O Último Guerreiro

I saw this in the 2008 Fantasia Festival and have just found it on DVD (yah!) I wouldn't call this high art by any stretch of the imagination but I really enjoyed myself. There was a lot of effort put into the making of this movie, and it shows. Among other things, the world seems lived in, which is a nice touch, even if many of the establishing CG visuals were over-amped à la Peter Jackson.

Unfortunately, the editing seemed a bit slipshod as there seems to be a scene or two missing. Just before the scene near the swamp a warrior-maiden(?) is suddenly part of the caravan with no explanation. I suspect that the scene introducing her was cut for time or some such reason.

However, this movie is ultimately about the titular hero being a bad-ass warrior rather than clever plotting, or careful film work. High art, it ain't but if you want a hacking good time, kick your boots off and enjoy this.

Also, the landscape is fantastic. Part of me wants to go visit the area it was filmed in.

Coming from someone who has no prior knowledge of the book and who loves Russian fantasy, Wolfhound was a film with good things as well as a lot of problems. The way that Wolfhound looks is its best asset, the scenery is just breathtaking, the costumes really suit the fantasy atmosphere and most of the photography- excepting some slow-motion that doesn't add anything- and CGI are similarly great(loved the bat). Second place is the music score, which is hauntingly beautiful and adds so much to every scene. The atmosphere is brilliantly evocative as well, and there is some good acting in the supporting cast, Nina Usatova knows how to steal a scene and it is thrilling to watch. The leads are not as convincing, there is a fair bit of awkwardness and the wild-eyed innocence does go overboard. Most of the action scenes are chaotic, especially the climax. The direction is inconsistent, sometimes it's fluid and assured, at other times it gets chaotic and convoluted like in the action scenes. The script is rather stilted and doesn't give the actors much to work with or give us time to properly get to know the characters(basically left as fantasy clichés), while the story is formulaic(much has been said about the Conan the Barbarian-like beginning and understandably), very daft at times and not always very engaging. There's a lot of atmosphere here but not enough magic and the structure can feel choppy and rushed, you don't have to have read the book to figure out that there were things left out and re-written, it actually shows. In conclusion, a fantasy film that induced mixed results from this viewer, some good things on display(the production values and music) but there's too much bad too(story, script and action scenes). 5/10 Bethany Cox

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.

I've just seen this glorious epic at a Kiev cinema and am amazed at how Russian cinema can release such a superb fantasy film. This is an adaptation of the first Volkodav fantasy novel by Maria Semyonova that draws on a wide range of Slavic mythology.

Alexander Bukharov is well cast as the hero, the "wolfhound" fighting the evil "wolf", with a strong supporting cast that relies on impact more than the hairstyles, tooth-whitener and revealing loincloths of Hollywood. This is not a sentimental film, but accepts the violence and closeness-to-nature of tribal life, reminiscent of the Dark Ages. The film's stark, realistic feel reminded me of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, that emotionally draws many parallels.

Bukharov would be an ideal King Arthur or King Alfred - it's a pity that his nationality will probably write off any Hollywood offers. The obvious comparison is to Lord of the Rings, but the movie manages to keep originality in many plot strands, effects and characterization's.

Its landscapes are relatively muted, having been filmed in Slovakia rather than New Zealand, but its effects and monsters are winners over Hollywood, by maintaining suspense and keeping many nasties just out of vision. By having the main effects based on primal forces of nature, rather than a new-generation iteration of Predator or Alien, it avoids the typical clichés that most fantasy films suffer from.

I hope this gets a wide release in Europe and the USA - it certainly deserves it.

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