Entertainment
Value: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Disc
Features: 8/10
Day
of the Falcon is a complex epic, one in which both sides can be seen to have a
valid point of view. It is in the unwillingness of each in understanding the
other which ultimately causes bloodshed. Not surprisingly, this occurs because
of an argument over money, specifically in the discovery of oil between two
territories in a Middle Eastern land.
This
conflict begins over a seemingly useless patch of desert between two kingdoms.
After years of unwillingness to trust each other, they come up with a plan to
keep the peace. Each sends their children to the opposing kingdom to be raised,
knowing that this is the only guarantee that they won’t attack each other.
Years later, when the boys have grown into men, a Texan oil company informs the
leaders of each kingdom that the patch of land between them is rich with oil.
On
one side is a king (played by Mark Strong) who believes in the sanctity of
things earned through bloodshed or love, and sees no value in oil or the riches
it brings his religiously stout kingdom. On the polar opposite side is the
opposing king (played by Antonio Banderas), who welcomes the wealth even though
it means a breach of treaty between the two kingdoms. Forced to make a decision
which side they belong to are the sons who belong to one but were raised by
another.
This
epic was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, who handles the battle scenes
spectacularly. As a whole this is a well made film, though it could do more to
draw the audience in towards the first half. There are a lot of characters and
a great deal happens in a condensed amount of time, so that some of the earlier
developments feel both rushed and dull simultaneously. All is forgotten once
the action begins, however.
The
DVD special features include a 40-minute making-of documentary featurette, as
well as one about the visual effects of the film. There is also a storyboard-to-film
comparison.
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