BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF
Starring: Mark Dacascos, Samuel Le Bihan, Monica Bellucci
Directed by: Christophe Gans
Distributed by: Universal Focus

Date: 01/26/02
By: Gerry Wang

    Watching BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF is like going to the international buffet at Rio in Las Vegas. You got a little of everything. You get your hamburgers in one section, your sushi in one section, some Chinese food here, some Italian there, etc. Inevitably, some things don't mix, and you get diarrhea at the end. But you do appreciate having so many options, because some things go together and explode in a synthesis of culinary pleasure. As you can tell, I am hungry as I write this.

Beautiful European locales.

    The reason I draw the analogy of BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF to a buffet is because you so many different genres mixed into one movie. You have a Hong Kong-style kung fu action movie, an 18th Century French political and social upheaval movie, a monster/horror movie, some imperialist commentary, a courtship- romance subplot, and an underlying, conspiratorial tone of the occult and secret societies. And just as in buffets, some things don't mix and leave you feeling less than well.

I love that hat!

    What did mix well? The action was fucking awesome. This is the movie THE MUSKETEER tried to be. In BOTW, Mark Dacascos reunites w/ director Christophe Gans, their first collaboration being CRYING FREEMAN. That movie sucked compared to its anime counterpart, but one thing was discernible: Mark Dacascos is a star w/ tremenous potential and charisma. His character in BOTW, Mani, might just be the most badass Native American in movies ever. Puts the Mohicans in LAST OF THE MOHICANS to shame.

Crossbow can't do shit 'cause the beast has armor.

    It's been a while since I've watched BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, but I still haven't forgotten when we are introduced to Mani. A young lady is trying to protect her elderly father, who's getting bludgeoned by these quarter-staff wielding rangers in the pouring rain. Mani and his blood brother, Gregoire de Fronsac appear, watching from a distance, dressed like highwaymen w/ their tri-corner hats and cloaks, smocks covering their faces like ninjas. Mani gets off his horse and strolls in to the middle of the pack of rangers.

I got hoes in different area codes.....

    Then they do something stupid. One of them tries to attack Mani w/ his staff. Mani calmly grabs the staff from the ranger, kicks the fucker in the gut, sending him flying, and now has his own staff to do some ass-kicking with. And believe me he kicked serious ass. Christophe Gans really cranks up the sound, as we hear every bone-crunching blow Mani inflicts on these varmints reverberate off the walls. The best part was when Mani takes his staff, plants it in the ground, then pole vault-kicks two people simultaneously ala Samurai Showdown. All the while the rain is pouring in sheets.

Even women look good in that hat!

    Mani is badass, but so is Fronsac. I've never seen a taxidermist cause so much mayhem. Together, they attempt to hunt down a mysterious wolf-creature that has been terrorizing a province of France. The king, Louis XV, wants and end to this hysteria so popular opinion remains high. Of course, there are those who would like nothing but to usurp the king. This is where I felt BOTW reached a little too much. A lot of the movie is bogged down w/ politics, and the movie dragged. It comes in at 2 hours and 20 minutes, but it felt longer.

I'll put Monica Bellucci on my list of beautiful courtesans. So far only Nicole Kidman is on the list.

    No one but a Frog would care much for the political intrigue. Hell, we have to read subtitles throughout the whole movie. There's no time to decode what we read, much less try to fathom the historical context of BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. I also thought certain subplots involving whores and incest were superfluous. So they visit a brothel. Big deal. Why waste time on this one courtesan character (Monica Bellucci) who is mysterious and beautiful, but plays no essential role in the movie? This also contributed to drag time.

Mark Dacascos is a martial arts champion in real life.

    All these extraneous aspects of BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF just took time away from the central conflict, which is the wolf-beast that's killing women and children. When the beast kills, it is violent and jarring. I wish they went in another direction in explaining the motive and origin of the beast. They took the SLEEPY HOLLOW path, if you get my drift. That was pure bull.

This is the pole vault kick I was talking about.

    For all its faults, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF really is entertaining. The fusion of period drama and martial arts made this a unique experience. LE PACTE DES LOUPS is the most sumptuous B-movie ever made. It aims high, and you'll appreciate being finally able to watch a European movie that doesn't try to be artsy and melodramatic. This is a pure cheese-flavored popcorn flick. Mmmm.... popcorn......

Looks like PREDATOR all over again.

Grade: B
-- Smorgasbord of cinema genres. I enjoyed the monster and the fighting. That's about it.

Babe-o-meter: C+
-- We got to visit a bordello, but the only real payoff was Monica Bellucci's delicious body.