Bastian, Atreyu and Falkor return 6 years later in a rare example of a film I hated as a kid that somehow holds up better than my memory of it. A lot of that is nostalgia for the era in which it was made, with all of its low-budget practical effects and faults on full display. It's not a perfect film, but I don't think it was ever striving to be. It's a cash grab for sure, but there is heart to be found in it. While it doesn't hold a candle to the original, it's dopey kid fun. It diverges from the novel quite a bit, in a treatment that owes more than a little to The Wizard of Oz, but it's still more faithful than the inevitable third entry.
2½ Auryn amulets out of 5
2 comments:
I gave this one the same score as you, for largely the same reasons you mentioned. :fistbump: (Or should that be :nutbump:?)
But I scored the third one less. Maybe in isolation it would seem better, or I'd be more forgiving, but I know I watched all three in succession over three nights, so the comparative mindset was probably in effect.
I saw your labels and thought, 'I didn't know George Miller directed it!' I was wrong. Different Miller. Both from Australia, according to Wiki. *_*
Yeah! For the longest time, I thought it was the same George Miller. It's only when collecting data for this nut that I finally realized there's two of them. I think the only other significant thing he directed was The Man from Snowy River, and an adaptation of Robinson Crusoe starring Bond. Maybe I'll get around to it some day.
I could have easily seen myself giving the third movie a 1 or 1½, but it's mostly the music and songs that elevated it for me. That's one thing they got right throughout the whole series; some great tunes.
NES1: Limahl - Never Ending Story (Bonus: Klaus Doldinger - Bastian's Happy Flight)
NES2: Joe Milner - Dreams We Dream (with Giorgio Moroder)
NES3: Nemorin - Dream On
(I had originally wanted to include these within the body of text, but my nuts were already sagging)
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