Search - Code of the Templars on DVD

Not too bad but, long

Frederick Pangborn | NJ United States | 11/06/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The basic premiss is when the Templar Kinght's found the holy grail during the Crusades they fought over what to do with it and broke into two groups. Those who protected it and those who wished to use it's power. We find out that they are somehow related to Jesus himself and are almost immortal and still fighting for it in the present day. It reminds me of a 3 hour long spin off on HIghlander. All in all not a bad movie."

"Very Soon You'll See The Entire Context And Understand It"

Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 12/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Synopsis: Two ancient sects, the Knights Templar and the Priory of Sion battle through the centuries for the control of the Holy Grail and other religious artifacts associated with Jesus. Now in the twentieth century a child is born that has blood ties to both warring factions. To which side does he owe his alligiance?

`Code of the Templars' is a veritable smorgasbord of conspiracy theories and grail legends, with a heavy dose of the Highlander series thrown in for good measure. Before the movie is over you'll uncover along with the Holy Grail, the tomb of Jesus, the Holy Shroud, the spear of Longinus and oddly enough the sword of William Wallace. The storyline borrows liberally from such well known films as; 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', 'Excalibur' and 'Underworld' with maybe a little 'Romeo and Juliet'. However the real inspiration of this cinematic endeavor is definitely the old Highlander television series.

Negatives: One of the first things you'll notice is the dialogue is dubbed, not badly done but somewhat disconcerting here and there. It sounds stiff, distant and unemotional, reminiscent of an old Mario Bravo film from the '60's. The second major flaw is the soundtrack. The music is substandard to say the least and doesn't add anything to the mood or atmosphere of the film. The third and biggest dissapointment is the unoriginal, unsatisfying ending.

Postives: The acting is better than expected, a few of the performances are excellent in fact. My favorite role was the part of the main villain Ares Saintclair played by Oliver Masucci. Ares dresses in all black attire and drives a sleek black sports car adorned with the personalized lincense plate DEV 666, leaving no mistake as to which side of the battle between good and evil he belongs. Mirko Lang also gives a strong and likeable performance in the lead role of David and the very attractive Alicia Bachleda as his love interest Stella was also an added plus to the movie.

So if you're feeling nostalgic over the old Highlander series or love anything dealing with conspiracy theories, the Templars, Priory of Sion and religious sites and relics this is the film for you. Be forewarned, this European production from '06 runs an exhausting 194 minutes in length so if the subject matter is not your cup of tea don't bother."

Interesting concept, very long, and gaps

Wiseguy 945 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 11/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This appears to be a TV series from europe tranfered to DVD as a movie for the US market. Intersting movie about the legend of the Knights of the Teplar that discovered the Holy Grail (in the tomb of Christ) and vowed to protect it forever. This is based on the Idea that a split occured between the Knight and two orders were created, both fighting over the centuries to get all of the relics of Christ, mainly the Holy Grail, source of unlimited power. The Templars hid the Grail to protect it from the other clan that wants to drink from it. In all, the film is mostly sword fights between the two groups, in a Highlander style killing process-off with their heads. Also, they are virtually invincable due to "the blood of Christ" in their veins, all are direct decendents from Jesus and Mary Magdalin. They can die, but it's difficult to kill them all. The main battle in this film, A young man born of a relationship between a man from the Templars and a woman of the other clan, supposedly a "chosen one" that would lead the bad clan to the Templars hidden grail. This series could have easily been done in less than 2 hours, but it just seemed to go on and on. Also, they mentioned the the original Knights were Monks...obviously that changed somewhere along the way if they have kids and offspring...let alone Women in the one clan. Some good action, just to much and too long. Rent it."