The Quest – Jagd nach dem Speer des Schicksals (TV Movie 2004)

The Quest – Jagd nach dem Speer des Schicksals: Directed by Peter Winther. With Noah Wyle, Sonya Walger, Bob Newhart, Kyle MacLachlan. A bookworm becomes the librarian. Same night a magical spear gets stolen and he’s off to get some real life experience around the globe on his quest for the spear – starting with being thrown off a plane over Amazonas by his cute helper.

“This is a movie u0026quot;made for TVu0026quot;. For those who do not live in an English-speaking country, what this phrase means specifically is that the movie was produced by an American television network for broadcast on American network television, which is supported by private-sector advertising. It was not made for release in movie theatres, and should not be seen as being of the same quality.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis means that the producers and filmmakers were restricted by various broadcasting codes, a mass-consumer orientation and a very limited budget, and they were under no particular pressure to create a movie that would actually attract moviegoers to spending money for a ticket at the theatre.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo this is a cheaply made Indiana-Jones romp that takes us from an imaginary library containing all the worldu0026#39;s great books and artifacts to the Amazon jungle and Shangri-La in Tibet. A major role is played by pseudo-mysticism borrowing very loosely and without much accuracy from Christian, Mayan, Egyptian and Buddhist themes (or at least American pop television renditions of these themes). And of course there is a secret brotherhood (two actually — one to protect the library, one to, um, conquer the world.) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNone of it is logical or realistic or believable. The cheap special effects are fake-looking. The acting and writing is all ham and cheese. The dialogue is ridiculous and even camp at times. I believe the relationships are not even meant to be believable. Itu0026#39;s not really a movie for thinking adults.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd yet I sort of enjoyed it. This movie is on the same creative level as Xena: Warrior Princess. Once you accept that it is brazenly stupid, anodyne, camp, unrealistic and essentially cartoonish, you can relax and just enjoy it for what it is. The movie equivalent of orange Kraft Cheese slices. Served on white Wonder Bread.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStrangely, the movie includes performances by a handful of very well-known television stars, including Kyle MacLachlan, Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin. This movie is way beneath them, but I suppose the television studio has some kind of arrangement that gets them to participate in this.”