Apple’s ‘Time Bandits’ Remake Won’t Make History

The 1981 film Time Bandits The movie really did me good as a kid. I went into it expecting an unofficial Monty Python movie, since half the legendary comedy troupe was involved: Terry Gilliam directed it and co-wrote it with Michael Palin, and Palin and John Cleese both play supporting roles. And beyond that, the idea of ​​a boy about my age traveling through history with a group of thieves, all played by small-time actors—one of them Kenny “R2-D2” Baker, no less—sounded like a thrilling adventure. But Gilliam wasn’t trying to remake Python. The movie was weirder than funny. For weeks afterward, I had nightmares inspired by the ending, in which our young hero’s parents exploded after touching a literal piece of Pure Evil (the film’s villain), leaving the boy completely alone — abandoned even by the firefighter (played by Sean Connery) who resembled Agamemnon, the mythical hero who had become a surrogate father figure in a previous adventure.

The new from Apple Time Bandits series, of What we do in the shadows creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, as well as Iain Morris (Intermediate), seems more designed to fit the version of the movie I had in mind than the one Gilliam actually made. It’s sillier, funnier, and generally lighter. Apple has reserved it for the Kids & Family tab of the app, and there’s nothing in the 10-episode first season that seems likely to give viewers of any age nightmares. Even the demons working for Evil (played here by Clement, with Waititi as his celestial counterpart, the Supreme Being) are deliberately cartoonish.

But if this news Time Bandits While the show’s ambition is close to what I wanted years ago, its execution is uneven. There’s a good run of episodes late in the season, but most of what comes before is enjoyably goofy but forgettable. Whatever problems I have with what Gilliam and company did at the time, the movie has stuck with me for decades.

This time, our hero is Kevin (Kal-El Tuck), an 11-year-old English boy whose obsession with history mostly annoys his sister Saffron (Kiera Thompson) and their parents. When time bandits wander into Kevin’s room, he eagerly follows them through history, visiting Stonehenge and the Great Wall when both are still in the early stages of construction, Troy just as a giant wooden horse is being brought to the city gates, New York at the end of Prohibition, and other lively moments from the past.

The series features a few small people in smaller roles, like investigators hunting down the Time Bandits on behalf of the Supreme Being. But the Bandits themselves are Penelope (Lisa Kudrow), who loudly protests that the group has no leader, even though she obviously thinks she is; Judy (Charylne Yi), the empath and resident psychologist

; Alto (Tadhg Murphy), an aspiring actor and incompetent master of disguise; Bittelig (Rune Temte), a strong but weak man; and Widgit (Roger Jean Nsengiyumva), a card reader. Evil sends the demon Fianna (Rachel House) — who also happens to be Widgit’s ex — after him, while Saffron also finds herself lost in time, trying to find her brother.

Clement as the villain Evil

Much of the comedy relies on anachronistic humor. Kevin, who has long dreamed of discovering the origins of Stonehenge, is dismayed to learn that it was built as a tourist trap and that its inventors plan to add a gift shop. In a later episode, the Bandits find themselves in the middle of the Siege of Caffa in 1343, where citizens who don’t believe in the bubonic plague are portrayed as Covid deniers with their own social media followings. (“Follow me for more good advice!” one boasts after suggesting bathing in his own urine. When asked where someone might follow him, he explains, “On foot!”) A little of this goes a long way, especially when the Bandits themselves are relatively monotonous. Related There are a few inspired gags here and there, and some well-deployed guest actors like Waititi’s Con O’Neill Our flag means death as Sheriff of Nottingham. But it is not until the seventh episode that

seems to find its stride, largely by foregrounding Saffron. His irreverence for history proves a more powerful comedic engine than Kevin’s love of history, though the latter does lead to a few sweet moments here and there. (Instead of Agamemnon, Kevin’s surrogate father figure is the West African ruler Mansa Musa.)

Tendency Like most Apple shows, the money is on display. The special effects are impressive, as are the historical reenactments and some fantastical set pieces like Evil’s Fortress of Darkness. The episodes after Saffron joins the group—and after Penelope and the others accept once and for all that these kids are now part of their gang—are livelier, funnier, and more coherent than what happens earlier in the season. I imagine my younger self was impressed by the visuals and amused by Saffron riding a behemoth and barking, “You don’t know my pronouns!” But this is a lesser work from its creators, having the rough comedic form of their more famous works but not being distinctive, funny, or emotionally resonant enough to stick. It seems unlikely to make the same impression on its target audience. The first two episodes of