JAG's Review

I just watched it.

How to start? It's a combination of many genres. Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi and Drama.

First of all, the casting is great. We see some veteran actors: Bob Newhart (Judson), the wonderful Olympia Dukakis (Margie Carsen) and Jane Curtin (Charlene) who does a great job with her role.

We then see the younger generation of actors including the star, Noah Wyle (Flynn Carsen) Sonya Walger (Nicole), and yes, even Mrs. Devlin (Lisa Brenner) appears, albeit briefly as "Debra".

The story revolves around a thirty-something year old guy who's infatuated by learning. He hangs around college because of this love for knowledge. He's essentially kicked-out of school so that he can enjoy other aspects of life and learn to become something other than a 'geek'.

Flynn lives with his mother (Olympia Dukakis) who tries desperately to play matchmaker for her son. In comes Debra (Lisa Brenner) who is Noah's first try for a date. Flynn and Debra try to make conversation and learn that perhaps they're not a perfect match. For one thing, Debra is a social worker for criminals, mostly killers.

Flynn later receives an "invitation" to the Library for an interview. He sits down and meets Charlene (Jane Curtin) and begins the interview process.

Long story short, Flynn gets the job as The Librarian  and all seems well. Until, a robbery occurs at the library, and a segment of "The Spear of Destiny" is stolen.

It is now Flynn's job to not only return that segment, but the two remaining pieces as well (which are hidden somewhere in the world) and the adventure begins...

In his adventure he meets up with Nicole who ends up being his partner in his quest to find the missing pieces of the spear. Later, we learn she works for the Library and is assigned as the protector for Librarians.

The rest of the story details the trials and tribulations both characters must face in order to find and retrieve the spear.

Overall, the movie was enjoyable. Noah Wyle and actually the entire cast does a great job with their roles. I would of liked to have seen Lisa Brenner a bit more on-screen, but her short scene at the beginning was quaint and cute.

The special effects were decent. There were some scenes where the effects appeared a bit hokey, but, for the most part, they were pretty good.

The whole theme behind this movie seems to borrow from Indiana Jones , Kill Bill , Stargate , and Romancing the Stone . However, the movie stands firmly on its own.

There are times when the movie tries hard to be funny. Sometimes TOO hard, and the end result isn't a laugh or a chuckle, but more of a 'groan'. But, when the movie doesn't try, the comedic sequences do work.

The stuntwork is great, and the locations depicted are stunning.

The Librarian  is directed by Peter Winther who has had a long association with Dean and Electric/Centropolis. From ELF , The Patriot  to ID4  and Stargate .

The soundtrack for The Librarian  is beautiful! It was composed by Joseph LoDuca and is music I wouldn't mind listening to (or airing on my station). It has a Stargate  feel to it and mixes well with what's being presented on the screen.

Stefan (as I did) would enjoy the "Electric Entertainment" logo tag at the end. Which of course is much better to look at than the bland "Electric Entertainment" text we saw in ELF .

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and the ending leaves room for a potential sequel (or sequels) should they decide to do so.

Compared to some of the films/movies being shown at theatres recently, I wouldn't mind seeing The Librarian  become a cult classic that makes its transition to the big screen.

Nice job, Dean and all those involved with the project. Very entertaining.

My rating:

written by JAG!

(originally posted on the Electric Entertainment BBS)