His Evil is contemplative, brilliant and bored. Warner could take on anything and make it his own. He brought the same gravity to each role. 'When others say no,' he once said, 'I say yes.' Sometimes, he got the part because he was the 'cheapest' one available, he joked." As the Hollywood Reporter wrote, "He rarely refused a role, as evidenced by his 220-plus acting credits on IMDb. His proficiency was only eclipsed by his prolificity. He played three different species on the "Star Trek" franchise, and an ape - who was a senator - in Tim Burton's 2001 "Planet of the Apes."
Warner was known for his villains, making dastardly characters from Jack the Ripper to a corrupt executive (and the Master Control Program's voice) on "Tron" not only believable, but understandable, able to be beloved. As The Wrap wrote "The actor never had more fun" than in this film. His comedy is the most convincing, the most hilarious because he plays it like drama, as if he is on stage performing Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre and not looking like a turtlenecked David Cronenberg cyborg in a red cape with bone shoulder pads. Warner delivers this line like he delivers all the many words of his career, some more ridiculous than others: seriously. "And soon I shall have an understanding of cassette recorders and car telephones." Dismissing God's focus on multiple species of parrots, Warner's character muses: "I would have started with lasers." Because I have understanding." What's that he has an understanding of? Digital watches. He considers himself better than any Supreme Being, including God, because God is so focused on creating multiple kinds of random animals: "I mean, are we not in the hands of a lunatic?"Įvil is different because Evil understands technology, and in his (clawed) hands: "The world will be different. He needs the map to be able to escape the Fortress of Darkness, where he's been imprisoned. In "Time Bandits," Warner plays Evil Genius, a malevolent being capable of twisting and warping reality. The best art is sometimes hard to understand, because it defies understanding. But my reaction to 'Time Bandits' was ambiguous." The critical response to the film was mostly positive, though Roger Egbert wrote: "I'm usually fairly certain whether or not I've seen a good movie.
Star-studded, the film feels like a roll call of British genius from John Cleese as a politician Robin Hood to Sir Ian Holm as a Punch and Judy-loving Napoleon. Though I was initially drawn to the film due to the leader of its motley thieves: the magnetic performer, the late David Rappaport, so wonderful in "The Wizard," another star stands out too: David Warner, who died July 24 at the age of 80. Two hours of madcap time adventures follow. Kevin and the crew push through the wall of his bedroom, falling into a hole that lands them far in the past. Along the way, they pick up a child called Kevin, who loves history and adventure books, to the annoyance of his humdrum, TV-zombified parents.
"Time Bandits" is a British fantasy about a group of would-be marauders who steal a map that identifies holes in the spacetime continuum. As a child who couldn't sleep, it was one of the late-night offerings that confused and delighted my childhood, and likely helped turn me into the strange adult I am today. I had learned of "Time Bandits," the 1981 Terry Gilliam-directed film, long before. There was an unforgettable line from "Time Bandits" that my cinema major friends would repeat in college, likely annoyingly, when people approached the microwave oven in the dorm kitchen: "Mom, Dad.