Directed by David Gordon Green
Writers: Danny McBride, Ben Best
Stars: Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco
After making a rare cinema visit yesterday I felt a noticeable change in my attitude. I still had a passion for film however I could feel an overwhelming negativity for what I was about to watch despite having no knowledge other than the title and even that I couldn’t recollect until the adverts ended and the film began. Maybe the explosion of 3D visuals recently had cast a dark shadow over my judgement of recent movies, although considering this film wasn’t even shot in 3D it appears I may have just been unnecessarily pessimistic going into the screening of Your Highness. This however made that fact that I was undoubtedly entertained throughout all the more impressive and I’m happy to say the film was a great example of a pleasant surprise to me.
From what initially feels like a slow, not so funny few opening minutes soon turns into an edgy, dynamic and enthralling take on a well-used genre. All the characters felt like they did their job and nothing felt unneeded or bland with each delivering their fair share of hysteria and memorable moments. Danny McBride fits perfectly as the younger, less achieving brother of Fabious (Franco), his highly desirable sibling. When the evil wizard Leezar, played by Justin Theroux kidnaps Fabious’ bride in an evil yet hilarious act of sexual desire our journey takes shape. With excellent contributing performances from Natalie Portman, Rasmus Hardiker and Toby Jones everything feels complete.
The film is well worth the watch in my opinion and I particularly liked the crossover in dialogue from folklore style linguistics to modern day slander. There are a host of negative reviews I’ve seen for the movie thus far however I can’t understand why or at least, the reasons seem very feeble. Yes Hollywood has been producing many duds recently but Your Highness for me, actually delivered and I found myself chuckling away countless times. Also, Natalie Portman makes mention of her ‘beaver’ which surely is enough reason alone to check this one out.
Bad – Some of the fighting scenes were drawn out and the sound became extremely mishmashy, though the comedy element allows some leeway for over the top antics.
Good – Most the gags are good ones, the characters fit together terrifically and the narrative, despite being fairly simple and following a timeless formulae, keeps you engaged throughout.
9/10
