The Fisher King

The Fisher King has two actors at the top of their form, and a compelling, well-directed and well-produced story.

A modern epic that fuses myth with hard-edged reality, it's a one-of-a-kind, thoroughly engaging experience.

If you treasure Gilliam at his best and take his ideas seriously, you'll probably be infuriated as well as delighted.

What emerges, in the end, are a clever premise that has been allowed to go awry and several performances that are lively and unpredictable enough to transcend the confusion. Mr. Bridges, always a fine intuitive actor, has never displayed a greater range.

A fanciful spiral of mythology, madness, cynicism and salvation.

The script never resolves the different levels on which it tries to operate, and also throws in too many loose ends which never get cleared up.

The movie is a peculiarly irritating failure -- a leaden piece of uplift.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

A true Gilliam film. Wonderful to watch. Among the best surreal comedy drama flicks of the 90s. A thoroughly emotional, wild tour of the darkest and funniest sides of existential spectra.

Originally an allegory of how humanity is waiting for its savior, “The Fisher King” is a story about a man so driven by fame and power, that he can’t look past his own nose. The protagonist, Jack, is unable to consider the thoughts or feelings of others, until an un-empowered man (the Fisher King is a representation of those of us who are “castrated” and unable to produce or fend for ourselves) enters his life, giving him the opportunity of redemption. The movie is, in itself, a creative and meaningful adaptation of the mythological tale, but is very poorly scripted, often leading the viewer into frustration, annoyance, apathy and disregard. Robin Williams was an incredible talent; his mind was constantly creating in an incessant unease; possibly brought on by a feverous need for acceptance and meaning. Like for many of us, comedy was a mandatory survival tactic for Robin, but he went further, eventually thriving upon it. Sadly, “The Fisher King” fails to tread the delicate balance between drama and comedy, and understandably, since the two are incredibly different. Robin’s relentless energy is misplaced and poorly directed, often presented at pivotal points of emotion or danger, instead of properly and timely at appropriate moments in the plot. Terry Gilliam fails to temper Robin’s antics, shape a proper homeless lunatic, or present believable social interactions. This movie definitely did not merit award, but was still able to pull off many, including the Oscar, eventually becoming the only so honored movie in Gilliam’s repertoire (how did his movie “Brazil” not get noticed?). Despite the intriguing premise and exceptional cast, “The Fisher King” is unable to rise above mediocrity, weighed down heavily by its horrendously wordy and meaningless script. Writer Richard LaGravenese either allowed the actors free reign or butchered the dialogue. Other aspects of the film are basically flawless, such as Roger Pratt’s unique cinematography, as well as sound, music and editing. Depth and meaning are also presented correctly in the film. For example, the fact that Jack wears Parry’s clothing in order to retrieve the grail is symbolic of his triumph of being able to walk in Parry’s shoes. A massive achievement for Jack, who was unable to respect or understand others before this friendship. In conclusion, “The Fisher King” is probably a movie worth watching in the background, while doing something else.

A meandering aimless daydream of a movie which lacks enough direction or purpose and tests the patience of even the most dedicated Terry Gilliam fan. Even fine performances from the main protagonists, especially Jeff Bridges, aren't enough to fully rescue it from running away at unresolved tangents and losing it's way. A rather self indulgent Gilliam effirt

A cringe 2hour meme-experience. Feels like 80s-Trash although it is from the 90s. The misuse of symbolism and dialog are only two of then countless vulnerabilities of this insult to what the human race accomplished in film. Acting might be a foreign word to the producer, the cast (although including Robin Williams (might have killed himself over this movie)(still the best actor/role in the movie R.I.P), either must have suffered from the screen directors terrible approach to scenery, requisite and lack of understanding of the characters in the movie or the books lack of any evidence to underline the awkwardly written characters and especially the love/sex scenes. Nothing in the movie makes any sense or has a connection to reality nor to the logic used within the movies world. The proportion of tension is simply hilarious. It takes a rocket launch at the start then crashes after 10-minute mark and never recovers from there, withdrawing in the sewers like the sidekick. I can not believe I payed 10 bucks for this ****