Manticore : Les Jumeaux légendaires

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.

The same story line has been used many times, and not just on these Sci-Fi channel assembly line quickies. This flick will certainly not alter the course of cinema, but it has its moments and is OK for a viewing when you haven't got anything else to do.

Military with enormous fire power in the wilderness somewhere: check. Closing in on enemy troops, but finding a monster instead: check. Obnoxious civilians (represented here by a loudmouth TV journalist): check. Shooting useless guns at the thing: check. Blood, gore, high body count: check. Religious zealot in love with the creature who preaches spiritual legends about it: check. The story lacks originality, but the acting is decent. One glaring problem is the animation and design of the creatures. They just don't look evil or scary enough, and their movements are not 3-dimensional.

However, this movie has a few well shot scenes, and the level of action rarely lags. The plot is illogical in places, but the movie can entertain if you turn your brain off.

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

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.

A movie about the mythical manticore creature. Hmmmm... Well that sales pitch was enough to get me interested, and so I decided to give the movie a go.

Now first of all, I had expected somewhat more thrills and horror from the movie. I hadn't anticipated this much action. Most of the movie has enough action in it that it borders on being an actual war movie with American troops in Iraq, and just having the manticore being a background story. That was a shame, in my opinion, because the creature would have worked so much better with more attention to it.

The creature itself was nicely enough fleshed out, despite it looked painstakingly fake at times. But the conceptual design of it was really good. And compared to the manticore from fantasy role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons, then the manticore did look quite like how the creature is presented in that world. And since most of the movie takes place during daylight, then you really get to see the creature a lot, unlike many horror movies that take place at night and everything is shrouded in perpetual shadow.

As for the cast in "Manticore", well then I was pleasantly surprised to actually see Jeff Fahey (playing Kramer) in here. I had no idea he was in the movie prior to actually seeing him on the screen. However, his performance here wasn't among his better performances. But still, his face was a welcomed one. The movie was solely carried by Robert Beltran (playing Sgt. Baxter), and he did a phenomenal job with his role. He was very believable and dynamic in this role, so thumbs up on that.

There weren't any real scares or shock moments throughout the movie, and that was a shame. There was a bit too much focus on the military parts of the story. But that particularly military part, they did well, however. It was realistic and adrenalin-filled action to watch the soldiers as they rushed through the narrow streets, and the camera work added a lot of chaotic touch to the scenes (in a good way). So that was really working out great.

The story of the movie, however simple it actually was, could have been better. You just brush the surface of the legend of the manticore. Again, it is the military in Iraq that overshadows everything here. And this weak storyline drags the overall impression of the movie down, for me at least.

"Manticore" could have been better, but it is far from bad. Don't get me wrong. It is good enough for a night where you just want to unwind with a movie and disconnect your brain.