O Guardião 3: A Maldição do Cálice de Judas

Just forget that this is a Made-for-Cable (TNT) movie, THE LIBRARIAN: THE CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE is such a well made Film, with a fun pulp story with great acting and decent visual effects, it easily rivals theatrical releases.

Noah Wyle is back as Flynn Carson, The geeky Historian/Adventurer - this time around after retrieving the philosophical stone at an auction house in London and getting dumped by his Girlfriend in the process, Judson (Bob Newhart) and Charlene (Jane Curtin) decide that Flynn needs a Holiday, especially after his meltdown at the Library, so Flynn travels to New Orleans for a break away from his work as 'The Librarian'

His Holiday doesn't last for very long as an incredibly sexy & mysterious woman Simone Renoir (the gorgeous Stana Katic 'Castle') A guardian to a key which gives clues to finding the Judas Chalice (An artifact capable of resurrecting vampires) needs Flynn's help, because a former Russian defence minister is after the Chalice himself so that he can resurrect Vlad the Vampire along with the forced assistance of Professor Lazlo, an acclaimed Historian who they kidnap (Bruce Davidson).

The Direction by Jonathan Frakes is first class, The acting by all is solid - Wyle,Newhart and Curtin give very likable performances as always and Stana Katic is such a mesmerizing beauty. The Visual effects (considering this is a TNT Movie) are outstanding.

THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE is just such an entertaining Film from start to finish - I have thoroughly enjoyed all 3 'Librarian' movies - They are the most superior quality of TVMs that I have ever seen, and would love to see another!

The directing/writing team of Jonathan Frakes and Marco Schnabel are back for another movie in the series.

They open with a James Bond tribute. Our little nerd (Noah Wylie) has certainly come a long way. He is no longer a nerd, and has developed an amazing capability with a sword as displayed in a fight with an ex-KGB agent (Dikran Tulaine), who wants to restore Russia to its former glory.

His plan is to restore none other than Dracula, who will lead an army of vampires. With the success of "True Blood" and Twilight, a vampire story is expected, and it really made things exciting. Our villain has the body of Vlad the Impaler, and now all he needs in the chalice made out of the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas (The first I have heard of that!) But, Flynn Carsen (Wylie) is burned out. It is up to Jane Curtin, in a much meatier role, to get him started. But it is a dream sequence with Croation Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace) that gets him moving. What? No English heroine? Not appropriate in a movie involving vampires, you see.

With vampires, the movie is a bit more exciting and the special effects are ramped up. It is set in new Orleans and that is always a plus for the atmosphere and the music.

Oscar nominee Bruce Davison (Longtime Companion, Short Cuts) gives an impressive performance.

We get the expected ending, and are left wondering if this franchise has burned itself out, or if we will see our hero again two years from now.

Flynn is burned out and takes some time off in New Orleans. He's not there an hour before he's caught up in a bizarre plot by an ex-KGB agent to revive Dracula (yes, Dracula) and raise an army of the undead. To do so, the agent needs to find a chalice made from the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas, hence the Judas Chalice. Along the way, Flynn meets a sexy singer who ably aids him in his battle with the Russian. Noah Wylie's Flynn is much more assured than in his first two outings, but he's still somewhat naive. Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart are back as Flynn's bosses at the magical library, and Curtin's role has been beefed up a bit. In fact, it is she who suggests the vacation. Bruce Davison has a meaty role as a befuddled scientist pressed into service by the Russian. A recent Bond girl, the very lovely Stana Katic, plays Flynn's exotic, ass-kicking love interest. In fact, the movie starts off with a James Bond gag and there are nods to (some might even say swipes from) other movies, including HARRY POTTER, Dracula 2000, BLADE and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. This special effects. photography and music are all first rate, and the jokes come just often enough. And wait until you see the revived Dracula. You may be surprised. Because of the nature of the plot -- the undead and bloodsucking -- I'd say keep the little ones away.

In bygone days people used to read cheap magazines printed on cheap pulp paper. These were full of stories which, if not particularly literary, were full of action, color and plot. Later these moved to the movie serials and B movies, whence they were lifted, in the 1970s and 1980s, as the inspiration for movies like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, ROMANCING THE STONE and STAR WARS. This TV movie, third in the series, is in that vein.

CURSE OF THE OF JUDAS CHALICE is no ground-breaking movie, but it is enormous fun, with a script full of hip, self-aware humor -- Noah Wyle explains the key plot points as he goes along, and is twitted for always speaking in complete paragraphs -- action and a sexy vampiress. There is nothing in this that is original -- I could do a little digging and produce a list of where the key plot points and shots were lifted from -- but it is done with such good humor, that the viewer will have few, if any complaints about the result.

My sole complaint is that Bob Newhart is not on screen long enough with his deadpan delivery. You can't do much better for a dull afternoon's time-waster.

The original movie was not terrible and had its moments, but I did find it lacking. The second is an improvement but is pretty much the same. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, the third in the series. It may not be perfect, the effects range from decent to excessively mediocre, some of the explanation of the plot points was rather obvious and unneeded and some of the supporting cast are still underused so that they can't do much with their roles. However, the photography and scenery are splendid, and the score is suitably rousing. The dialogue has its witty and clever moments rather than the tired humour of the first two, and the story while somewhat derivative is actually exciting with some thrilling set pieces. Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart continue to steal the film with their subtly deadpan delivery, while Noah Wyle is at his most natural and likable, Stana Katic is the first female lead to not feel out of place or bland, she is sexy and with some steel, and Bruce Davison is also enjoyable. Overall, very enjoyable and the best of the series. 7/10 Bethany Cox