Who payed the critics

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

What to say, really, it was awful, terribly awful. When I read the reviews, I thought, it was worth a try, but I instantly regretted it. All of Malta must've upvoted this movie, which is terrible, since if this is what they consider the best in Maltese cinema, I shudder to think what they usually have.Woody acting, lack of expression, weak dialogues, bad pacing, bad sound and terrible plot. Almost everything wrong that's been done in a movie has been done here. The only good thing about the movie is its setting, but even then, there's not much to see, giving it a rustic ambiance, but nothing extraordinary. The acting of the main character Tristain is acceptable, but not exceptional. Add it to the cast of terrible supporting actors, even his better-than-average acting can save the movie, especially when all he got left is a bad script.The only reason I give it a 2, is because I think that it can probably be watched by some people who are into those medieval and renaissance fair stuff, but most people would call it trash. From the first 5 minutes of watching I knew it was bad, but I kept watching because I thought this could've been one of those movies that was so bad, it's good. Unfortunately, this movie is not one of those and I called it quits halfway into the movie.So if you guys are looking for a good medieval setting movie, don't bother. Go watch Kingdom of Heaven, Lord of the Rings or other similar stuff. This movie should be put in the list of "The Movies I'd Watch If There's Nothing Else To Watch Or Do".

This work is sickeningly awfully in every aspect. Many people from Malta and friends of the team must have voted.The script is poor, the plot lacks proper development, the dialogues are sickly, the acting is amateurish... I can go into more detail and cover elements such as filming techniques, colour and sound but I'll spare you all that.The director also resorted to the idea of employing some kind of fake, working-class English accent which can be anachronistically and distastefully hilarious for a very short while but it gets overbearing and tedious right away.How did that famous tenor Joseph Calleja accept a role in this Z movie? Has he lost all self-respect?There should never have been a theatre release and the team should have reserved this film for their own personal use.

If one had to be realistic about the expectations of a historical movie made on a low budget, this one certainly deserves some credit. Although in my opinion it falls short in terms of story line and direction, the attention to detail doesn't go unnoticed.Nevertheless, I found the story rather enjoyable, and particularly in the second half of the movie it became more engaging. Although a large part of the supporting cast seems to be made up of first time actors (judging by their IMDb credits) the remarkable performance by the lead actor, as well as his charm undoubtedly contribute to the movie's visual entertainment. The sword-fighting was also good, especially towards the end.Overall, this movie is not a blockbuster but worth watching.

Do not let the ratings fool you: this movie is bad. I really hoped it would be even passable, but not really - there are areas where it is OK, the fight scenes are fine, the idea was fine, but then it falls flat on its face in those bits it didn't need to, namely writing and direction. The story is all over the place. The first part has a completely unattached visit to blacksmith, stapled on to showcase Joseph Calleja - he sings nice, and acts fairly well, in this film the non-actors constantly outperform the actors - but contributes nothing to the story. Also he is the worst blacksmith ever, banging on cold steel with a hammer. This would not matter, if it was not first of a series of weird illogical details, that could easily have been written around. Have him do something else if you do not have means to heat the iron, for example. The setting is deliberately vague, there is a war on "in the north" and any shot is meticulously avoided that would show where the action takes place: why could it not take place in Malta? Why not show a bit of Malta, even if was not - not that many people would point and go THAT'S MDINA!! As a result the story seems unrooted, and the filming claustrophobic as there are very few far shots, mostly half-closeups. Also the beginning is full of speechifying, especially the (yes, very handsome) main character is made to look in the horizon and spout Wisdom and Philosophical Truth instead of acting like a normal human being. Later on the director has people twitching, and tutting, and more speeches, in places were a simple look would have sufficed and been more natural. Even extras in the market are all super lively, no-one is waiting for his rabbit to be weighed, no, they all gesticulate and haggle. After rather pointless meandering, the actual plot of the film takes place. This was the better part of the film, and has some reasonably good and natural acting, as well as some fight scenes that are quite good - well done, historical reenactors. The end of the story is quite good too, even if more time could have been used to elaborate, maybe also some foreshadowing? Would have been better use of screen time than the dull speeches at the beginning.