Lisa Kudrow leads the cast of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s series remake of the Terry Gilliam classic movie.
Plot: Embark on a comedic, high-stakes journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an eleven-year-old history nerd. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.
Review: The original 1981 Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits is a staple of movies for kids that go beyond being children’s films. Alongside The Goonies, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, and more, Time Bandits took mature filmmaking and actors. They put them into a story that worked for younger and older audiences. Forty years later, we get a new take on Time Bandits from the comedic genius of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. Embracing that same approach to telling a story for kids that also appeals to adults, this new Time Bandits boasts better special effects, a more diverse array of historical places for the protagonists to visit, and a fair amount of homage to the film that inspired it while still forging its own unique narrative. Short, standalone episodes that build on one another towards a great conclusion make this the first season of a hopefully long-running series.
The new version of Time Bandits follows the same basic premise as the 1981 film: Kevin is a young history nerd whose parents ignore his fascination with the past. One night, a troupe of time travelers enters his room, and Kevin joins their quest for a map stolen from the omnipotent creator known as the Supreme Being. As the bandits run from historical era to era, they are also pursued by Pure Evil, the antithesis of the Supreme Being. Aside from that core narrative, the new Time Bandits transforms the crew of thieves from six dwarves into five unique adults from different time periods, including the leader, Penelope (Lisa Kudrow). The Bandits are now comprised of Judy (Charlyne Yi), Widgit (Roger Jean Nsengiyumva), Alto (Tadhg Murphy), and Bittelig (Rune Temte), all of whom have their own unique skills that are not quite as strong as they should be for such a task as stealing priceless artifacts from the space-time continuum. Kevin, played by Kal-El Tuck, joins the Bandits on their adventures and teaches them all about historical events beyond the European locales from the original movie.
Without divulging changes in the plot, the first season of Time Bandits visits many unique and diverse locations across ten episodes. While the series does venture to Ancient Greece and similar Medieval locales, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement wanted to go beyond a Eurocentric perspective, which gives us adventures amongst Chinese pirates, the Mayan Empire, Mali emperor Mansa Musa’s reign, and even Prohibition-era criminal networks run by women. The diversity of the series never feels like a cry for inclusion but, instead, a way to capture the breadth of human history through the ages beyond Europe. Advances in special effects have also allowed the realization of more complex historical societies to look tangible rather than something produced on a sound stage. The majority of Time Bandits feels physically realized rather than enhanced by CGI. Much like Taika Waititi‘s short-lived Our Flag Means Death, Time Bandits digs into history but always with a cheeky sense of humor behind it. The fact that the humor is appropriate for all ages helps make this series feel like a perfect combination of Waititi and Clement’s comedic sensibilities without profanity or mature subject matter. However, Time Bandits also does not pander to the audience, making it an enjoyable experience for kids and adults.
The series works with both Clement and Waititi involved on screen as much as behind the camera. As the Supreme Being, a variation of God, Waititi plays with the idea of a bored creator who goes beyond a single religious interpretation. The fact that the other angelic beings are all of Australian and New Zealand native heritage adds to the color-blind approach to the story. On the flip side, Jemaine Clement seems to have a ball playing this version of Satan, as Pure Evil looks like a cross between a Tim Burton creation and something straight out of a Neil Gaiman story. Supporting Pure Evil are demonic beings, including frequent Taika Waititi collaborator Rachel House as the hunter known as Fianna. Equally good are the Bandits, who now have more to do than in the movie, where the dwarf actors seemed like placeholders for characters rather than fully realized creations. Each bandit is fun to watch, especially Lisa Kudrow, who makes for a fun leader who only takes the title when it suits her.
Waititi and Clement developed the series alongside Iain Morris, and the trio co-wrote the first two episodes. Jemaine Clement wrote two additional episodes solo while collaborating on another with Iain Morris, who also scripted the finale. Akilah Green, Melanie Bracewell, Tyrell Williams, and Sam Bain wrote the remaining episodes. Taika Waititi also directed the two opening chapters, with Jeff Tomsic, Armagan Ballantyne, Yana Gorskaya, Jackie van Beek, and Tim van Dammen directing the remaining eight. Time Bandits boasts a synth-heavy score from composer Mark Mothersbaugh, who wrote the memorable music for Thor: Ragnarok. The series opens with the same bizarre genre stylings that Taika Waititi brought to his Marvel Studios projects while maintaining the emotional core of Jojo Rabbit and Next Goal Wins. Clement, Waititi, and Morris all know how to be funny, but to do it without relying on profanity shows their capabilities as storytellers.
While I initially thought Time Bandits would be a limited series, the finale shows this tale has much more momentum than the feature film. Each episode builds into the next and leaves you wanting more leading into the next episode without relying on artificial cliffhangers or red herrings. This cast is incredibly likable, and the story is silly enough to appease the youngest viewers without alienating more discerning audiences. I had a smile on my face watching this series. Even though it was made without the blessing of Terry Gilliam, I would like to think the iconic filmmaker would be pleased with where Waititi and Clement have taken this tale for a new generation. It is hard to find the same caliber of family fare that existed in the 1980s that is not animated, but Time Bandits is the type of show that anyone will watch and have a lot of fun with, whether they have kids with them or not.
Time Bandits premieres on July 24th on AppleTV+.
