It is a good time for ambitious fantasy on a large scale and with a sufficient degree of uninhibited fun. Come on, it’s a good time for films like ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’, which unapologetically claims the role-playing adventure that embraces a sense of wonder and humor. Come on, infallible entertainment.
For this reason, today’s list will recover three films with a very role-playing spirit, with creatures, swords, armor and little fear of being ridiculous. Three spectacular fantastic genre films that can be recovered on the different streaming platforms and with which you can have a great time.
‘Conan, the barbarian’ (‘Conan the Barbarian’, 1982)
Address: John Millius. Distribution: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Max von Sydow.
Difficult to compete in the field of medieval fantasy to this Arnold Schwarzenegger’s essential pickle that revealed him as the great action and fantastic movie star that he is. A huge sword and sorcery adventure with a totally iconic character on which to build a movie as epically tacky as a Manowar album.
Very remarkable in terms of design, where the mostly practical effects, the care in the costumes and the sets or the remarkable props are elaborated in such a way that it becomes completely iconic on screen. An imaginative and testosteronic waste that many have not yet overcome and it is, you will allow me, really barbaric.
Watch on Disney+ | Criticism in Espinof
‘Legend’ (1985)
Address: Ridley Scott. Distribution: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent.
When someone like Ridley Scott decides to make a fairy tale, the last thing you can expect is a fairy tale. Or one especially apt. His grandiose in its cinematic style it pushes ‘Legend’ over the top in every possible direction, creating a quirky and dark if not insanely camp tale, especially when it centers on Tim Curry’s Dark Lord.
And yet, it is a sweeping and extraordinary fantasy. With an unrecognizable Tom Cruise (which makes for a good dental job) embarking on an epic adventure, ‘Legend’ creates a powerful 80s film that takes the concept of 80s fantasy even further. With a loud but sublime soundtrack by Tangerine Dream to put the icing on the cake one of Ridley’s most underrated but formidable films.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video | Criticism in Espinof
‘The army of darkness’ (‘Army of Darkness’, 1992)
Address: Sam Rami. Distribution: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove.
Probably the film with the most intention of passing the kind of film that ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ aspires to be, although the fantastic and role-playing is so embedded in its DNA that it is difficult to resist placing it here. Though really what it does hard to resist this closing of the ‘Evil Dead’ trilogy it’s their irreverent fun.
Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell fulfill their fantasy of taking Ash Williams back to the Middle Ages in a film with dark fantasy and also a lot of humor in every possible direction. From the pure slapstick to the lines of dialogue so passé and absurd that Ash’s character tries to pass off as epic. A perfect finishing touch to the trilogy by going completely out of your comfort zone.
See in Filmin | Criticism in Espinof
In Espinof | The best adventure movies ever