Wolfhound of the Grey Dog Clan (2006)

Very Cool!!!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I spent my childhood in a country behind the "iron curtain", in the Soviet sphere of influence. As such, as a kid I've seen more Russian movies than most people in the west. And then, after the fall of USSR, I haven't seen any Russian movie at all. I was very intrigued upon hearing of this movie - I wanted to see how modern Russian cinematography looks like.I can say that the movie is a treat. It may not be the best fantasy movie ever, but it's definitely in the top of my list.The story is not really all that original, but it's different enough from the typical Hollywood to feel fresh. As others have noted, the movie deals with some philosophic aspects regarding fate and free will as well as Slavic mythology.The production value is just fabulous. I found the town of Galirad incredibly realistic and then I've read that it was actually built on 5 sq.Km (2 sq. miles). It looks real, it feels real. The costumes are also nicely done.The special effects are just incredible, especially considering that we're not talking about Hollywood budgets. The main character has a bat sidekick, which happens to be the most realistic CGI animal I've seen. I'm still not convinced it's 100%, I think they "cheated" by using a real bat in some of the shots.Acting is good, even though it's not stellar; the characters are somewhat underdeveloped.Overall, I think it's a must-see movie - if only to see something different than you're used to. (as an aside, just after I've seen the movie, I checked the TV; "Troy" was on. It looked so fake, so cliché, so much obsessed with the big stars it had on-screen that the story had to take the backseat, that I couldn't watch it.) With this film, the Russians have shown that they still can do great movies. I can't wait to see more of them!

Because the story is quite good, for a fantasy movie. But it's not only a fantasy movie, it's an action movie as well. Or let's say a fantasy-action movie if you will. I think I still rated it too good, but only because I still give the Russians credit for trying to break into a film market that is run by financially bigger "players". And because I liked the story.But as I said, the action does count too. And boy does it disappoint in this case! I don't even know if you can talk about badly edited or badly shot. But it seems to be a mix of both. Every time an action scene occurs on screen (in the script), you can feel how the movie changes ... to the worse. It's difficult to cope with that (for me it was nearly impossible), but there are always people who'll find something they'll like and maybe you're one of them ...

I was looking for some traditional adventure movie, yet with an intriguing story. Honestly movies like Eragon didn't manage to deliver that sense of real epic journey. So I was in the mood to try something new when I stumbled across that Russian gem. Even from its very beginning the Wolfhound lived up to my expectations.A brilliant recreation of the well-known story about a boy, who seeks revenge for his murdered family. Without any unnecessary delay the story jumps in time and the boy is already a swordsman on his quest for justice for his slaughtered tribe. Following his destiny Valkodav makes new friends in the face of a charming bat, a blind magician, a saved victim and a bedazzling princess.What I particularly like about this movie is its realistic atmosphere. The people look staggeringly rigid and joyless, the breath-taking scenery alternates with evil-infected places like the dark and muddy pagan village. The hero bleeds like anyone else who meets the blade. When the ultimate battle takes place Valkodav is at his upsurge to change the course of history.If you liked Conan and The Lord of the Rings, Wolfhound would certainly surge some emotions you though you had forgotten. And all I can do is to restlessly wait for the sequel.

Molodetz Ruskies!!! This film was just absolutely fantastic. Right up there with the best Hollywood sword and sorcerer genre films, but this was even better as the characters weren't silly Americans. What the film needs is to have subtitles and be distributed around the world. Special effects great. Script although as predictable as a Hollywood film, still works and gets the job done. Protagonists were likable and sympathetic. The bad guys were as horrific as the ones in Lord of the Rings. Loved that light sabre at the climax of the film. A very clever way to borrow another idea without blatantly reusing it in its original form.People, go see this film.