I have not read and have no interest in reading the EarthSea novels so I watch this film untainted by any previous opinion of the series. I thought it looked interesting enough and had Smallville alumni Kristen Kreuk in it so I gave it a whirl. The CONSTANT comparisons to Lord of The Rings and the other huge smash epic fantasy tales needs to stop. Even the box tries to compare it to LOTR, which by the way, I am one of a few people on the face of the earth that wasn't overtly blown away by LOTR. There is such an enormous difference between those films and this movie and that is BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET!!! You can't even begin to compare two films with such vastly different budgets. You must take EarthSea for what it is and realize that what they had and what they did is quite fascinating.
EarthSea is the story of a magical world made of many, many islands. Each Island holds different people, different things and adventures. The Young Blacksmith's son Ged has lived on one of these islands his whole life. He desperately wishes to venture out and explore and he feels that his destiny lies far beyond the island and blacksmithing and his childhood sweetheart. Meanwhile EarthSea is on the verge of drastic change. The Kargides led by a ruthless King Tygath is conquering one island after another throughout EarthSea supposedly with desire of united them all. However Tygath wants immortality and complete control of EarthSea but the only way for him to gain immortality is to release horrible unspeakable beasts from beneath EarthSea that have been caged there for centuries, held at bay by an order of Priestesses. After using some minor wizardry to prevent an attack on their village Ged almost dies but a great and powerful wizard Ogian arrives and saves Ged's life and offers him an apprenticeship as a Wizard which Ged gladly accepts. Unfortunately Ged is young and headstrong, stubborn and impatient and Ogion's slow teaching methods are holding Ged back. Ogion tells Ged to continue on to the island of Roth where he can go to the wizard school and learn the ways of becoming a wizard faster. Ged gets himself into trouble at the school when he tries to show up an annoying and cocky bully by conjuring dangerous magics. Unknowingly this display of magics releases just one of those unspeakable evil beings known as The Gebbeth. Now The Gebbeth is intent on destroying Ged and will follow him across EarthSea to kill him. Ged is exiled from the Wizard school and eventually ends up back to Ogion where Ogion bestows upon him the knowledge and staff he needs to become a wizard. Now Ged must search and destroy the Gebbeth and more importantly try and find two parts of a sacred amulet believed lost in order to bring together peace once and for all across all of EarthSea.
Despite the fact that the annoying comparisons to LOTR get on your nerves, there is some reason behind it. EarthSea really does have a touch of everyones favorite fantasy flicks. Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, and to me I also saw a lot of the Star Wars films within this. But it still managed to pull off it's own style and it's own riveting world. The cast was very well done with some decently well known actors. Shawn Ashmore of Xmen fame does a terrific job as the wizard Ged torn between ego and power, peace and war. Kristen Kreuk rather surprised me with her role as Tenar, the heir to the Venerable Mother of the order of The Priestess' Despite Smallville being one of my favorite shows Kreuk has never shown a real range in acting but this role is truly different from her Television role and she does a decent job. Danny Glover also does a great job as the wise Wizard Ogion although he wasn't used much. I was even able to stomach Isabella Rossellini, an actress I could never get used to. Her acting never impressed me and I was always blown away by everyone referring to her as such a beautiful woman when I personally find her downright homely but just my opinion. Nonethless she does a decent job as well but the story is so good that as long as the actors are adequate, they can't lose. There are some definite downsides to the film. First and foremost is perhaps the time line. Despite clocking in at an admirable 3 hours...the film could have easily spanned six. At times it felt very rushed and the time line skipped so quickly you couldn't understand why the characters were aging at such a rapid pace. Five minutes at any time could equal several years it seemed. There were things left out due to time constraints and it showed and you could feel it and that's just too bad. Despite it's low budget for Television there was some truly amazing special effects. The Gebbeth played by Mark Acheson was one of the most truly unique and terrifying bad guys since Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. He was truly frightening!! The scene with the dragon was also an absolute highlight for a TV film. For anyone who truly appreciates a great fantasy and isn't expecting Lord Of The Rings quality all over again should definitely check this out. And if you've read the books and aren't ready to separate book from film...don't bother...anyone else will enjoy the adventure!! 7.5/10
EarthSea is the story of a magical world made of many, many islands. Each Island holds different people, different things and adventures. The Young Blacksmith's son Ged has lived on one of these islands his whole life. He desperately wishes to venture out and explore and he feels that his destiny lies far beyond the island and blacksmithing and his childhood sweetheart. Meanwhile EarthSea is on the verge of drastic change. The Kargides led by a ruthless King Tygath is conquering one island after another throughout EarthSea supposedly with desire of united them all. However Tygath wants immortality and complete control of EarthSea but the only way for him to gain immortality is to release horrible unspeakable beasts from beneath EarthSea that have been caged there for centuries, held at bay by an order of Priestesses. After using some minor wizardry to prevent an attack on their village Ged almost dies but a great and powerful wizard Ogian arrives and saves Ged's life and offers him an apprenticeship as a Wizard which Ged gladly accepts. Unfortunately Ged is young and headstrong, stubborn and impatient and Ogion's slow teaching methods are holding Ged back. Ogion tells Ged to continue on to the island of Roth where he can go to the wizard school and learn the ways of becoming a wizard faster. Ged gets himself into trouble at the school when he tries to show up an annoying and cocky bully by conjuring dangerous magics. Unknowingly this display of magics releases just one of those unspeakable evil beings known as The Gebbeth. Now The Gebbeth is intent on destroying Ged and will follow him across EarthSea to kill him. Ged is exiled from the Wizard school and eventually ends up back to Ogion where Ogion bestows upon him the knowledge and staff he needs to become a wizard. Now Ged must search and destroy the Gebbeth and more importantly try and find two parts of a sacred amulet believed lost in order to bring together peace once and for all across all of EarthSea.
Despite the fact that the annoying comparisons to LOTR get on your nerves, there is some reason behind it. EarthSea really does have a touch of everyones favorite fantasy flicks. Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, and to me I also saw a lot of the Star Wars films within this. But it still managed to pull off it's own style and it's own riveting world. The cast was very well done with some decently well known actors. Shawn Ashmore of Xmen fame does a terrific job as the wizard Ged torn between ego and power, peace and war. Kristen Kreuk rather surprised me with her role as Tenar, the heir to the Venerable Mother of the order of The Priestess' Despite Smallville being one of my favorite shows Kreuk has never shown a real range in acting but this role is truly different from her Television role and she does a decent job. Danny Glover also does a great job as the wise Wizard Ogion although he wasn't used much. I was even able to stomach Isabella Rossellini, an actress I could never get used to. Her acting never impressed me and I was always blown away by everyone referring to her as such a beautiful woman when I personally find her downright homely but just my opinion. Nonethless she does a decent job as well but the story is so good that as long as the actors are adequate, they can't lose. There are some definite downsides to the film. First and foremost is perhaps the time line. Despite clocking in at an admirable 3 hours...the film could have easily spanned six. At times it felt very rushed and the time line skipped so quickly you couldn't understand why the characters were aging at such a rapid pace. Five minutes at any time could equal several years it seemed. There were things left out due to time constraints and it showed and you could feel it and that's just too bad. Despite it's low budget for Television there was some truly amazing special effects. The Gebbeth played by Mark Acheson was one of the most truly unique and terrifying bad guys since Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. He was truly frightening!! The scene with the dragon was also an absolute highlight for a TV film. For anyone who truly appreciates a great fantasy and isn't expecting Lord Of The Rings quality all over again should definitely check this out. And if you've read the books and aren't ready to separate book from film...don't bother...anyone else will enjoy the adventure!! 7.5/10