Genre: Historical Adventure
The Story
A small town in Spain is due to host an International Peace Summit attended by the most powerful rulers of 17th century Western Europe. Louis XIV of France, Charles II of England and of course Philip IV of Spain.
Little does Philip know that the event is merely a front for a dastardly plot to murder him and parcel Spain out between her enemies.
Luckily the heroic Red Eagle, Champion of the People, is ready to put a spanner in the works.
Or he would be if he wasn't having some personal problems...
These days I'm a little wary of European films given smack-inna-mouth packaging because half the time the film I get isn't the film I thought I was buying.
In this case I am pleased to report that Kingdom of Blood: Legend Of The Red Eagle is the swordswinging adventure I was expecting. Sort of.
More on that later.
I was initially nonplussed when the (obviously medieval) goons chasing a beautiful woman are interrupted by what is to all intents and purposes a Ninja.
Then Louis XIV shows up - big wig and all - and the time period gets another unexpected, hefty nudge. But once I got used to the setting Kingdom Of Blood turns out to be decent little historical adventure with enough evil plotting, meaningful glances, fiery women and sword & matchlock action to keep fans of The Three Musketeers entertained. I could have maybe done with a little less of the "comic" foils but they don't harm the movie too much. I also find it interesting that at the film's big climax, the hero is...off doing something else.
What I did find disconcerting is that we're dropped into events with very little explanation as to who all these people are and their relationship to one another might be. In fact, I was wondering if it was based on a comic that Spanish fans were very familiar with so there was no need to explain the backstory.
A little research brings up something interesting: Across most of Europe this is known as simply Red Eagle, because audiences in France, Spain, Germany and so on are already familiar with the characters.
This is a film based on the Spanish adventure series Águila Roja, a big hit all across Europe except for a certain group of foggy islands. Basically it's the Iberian equivalent of Zorro or Robin Hood.
The DVD might even be a "Film version" of a couple of episodes stitched together. Hard to tell.
Either way it doesn't matter overmuch because I did enjoy Legend Of The Red Eagle. As a decent swashbuckler to watch while eating my tea, this film more than delivered.
How much did I pay for this DVD: 50p
Was it worth it: Yes. Minor quibbles aside, this is a fun film with a likable hero and even as a proud Englishman it's hard not to be moved by the stirring "For Spain!" heroics at the end.
Here's the trailer:
And who doesn't love medieval Spanish ninjas.
ReplyDeleteI saw the trailer of this film some years ago on some Spanish import DVD, but then I could find only Spanish DVDs. Good to know that there is a version with English subs.
The whole series with 119 episodes, in Spanish only, is watchable on Spanish TV's website rtve.es (probably I will not start watching that in the near future though).
119 episodes? Blimey.
DeleteIt does look like a fun series though. Shame I can't understand any Spanish whatsoever.