Tower of the First Born (2007)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I picked up this movie with a friend because the front cover made it look like it would be pretty good...I never realized how deceiving a movie cover could be. This was truly the worst movie I have ever seen. It is painfully long, and the only reason I kept watching is because I was waiting for this guy to die, but after legitimately being killed off 5 times: he's poisoned (all of his men die from this poison may I add) yet somehow he has enough energy to walk back through the desert (dehydration), fly a plane, which is later shot down and crashes (miraculously he doesn't get shot/survives the crash), then somehow through all that carries his wife through the desert to safety (she was dying of dehydration/maybe a gunshot at this point) and when she is safe he finally dies, but by then the movie was basically over. The acting is horrible, the dialog was terrible, and most scenes are in the desert. The characters are not very likable, and did I mention that it is painfully long??My friend and I started drinking through half the film, and even that didn't improve it! It would have been more entertaining to light my money on fire and watch it burn. And the end was worse than anything. The revelation of who the firstborn were was so anticlimactic! I hated this movie. Now my movie standard has changed-when I see a bad movie, the least I can say for it is "Well...it wasn't as bad as Tower of the Firstborn".

Peter Weller (RoboCop) is in this movie... well, we all have to work to pay our bills. The movie is just not even what I'd charitably call a 'B' movie... it is tortuously drawn out... not well written, not Hollywood-made (and if you value 'indies' above Hollywood, then this is still even below Hollywood-made)... simply sub-par. I picked this up as a rental hoping it would be an Indiana Jones (or something) knock-off... I wish it could have been. Lots of camera work where it simply lingers too long on the actor... the (bad) dialog is done, overdone, burnt offering done... just not well done.The 'wonder' and awe is not there... even though you're led up to the wall and bashed into it at the end. I don't want to quit watching very many movies in the middle (or beginning)... but I would have, if someone else didn't insist on fast forwarding through parts to see the end. It needs to be re-edited just to hope it could be a 'B' movie... I really don't think it can be. Lionsgate included previews of other movies that you could tell were just as far off the mark for video entertainment... a line of excruciating time killers. I didn't really expect this kind of quality still existed... not in the U.S. at least?In comparison, "Sahara" is a blockbuster... at least Sahara made a professional effort... and I don't mean effects/explosions. I mean a script that could be spoken and not in silent era dramatics.Ooh, simple-minded story, ear-painful dialog... even bad fight scenes. Sorry, I'd watch "Titus", twice, before this. It's punishment.

I bought this TV mini series because I loved Secret of the Sahara and I own Ennio Morricone's amazing score. The link with Secret of the Sahara was the theme, the same company and the same director (and the same composer).Italian TV productions are often very well made. I saw the 10 mafia series La Piovra and some Italian mini's. But one this goes for most of them; the music is great, the camera work is great...but since 1998 everything is cut short for the so called MTV generation. And that just doesn't work with Tower of the Firstborne. You cannot have a movie this complex without a proper introduction that takes at least an hour. And the other two hours are filled with subplots, so it only gets more complex. The second part begins great **MINOR SPOILER** with a french legionair that saves his love with a plane, almost as a knight on horseback would save a dame in distress **SPOILER END**.So expect nice shots, absolutely fantastic music by Ennio Morricone, wooden overacting by Guy Lankester and Ione Skye and a complex plot retold in the editing room of the studio. The setting itself is great, but there is just not enough time to let the audience 'feel' the Sahara desert. And there are some nice special effects too.You'll be better off with Secret of the Sahara if you like mysterious adventure movies with great soundtracks. If you liked that one, you might kill off an evening with this, but don't expect to be amazed.

This movie was not that bad, it was all about the sweet romance between the Arab Prince and the English-man's daughter it kind of reminded me of Brook Sheilds and Lambert Wilson in 'Sahara' (which I LOVED)... The show had quite a build up, I was 'glued' to the TV just wanting to see how it would turn out and who would reach the end of the line. The ending was not what I expected, but I was somewhat satisfied with the movie overall, and have watched it two more times. I would suggest it if you are a romantic, interested in a higher being or just have about 2 hours to kill...