Mythica: A Quest for Heroes

I watched the first one (The Quest for Heroes) because it was on Amazon Prime and looked interesting. It was okay. I went a few weeks and then decided to watch the next movie, then the next day I watched the 3rd. By this time I'm used to the characters and want to find out what happened next. I watched number 4 and 5 the following day. Each one seemed to get better. Understand this, these movies are not incredibly well made. It looks like it was made for TV and not theater quality, which didn't bother me. Acting was good, filming locations where beautiful but the CGI was low budget. It really seemed like I was watching a TV series with really long episodes. Especially since this is one story broken up into 5 movies. I liked it and really wanted to watch it to the end. If you like the medieval, wizardry, love story, underdog type story...this is for you.

You watch a movie on the SyFy channel, entitled "Mythica: A Quest for Heroes" and your expectations aren't set high. Released this year, and you think "uh-huh". However, Mythica, is a surprising treat.

The opening, pre-credit scene, with clunky cgi leads you to lump what's to come in with the majority of SyFy's home-grown output, but pretty soon you release this is much better.

The plot is decent enough, the script is good, and the actors give a good show, especially the female lead, in a strong, interesting role.

We're in low-budget territory, but the "flash-back/forward" scenes are nicely done, and it's only the larger 'monsters' that suffer from the lack of budget. Fight scenes are so-so, but there's a decent depth to the characters, and the story. It's pleasant, and up-lifting ... just because it's low-budget, they haven't scrimped on the script, and it's nice to see a fantasy tale handled seriously by all concerned.

The first part in three films, it stands fine by itself, whilst leading into the larger story. Some characters are a little thin, but this is 'D&D' territory, so there's a typical collection of characters to expect.

This isn't a Hollywood blockbuster, but for what it is, it does very well. I'd rather watch a movie trying to be something, than one which just pads time, without any originality. Mythica is a good, entertaining watch. Let's hope the sequels live up to this good opening.

Well done to all involved.

So your first impression of Mythica is that a group of D&D players got tired of playing on a tabletop in the basement and decided to go live action. Certainly it looks a lot like Cosplay. When a player,... um, I mean, a character swings a sword or takes a bow shot I can hear a 20-sided die rattle.

There is not much original in this first outing. Female mage runs away and heads for that cliché tavern where literally everyone whose job title is "Adventurer" hangs out waiting for work. Naturally she meets the cleric, who needs to find a McGuffin of some sort (and her missing sister), so our young heroine rounds up a fighter and a thief and off they go, as all the "real" adventurers were too busy doing,... what we don't know? I won't spoil the storyline. Suffice it to say, everyone gets to level up along the way.

My first impression is that this was a college film class project, or a post-grad effort by those trying to break into Hollywood. The sets and props, where they exist, are pretty barebones. Good thing all the action is outdoors. The plot is straight-forward. The acting is, well, variable. Kevin Sorbo may be the only recognizable name, and he appears mostly as a cameo. Most of the main cast have acted, although you may never have heard of their pre-Mythica roles. But Melanie Stone really shines as the lead, Marek. Mythica is worth it for her (and it appears to have jump-started her career.)

You have to give Mythica a break. This is an independent film, shot in Southern Utah, with a budget of, well, maybe less than 1/100,000th of what Peter Jackson spent on The Hobbit. This is not Conan or LOTR. But it does have a certain sincerity and innocence that if you are open-minded will charm you. And it is certainly no worse than the plethora of Conan clones that followed that movie. This first effort is really worth a look if you enjoy fantasy films and don't expect too much.

It isn't awful. If you are pining for more LOTR/Hobbit but know it'll be a long time before someone creates expensive movies like Jackson did, you can settle for Mythica.

Mythica is trying to channel Middle Earth franchise in every possible scene, from Ork's to shots of the party running through open fields. It's all OK, doesn't look bad and mimics LOTR movies just fine. Even the acting is fine, not amazing, but good enough to not make you laugh at people trying to act.

The problem comes with the plot and the action.

The plot is just a cliché-fest of epic proportions. Nothing you haven't seen or heard before in video games (and movies). So good luck getting invested in anything the heroes are doing. That said, the plot gives a good enough excuse to send our heroes on an adventure and that's what will keep you entertained. Until of course, the action shows up..

Why do small Indie movies insist on adding CGI that they KNOW will look bad thanks to the low budget? The Ogre is terribly done, even some houses are CGI in shots and look fake thanks to no shadows or just terrible post processing done to them. The only scene that looks good with CGI is the one where a creature chases them in the forest. That creature blends well with the environment and looks good enough (acceptable). Rest of the "action scenes" with Ogre involve our heroes acting dumb while air (CGI Ogre) hits them and they fall down while a small crippled chick beats the Ogre (cause, she's the hero.. totally believable guyz). Like Gandalf, she refuses to use her powers when they could actually use them.

In the end, movie isn't bad. It just could've been way better without spending more money at CGI (try hiring people who know how to do action scenes).

Take every standard fantasy cliche from popular fiction, role playing game conventions, fantasy cosplay etc and behold you get Mythica! A series of predictable adventures at the fan fiction level of writing, acting and effects. There is a good chance that as you watch this you will find yourself thinking, "this is just like..." or, "this reminds me of..." Ut's not exactly bad though, it's just that there is absolutely zero originality. The creatures, the characters, the quest(s) lack any sense of genuine depth, and are entirely derivative. With that said, I didn't dislike it. I just wish it was more genuinely creative and compelling.