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Who'd'a ever thunk it? The French come up with an honest to gee-golly martial arts flick that doesn't suck? Quelle magnifique! The real problem with Brotherhood of the Wolf isn't that it has some kung-fu style fighting in it, but rather that it tries too hard to be too many things. It can't decide whether it wants to be an action flick with guns 'n fightin', a horror story, a creature movie, a mystery, a costume drama, a tale of political and social intrigue, or a love story. So it throws each of the above into the mix. The assembled elements are more-or-less successful taken in isolation, but when jumbled all together, the end result is that the movie as a whole might be just a wee bit incoherent.
Which is not to say that it's not entertaining; it is. You just have to settle in for the ride and go with it. It is 1760-something, and out in the hinterlands of France, a very nasty beastie is chomping innocent shepherdesses into bloody bits. The king dispatches the Chevalier de Fronsac, a noted naturalist, to look into it and figure out what the beastie is and why it has been able to elude capture. We first see Fronsac and Mani, the Native American companion and blood brother he gained on a recent trip to America, when they arrive in the province during a pouring rainstorm and encounter a group of ill-mannered louts threatening an old man and his daughter. Cue up the first martial arts scene, as Mani settles their hash in most convincing fashion.
From there, it jumps right into the plot, which twists and turns all over the place; by the end, I think it might have had one or two twists too many. But no matter. There is some very beautiful cinematography on display, great scenery, some nice shots, and the action is mostly well-handled. The creature is a let-down when it does finally make its appearance; although it never gets a real long full-body close up, what is seen in silhouette and middle distance makes it appear to my eyes like a giant porcupine on steroids as much as anything. I would have preferred something a little more, well, lupine. The acting is pretty good, and the two leads are both fun to watch--Mark Dacascos as Mani in particular has quiet intensity and charismatic presence to burn. And Monica Bellucci as the high-class courtesan and (spoiler) secret agent for the Pope--yowsa! Get me summa that, s'il vous plait.
Brotherhood of the Wolf is a big, sprawling beast of a movie. If it ultimately ends up overreaching, well, at least it doesn't follow the expected Hollywood cookie-cutter approach, and that is certainly to be applauded. Sit down, disengage expectations and preconceptions, and hang on, and there's a good chance you'll be entertained.
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