Poslednij bogatyr

Great Russian fantasy film! Although it is as intense as The Witcher, it is rather of a more fairy-tale nature, but still excellent and I appreciate the fact that the fantasy genre is slowly dying out. The film has a quite good and original story about a man who is transported from the present to the fantastic land of Belohoria, and I like that he can use abilities that he knows from normal life. There are plenty of classic fairy-tale elements. There is a water sprite, a giant, a witch with a walking house, a powerful wizard, and a dragon, and the movie manages to combine this world with effective humor, which was welcome. It also has great visuals and likeable main characters. Story****, Action****, Humor****, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music*****, Visual****, Atmosphere****, Tension***. Solid. 8/10. (24.01.2021)

I was expecting a fantasy film, but what I got felt more like a fairy tale crossed with overly simple comedy. The unmistakable influence of Disney was a bit too glaring, and the non-Russian soundtrack kept pulling me out of the story. But hey, what am I to do? Ivan was just the right amount of dumb, Koschey was convincingly Deathless, Vasilisa was charmingly decorative, Baba Yaga was appropriately grumpy, and the water spirit felt like a good replacement for Jar Jar Binks. I won't lie, I did find some enjoyment in the film. It's just that at times, I felt like the humor was being pushed a bit too hard. I would've appreciated a stronger Russian influence and a little less "Shrek-ness." / Lesson learned: When someone offers you a helping hand, try not to scream. 3*+ (21.02.2022)