Fantasy and Sappy at the Same Time!

I have to admit that LadyHawke is one of my all-time favorite movies. It was recommended to my mom years ago by a friend of hers shortly after it came out on video, so she rented it for my sisters and me. From the moment the opening music boomed from the TV we were transfixed, and we ended up buying a copy of the movie and of the soundtrack. More on that later in the review.

The story is about a young thief who manages to escape from a prison in the city of Aquila just before he's to be hanged. His escape catches the eye of a mysterious man in black who rescues him just before Phillipe, the thief, is recaptured. Nevar, the man in black, explains his mission to the boy--he and his lover have been magically separated by the Bishop of Aquila and Nevar seeks revenge. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, so I'll stop with the storyline here.

Set in medieval times, this film is exciting, funny, dramatic, and most of all, not too deep. It doesn't take a lot of concentration to understand what is going on. Rutger Hauer plays a decent hero, a bit rough around the edges but with a good heart, Matthew Broderick is charming as Phillipe the mouse, and Michelle Pfieffer is gorgeous and captivating as Isabol, Nevar's love. The Bishop of Aquila (sorry that I can't remember the actor's name) is a bad guy I love to hate, comparable to Peter Cushing's evil Governor from Star Wars.

The best part of the movie, for me and my middle sister when we were kids, was the soundtrack. This was the mid-eighties when synthesizers were big and everyone was predicting that orchestral music was a thing of the past. Luckily we got over that phase and back into "real" music or else electronic music that SOUNDS like electronic music. However, I've found that the soundtrack can be very irritating and distracting when it kicks in suddenly at an unnecessary volume from time to time. If I were to imagine a dream re-release of the film, it would be one where the music was re-recorded with a real orchestra and toned down a bit. Lucky for me my sister kept the soundtrack and is into DVDs, so I got to keep the video tape instead.

Overall this film is a true gem for kids. It is a little violent, but not too bloody, there's no sex or nudity (if you don't count Rutger Hauer in a bearskin), lots of excitement, and is less scary and traumatic than most Disney flicks I've seen. The language is pretty clean, and the good guys and bad guys are clearly defined. Not only that, but it holds my attention as an adult, and would make an enjoyable film for both kids and adults to watch together.