My Movie Review on The Princess Bride
My 60th movie review.
Gosh, I can hardly believe that I'm only forty reviews away from my 100th movie review.
Anyway, to celebrate reaching number sixty, as well as to give what I consider to be my Labor Day gift to you all, I have decided to review one of the most beloved films of the 1980s: "The Princess Bride".
Here's the rundown of this tale:
A sick boy living in Chicago is visited by his grandfather, who has come to cheer him up by reading him a book called "The Princess Bride".
Through the grandfather's very words, this story reveals the charming tale of Westley and Buttercup, who, through various trials, are determined to prove that true love always prevails!
However, the tyrannical Prince Humperdinck also has his eyes on Buttercup, and he becomes determined to have her as his bride.
Can Westley and Buttercup manage to evade Humperdinck and stay together forever? Or will Humperdinck catch them and have his ways?
Along the way, we see the misadventures and involvements of two bumbling, but lovable, men: Inigo and Fessick.
Let me tell you guys something:
This film has been something that I grew up with and have cherished all my life. So when I saw this movie again not too long ago, I knew that I wanted and just had to review it.
Here's why:
The story and screenplay done by William Goldman, and the direction by Rob Reiner, were all-out astonishing! The two of them gave this movie astounding emotion beyond compare, and they clearly didn't mess around with making it. There's dramatic tension and heartfelt moments that tug at your soul. And the humor that the two of them incorporated is so funny, no one can resist laughing. The dialogue that they created for the characters is likewise excellent, because they fit the personalities of each character marvelously.
To top it all off, the performances of the cast, the characters, and the character development themselves were total awesomeness!
Billy Crystal, Wallace Shawn, and Carol Kane were the ones whom I thought gave the funniest performances out of everyone. Portraying the characters of Miracle Max, Vizzini, and Valerie (Max's wife), they absolutely stole the show while on screen. They were able to make their characters instantly memorable despite their small roles.
Likewise, Cary Elwes gave his character of Westley outstanding personality and charm, as well as a fun sense of humor; Robin Wright gave her character of Buttercup outstandingly powerful emotion and feeling, which was enough to get viewers to immediately see and feel what she's going through. And, Chris Sarandon and Christopher Guest gave their characters of Prince Humperdinck and Count Tyrone Rugen such classic-villain air and personality, while even giving a large amount of three-dimensionalism.
In my opinion, though, the best performers and characters out of everyone...were Mandy Patinkin and Andre the Giant, and their characters of Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. The characters themselves were just so lovable, innocent, and full of life. Patinkin and Andre were likewise amazing portraying their characters, being able to not only have the best comedic moments, but to channel that sense of innocence and lovableness into their characters.
Finally, the music that was composed by Mark Knopfler was all-out stunning! Every moment of the film, he gave such harmonious melody that can range from a number of different tones, such as calm and relaxed, and thrilling and heartpounding. Knopfler had clearly put his heart and soul into the music, because even today...I just can't get over the amount of passion and emotion that the music carried.
The only setback that I found concerning this movie was that there were a couple of cuss words, just two, that didn't really seem to belong in a film with a PG-rating. One that the kid, who is being told the story to by his grandfather, says to the latter because of getting a little worked up; and one that Inigo says to Tyrone before killing him.
In conclusion, though, "The Princess Bride" is an absolute jewel to the cinema, thanks to the enormous amount of creativity and passion that everyone put into it. And, despite the setback I just mentioned, the film is so compelling that I can't think of it as anything less than a sparkling jewel.
So, I rate "The Princess Bride" a solid five out of five stars.
