cinematography was watchable, and some (10%) of the acting was passable. The young gal (she was 16 during production) playing the princess was easily the best.

The real question is how they convinced anyone to distribute their efforts, even in the bargain baskets at WalMart.

The bottom line is I got a few laughs at their expense and my kids will be entertained for a few hours, all for just $5.50. And remember, no mice were injured in the production of this film.

I saw this movie out of boredom and, well, I can't say I wasn't entertained. The combination of unsynchronized audio/visual, the acting, and special effects made me want to watch it over and over again. Indeed, I know little to nothing about movie editing, but after watching this I began to appreciate just how difficult it is to match audio/visual. And, I can imagine how much more difficult it is to make it appear as if a hawk or mouse is talking, even if there is no need show lip movements. I say this is one of the few movies that I can't compare to any other movies. While most motion pictures get boring after watching them repeatedly, I get the same kick out of this film as I got when I first watched it. And, so I give it my rating of three stars, for a funny movie that I can watch with anyone, anytime, and will always receive the same reaction: Why did you buy this?

Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings is the most fantastic movie I've ever seen, for a number of reasons. Most importantly, the cast, crew, director, make-up "artists", cinematographers all take the movie in complete seriousness. This is remarkable considering the abysmal quality of the line delivery, horrible costumes, EXCEEDINGLY AWFUL script, and absolute lack of skill and knowledge of the craft of film on the part of everyone involved. All these factors combined, however, makes this film a masterpiece of late-night heckling material. My friends and I bought this for $5.50 at the Wal-Mart Bargain Bin, and the investment more than paid off in side-splitting laughs of disbelief.

Max Magician is a middle-class suburban kid with no friends, but a penchant for the magical arts. He has a creepy pedophile neighbor, Mr. Tim, who at one time was a great wizard (apparently) and gives young Max guidance to "achieve his destiny." He gives Max a poorly-constructed "magic book" which allows him entry into the fantastical world of Bluebell Forest. Max is the "savior" of the village that is being tyrannized by Lord Dadga (the worst actor in the history of cinema). He meets all sorts of ridiculous characters, who deliver absurd dialogue with no knowledge of delivery. At the end he saves the village by using his magic book to summon knights out of the ground.

It's necessary to reiterate that there is not a single saving grace in this film except for the (highly unintentional) comedic implications. Every solitary aspect is done with the least skill and least amount of cinematic expertise possible. The script skips from scene to scene, introduces new "plot elements" which had never been alluded to and are now apparently crucial to the "story". The dialogue is cliched and nonsensical. The characterization is ungodly predictable where not non-existent. The characters take long, painful pauses between lines. The entire soundtrack was redubbed and the dialogue very seldom matches up with the mouths moving. The props are pathetic (the "propmaster" on the "behind the scenes" feature shows a battle hammer which was made from a foam swimming toy.) Occasionally we see extras walking around in the background. The foley work is perhaps the funniest part of the movie, as sometimes the background sound of birds will cut out altogether, voices will cut out in the middle of lines, and giant "swooshes" are used for characters getting out of chairs -- the same sound over and over again.

Which brings us to the acting. There is not a single actor with previous experience (except Tom Tit Tot, who is still one of the worst) and it shows more than you would think possible. Of course they get no help from the script, but this is the single worst ensemble of amateur actors ever put together. I can honestly say that with very little doubt. For this reason alone it's probably worth investing in to appreciate just how bad something can be. Only buy Max Magician, even for $5, if you want to truly understand the meaning of "awful" and wish to have many a laugh at the film's expense. If you buy this to entertain your children you may taint their appreciation of art and cinema from a young age. No young person deserves that.