Manticore (2005)

The Age of Commercialism

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Blistering performances.

Manticore is not perfect by all means, it does suffer from trying to incorporate too many character back stories(but that's also kind of an improvement as SyFy's characters are often annoying and underdeveloped), the dialogue doesn't flow very naturally, the monster is very poorly-designed(though there have been worse in SyFy movies) and the shaking camera effect in some scenes was distracting and I think unnecessary, then again I may be biased as I don't like and never have liked the use of that technique. However, the story, while not the most original one on the planet is a lot less formulaic and predictable than I have known it to be, there is some tension and suspense with some good gore and the Iraq setting makes it also relevant topically in a way. There is also some good acting from Robert Beltran and Jeff Fahey, the scenery always tries to be authentic, the characters are not as annoying, underdeveloped or stereotypical as any of the SyFy movies since Manticore and the music is less generic and more driven. So overall, not bad, in fact quite tolerable if imperfect. 6/10 Bethany Cox

A movie about the mythical manticore creature. Hmmmm... Well that sales pitch was enough to get me interested, and so I decided to give the movie a go.Now first of all, I had expected somewhat more thrills and horror from the movie. I hadn't anticipated this much action. Most of the movie has enough action in it that it borders on being an actual war movie with American troops in Iraq, and just having the manticore being a background story. That was a shame, in my opinion, because the creature would have worked so much better with more attention to it.The creature itself was nicely enough fleshed out, despite it looked painstakingly fake at times. But the conceptual design of it was really good. And compared to the manticore from fantasy role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons, then the manticore did look quite like how the creature is presented in that world. And since most of the movie takes place during daylight, then you really get to see the creature a lot, unlike many horror movies that take place at night and everything is shrouded in perpetual shadow.As for the cast in "Manticore", well then I was pleasantly surprised to actually see Jeff Fahey (playing Kramer) in here. I had no idea he was in the movie prior to actually seeing him on the screen. However, his performance here wasn't among his better performances. But still, his face was a welcomed one. The movie was solely carried by Robert Beltran (playing Sgt. Baxter), and he did a phenomenal job with his role. He was very believable and dynamic in this role, so thumbs up on that.There weren't any real scares or shock moments throughout the movie, and that was a shame. There was a bit too much focus on the military parts of the story. But that particularly military part, they did well, however. It was realistic and adrenalin-filled action to watch the soldiers as they rushed through the narrow streets, and the camera work added a lot of chaotic touch to the scenes (in a good way). So that was really working out great.The story of the movie, however simple it actually was, could have been better. You just brush the surface of the legend of the manticore. Again, it is the military in Iraq that overshadows everything here. And this weak storyline drags the overall impression of the movie down, for me at least."Manticore" could have been better, but it is far from bad. Don't get me wrong. It is good enough for a night where you just want to unwind with a movie and disconnect your brain.

The makers of original movies for the Sci-Fi channel must feel like red-headed stepchildren if they ever bother to read the reviews of some of their viewers and posters on IMDb. If I had relied on their advice, I would have passed this movie by, and as a result would have missed a fine piece of movie-making. So it may have been low-budget, so what? They did a lot with the budget available to them. Who really judges a movie's worth by how realistically a helicopter blows up? Small minds reared on a steady diet of cartoons and sit-com TV, that's who! The makers of this fine film took a good "what-if" premise and explored the idea that Weapons of Mass Destruction really exist in Iraq in the form of the "Manticore", a monstrous creature with the body of a lion and a fearsome head of human/tiger/Satan blend. The winged creature has a scorpion-like tail which ends in a ball filled with poisonous darts. The creature is capable of firing the darts at victims or simply devouring them. It's appetite is ravenous and legend tells how victims are devoured completely, even the bones and clothing, so that the victim simply vanishes. In this respect, the movie-makers chose to stray from the actual legend of the Manticore because obviously they wouldn't have as much gore and blood to film whenever a body is left behind after an attack. Of course, we all know it's make-believe, but the scenes involving the soldiers as they pursue an evil enemy through the sandy streets and adobe huts are thoroughly believable. Just ask some of the guys and gals serving in Iraq today what it is like to go house-to-house in search of an enemy hell-bent on destroying them, and then ask them if this movie captures some of the tension and fear, and I think their answer would be positive. Overall, this movie was made seriously by the cast and crew, the acting was certainly plausible, the effects should have been good enough for the audience if they were willing to suspend their criticism so that the budget didn't have to run into the millions. The movie follows a well-written script with a dose of mystery and suspense thrown into the mix. Two hot chicks ought to tempt the teens away from their video games long enough to see what it might be like if they decide to go over to Iraq and spread a little freedom and democracy into a desert country which detests their invasion. Let's give the Sci-Fi producers some respect; if they keep making movies as good as this one, I'll be the first to give them a standing ovation.

Don't let those flaming, bleeding-heart liberals fool you. It's a good thing we went in to liberate Iraq, because Saddam Hussein might have unleashed the Manticore on the peaceful shores of New England if we hadn't. The last thing this country to deal with in the War on Terror is some acne-faced, flying lion with a scorpion's tail. Luckily, the CNN embed who was covering the war in this movie was skeptical enough to uncover this major scoop and report back to the homeland. Of course, by investing five minutes into research we could discover that this thing turns to stone if he sees his reflection inn the mirror. There are enough mirrors in the United States that I think we can make this country safe for democracy again. Just try to mess with us, al-Qaeda! Maybe we should send the Manticore to Afghanistan to go after bin Laden. Anyway, this is your standard, formulaic monster movie. If you like monster movies, you'll enjoy it; if not, you'll slash your wrists in agony.