Max Magician and the Legend of the Rings (2002)

Absolutely Fantastic

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

If someone were to ask me what the worst part of this movie were, I would respond, "the part where I watched it." I can honestly say it was THE worst excuse for...any kind of performance to be honest, that I have ever seen. I have seen better acting from a group of 7 year olds in an elementary production of the Wiz. The acting was appalling, not to mention they literally re-dubbed the entire movie. Upon discovering that the villain was portrayed by the script writers land lord, I scoffed. The plot also made no sense, and on more than one occasion, the lead character would find himself speaking to someone that had not previously been introduced in the film, but he spoke to each other as if they had had a vast relevance. The script was abysmal! I didn't know what was going on for more than half the film....well truthfully, even at the end, the point was still amiss. In short, this film was THE BIGGEST LOAD OF CRAP that has EVER been introduced to the world!! The best thing I can say for it, was throughout I could not stop cracking up.

Sorry Greg, but inferring that the bad reviews were written by "other film makers or actors who are jealous" just doesn't wash-the vast majority of these reviews were written by people who, like me, picked this film up in a bargain bin, curious to see what it was. This boneheaded dreck stands on it's own; there is no way any review can really prepare the viewer for this laughable clunker, or possibly spoil it! This has to be seen to be believed. The only way this compares to the "Harry Potter" or "Lord of the Rings" films is the fantasy theme.That's it.This is certainly classic bad cinema of the first order-across the board ineptitude that takes itself utterly seriously. The production values on display here aren't "Lord of the Rings", they are "Plan 9 from Outer Space"! The plot has more loose ends than a bag of snakes. It's a good thing the dialog drags so much; it gives the young hero Max enough time to flip through the pages of the magic book and laboriously read the text to find the spell he needs. The "training" sequence with the useless blunt stick was so weak my jaw dropped while I watched in disbelief. The only character with metal weapons is Red Cap, who at the beginning is rather deadly with his axe; later in the film he has inexplicably forgotten how to use any of the several knives, axes and maces he has strapped on and is defeated by a small boy who vacantly swats and pokes him with a stick. The good guys all fight with two-foot long blunt sticks, the bad guys have blunt sticks with the marvelous technical improvement of foam heads and duct tape-one person with a board with a nail through it could conquer the whole silly bunch. The "fight" scenes are a hoot to watch! The head bad guy is knocked out by a half-inch sapling swatting him across the chest! In general the cast seemed to be having fun romping through this, and the special character makeup is highly professional, but altogether this is unintentionally hilarious and highly entertaining for all the wrong reasons.

When walking through the local Target, a movie caught my eye. The title drew me in, as well as the playful faces of the characters. I decided that my children had to see this movie, though I knew nothing about it. After putting it in the VCR, I couldn't leave the couch. Though my children may have been bored and got up after the first fifteen minutes, I was spellbound. Pun intended. The acting in this movie is what makes it so superb. I was flabbergasted by Timothy Stultz's performance and his amazing work with the bow staff. The chemistry of the group of actors was so evident, all of them feeding off of Timothy's firey energy and rambunctious personality. I even shed a tear when when Max found out one of his best friends passed away due to the intimacy I formed with Max's character. I would recommend this movie for anyone.

Hello.I encourage anyone who has not seen the film to watch it and judge for yourself. It has the flavor of "Harry Potter"; "Lord of the Rings" and "Stuart Little". I played Tom T. Tot. I have been in the the acting business quite a while. I have found that there is a type of review you may need to be wary of - the one that is totally negative or abusive.It turns out that sometimes other film makers or actors who are jealous, deliberately write bad reviews to make their competition look bad. They realize their product is not as good and they "poison the well" before anyone has had time to drink. I get no residuals or perks and I am not afraid of criticism.Anytime I watch the film, I am entertained. My understanding is that when the market was canvassed it was well received by 8 to 10 year olds, especially girls. Younger folk like it as well. I enjoyed making the film. I will not comment on my own performance, other than to say the director & writer were pleased and it makes me nervous watching me play this frenetic character - but that was the whole idea anyway. In general, I am told I am most kids' favorite character. I appreciate that because I work hard to entertain. Parents have told me that their kids re-watch it. What greater praise can a actor who does a kid's film receive than that the person with the least longest attention span, is so entertained, that they want to see the film again. But you watch it and judge for yourself.I am not going to comment on every actor, but I think Tim & Princess are very good and the mouse is very entertaining. The prosthetic make-up is superb. The plot is cohesive. The film quality is good, if not better than many other independent films I have seen. The fight scenes are well choreographed and believable. Although the other make-up is good and the acting in general gives the film a storybook feel. Hey it is a kid's film! The special effects are primitive but highly effective. I think it is the adults that want all the bells and whistles but the kids are satisfied with the simple and let their imagination do the rest.Note: The Queen & Tim's mother are not the same actress as some have alleged. The sound was "recorded" live and then re-dubbed two times. It turns out the sound "engineer" delivered a product of which nearly all of it was unusable. He never received a screen credit it was so bad. After we dubbed in the sound, then we had to do it again because someone lost/deleted the copy. For something that has been dubbed twice, I think it is a spectacular job.Your continued "balanced" comments about my performance and the film are welcome. If anyone would like to offer some constructive criticism as to how I could have performed better or what I should have done differently, I am all ears (pun intended).