Customer Reviews

The Last Templar

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I agree wholly with John's review. The Last Templar will delight and entertain as long as you take it for what it is - an interesting story in the vein of The DaVinci Code that will provide both laughs and adventure. If you have an open mind, it may even get you thinking.

Compared to the novel on which the movie was based, the character of Tess is funnier, wittier, and more enchanting on screen than on page. This is due in part to the wonderful portrayal of the character by Mira Sorvino who more than "surprises as a credible intellectual", as fellow reviewer Scott expressed - Sorvino is a Harvard alum who graduated magna cum laude and speaks fluent Chinese and French. She IS a credible intellectual cast in a part that allows her to show that side of her personality. Scott Foley, who portrays Agent Sean Reilly and of whom I've seen less work, was more of a surprise to me, playing the devout Catholic with humor and a touch of whimsy.

Having been raised Catholic but no longer practicing, I found the debates between Tess and Sean about religion to be very interesting and reminiscent of those between my mother and I. The overall theme of exactly what the Templar treasure is will garner your attention, but play second fiddle to the chemistry between Foley and Sorvino.

(Major plot spoiler warning) The one criticism I have is that the film version doesn't explain the treasure as successfully as the novel does. In the novel it is very clear that the treasure is a faked version of the gospel of Jesus, with the intent that it be used to unite all religions. In the film, the ending Templar scenes make the viewer aware the document was falsified, but the reasoning for doing so is never made clear, nor will the viewer necessarily catch this fact the first time through.

For those who criticize the film as being just more of the same Catholic bashing that appears to permeate the media, I ask that you really look at the character of Sean and what his beliefs say, the character of Tess and how her beliefs change over the course of the film, and the character of DeAngelis, who is shown to be operating by himself with no support of the Church or Vatican. As Sean intones in a conversation with Tess, there's nothing wrong with doubt - it's dismissal that's the problem. Give this movie a chance. Watch it with an open mind. You'll be glad you did.

I enjoy reading other peoples comments because Ive found that those
that criticise usually guide me to a good movie. What ever happened to watching a story just for the sake of being entertained, not "the
dialogue was bad, the plot was terrible, and best of all-Oh that could
never happen." Of course not! It a fictitious story! I enjoyed this story
just because I enjoyed it, does that make me shallow minded, who cares.
Will it win any awards, probably not, will I watch it again, wait till
I get my own copy and can sit back with my daughter and a big bowl of
popcorn. Does that make me a critic, far from it, I just know what I
like, and I enjoyed this one greatly.

Having previously read (and enjoyed) the book, I wasn't too sure what the movie might bring. I was pleasantly surprised. A female Indiana Jones-type archeologist and an FBI agent team up to discover why 4 thieves dressed as Templar Knights of old rob a prominent gallery on horse-back. A fine rollicking adventure movie in the spirit of Jones. My only disappointment (if you can call it that) was insufficient emphasis on the twist at the end. If you haven't read the book this fantastic development is almost lost in the need to wrap up the story. The script does let the actors down in a couple of places, but the action sequences were well composed. Overall - I thoroughly enjoyed.

Mira Sorvino plays Tess Chaykin, an archaologist who attends the opening night of an exhibition of Vatican treasures at the New York Metropolitan Museum. The event is interrupted when four horsemen, dressed as knights templars, rob the museum of some of the treasures, most notably an ancient decoder.

Tess has more success solving the crime than the FBI does and cooperates, reluctantly with FBI agent Sean Daley. They embark on a quest to find the killer and perhaps find the legendary treasure of the templars in the process.

This two part TV movie was based on a novel (see The Last Templar) and some changes have been made of course. I think they managed to get most of the important details from the novel into the movie, with one big exception: The villain's motivation. It is not very clear in the movie. There are some too many convienient coincidences that don't seem very credible.

The book was entertaining but not great and the same goes for the movie. After reading some reviews I thought it would be really bad and it had its flaws but I enjoyed it.

This is a made for TV movie. Although at times it is noticeably so, it is overall well done and great fun. I have watched it several times and it is fun enough to watch more than once. The basic premise is along the lines, but different, of the Da vinci code and follows closely the book by the same name. The movie leaves you wondering, but in a light way. It follows the book very closely, but it is hard to put the emotional level in the end (during recuperation on the island - cannot say more without spoiling) that is found in the book. Many times the movie is not close to the book. In this case, they are similar in quality and detail.

This movie is along the lines of an Indiana Jones, The Librarian, Nicholas Cage type of movie with a guy that is a bit nerdy thrown together with a hot woman trying to solve a personal problem that builds into a national or world mystery.

IF you try to compare this to National Treasure or The Librarian or Indiana Jones this movie will come up lacking. However, if you allow this movie to stand on it's own and not compare- the movie is delightful.

It moves at a fast pace. It has some romance, some adventure, some mystery and is enjoyable as escapism.

I wish it had explained what the treasure was at the end more completely. The book helped that.

Worth Watching.
Enjoy.

This movie is all the excitment one needs. Acting is surpurb, so is the story line.

Take this as the Indiana-Jones-themed adventure film that it is, and sit back and enjoy it. There is no need to consider this as a 'message film' (even if the theme concerns matters of faith and 'control of the truth,' both vitally important human issues, to be sure.) If such questions are raised that provoke conversation, it is a credit to the screenwriter (or to the author of the book this adventure is based upon). But I honestly don't feel that any such 'agenda' lies behind this film, and reviews that focus on religious or historical questions are missing the point.

Mira Sorvina is a talented actress and manages to pull off the leading role here with humor, intelligence, and lots of energy (it's a physically challenging role!) The relationship she forms with the FBI agent assigned to the case (Scott Foley) works well and avoids coming across as 'caricature, which is a credit to both actors' abilities with a script that could easily have gone that way in less-talented hands.

If there is any 'message' to be found here, let it be the portrait of the simple, kind man that Omar Sharif plays near the end of the film. "Joy is joy, life is life..," he says, and he offers up an example of 'simple truths' to live by. Nice touch.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable mini-series, and one that is suitable for family viewing. Yes, there is some violent content, but it's mostly the black hat vs. white hat kind, and is much less than much of the regular TV fare these days. Good acting, great sets and scenery, and lots of adventure -- what's not to like!

Excellent movie, great production quality. The cast is superb. The story is very entertaining. Would recommend it to anybody that likes fun adventure movies.

I bought this DVD because I like Mira Sorvino and have several of her movies in my collection.

I found the movie to be overlong but entertaining just the same. I didn't attempt to "make sense" of its plot because I knew going in that wouldn't be a consideration (in the end, I had to overlook the ending....both of them). Amusingly, if anyone comes off poorly during the course of this movie it's the FBI, not the Catholics. Consider: the bad guys outwit them continuously, an old coot outwits them, Mira's character outwits them; this was a terrible endorsement for the FBI any way you look at it (or, maybe just that agent, played by Scott Foley?).
I wasn't that crazy about the flashbacks; they kept intruding and mucking up the flow of things. There were also too many plot devices that felt exactly like plot devices (the kiss you knew would be coming, the ceiling falling in at that exact moment when it obviously stayed in place for hundreds of years, the agent having a `Poe' moment....). Still, they handled it well enough making it quite watchable. I do wish though that Victor Garber would stop specializing in villains, it's getting to the point where I see his name in the credits I automatically assume he's the bad guy. In this case, a gun toting killer Monsignor!

Even though I enjoyed watching it, it's not something I'm going to keep to watch again.