Zachaban

I only live a few miles away from Freistatt, Germany, and at least regionally the movie got some attention. "Freistatt" deals with a topic that is not often dealt with in movies, chose original locations for filming and lists some very able actors (Max Riemelt, Alexander Held) in its cast.

There is no fluff or filler in this movie, no boredom coming up. But while it is a good "time piece" in the sense that it gives you a good idea what it was like in that particular time and situation, there is no plot that is strong enough to really hold the movie together.

Ultimately, I would only recommend it to those who are curious about or have any connection to those failures of the education system that existed for way too long.

I must admit I'm writing this review even though I haven't finished the game. Then again, I'm not planning to because it just didn't get me hooked. Some decent games were based on the Pen&Paper-RPG "The Dark Eye" so far: "Drakensang" as well as its prequel, and "Chains of Satinav".

Blackguards, however, focuses solely on fighting and compromises everything else that has made the other games so charming. No atmosphere, no free will - you're just railroaded from battle to battle.

From a technical point of view I can't believe that this is from 2014. Below standard even for a non-US-game. Not even the lips are moving! Kudos to the witty dialogue writers and the voice actors, who at least give the main characters some personality.

First of all: It would take a lot of excitement and quality to justify four hours of runtime. This is simply not given. The scenes drag for no apparent reason. A long intermission between sentences can have a strong impact on occasion, but not if it's in almost every scene. An ugly rape scene has zero consequence - when the involved characters meet again, it is like nothing has happened.

Usually the involvement of Ennio Morricone upgrades a movie immediately, but in this case the soundtrack is badly chosen and badly edited, same thing goes for sound effects.

If you like slow-paced, long movies, there are a few good ones out there (Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia). But "Once Upon A Time In America" is just forgettable. After reading a few positive reviews I get the impression that the biggest argument for this movie is that it's pretty to look at. At times it is, which is why it gets two stars from me instead of just one.