 Once upon a time, Jonathan Brandis was considered cute, and starred in many a project, including SeaQuest DSV and Ladybugs (which I'll come to in a later review). I don't think anything he's done can stink worse than this load of garbage. The Neverending Story was actually a kick-ass film when it first came out sometime in the 80s. It was about a boy named Bastion who escaped into books whenever real life got out of hand. One day, while being chased by bullies, he hid out in an old bookstore and found a book with a weird symbol on it. This book was, of course, The Neverending Story. Bastion opened the pages, and started reading the story, about a young warrior named Atreyu who ventured through the land of Fantasia in order to find and destroy "The Nothing", a force eating away at the land and killing its childlike Empress. But this was unlike any other book. The farther Bastion got into the story, the more real it seemed, until finally, he became Fantasia's last hope against The Nothing. He won, saved Fantasia, and went back home. End. Fin. Happily ever after. But not so. Warner Bros. got Jonathan Brandis to play Bastion in this sequel, where the boy bookworm returns to Fantasia via the Neverending Story, and falls prey to a villainess with a machine that grants his every wish--at the cost of his memories. This film doesn't really move very fast, and despite the appearance of Falcor, the flying dog (and my favorite character in the entire series), it really sucks. J.B. gets really annoying *really* quickly, and Bastion ends up acting like a big asshole as he keeps making wishes, until the end when he kills Atreyu, then regains his senses. Meanwhile, his dad (played by "The Flash's" John Wesley Shipp) follows Bastion's adventures in the book. These scenes with his father are actually a relief from the rest of the film, which speaks badly for J.B. and the Fantasia gang. It's a shame they had to continue such a good movie in this pitiful excuse for a sequel. About the author: Praise should be lavished onto Andre at AmazinBoyS@aol.com. You may read another review, submit your own, or return home. |
