Critique: Minotaur

Theo is one of the youths taken to be given to the minotaur in the labyrinth.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

There were many elements that were clearly thought through really well.

The baby minotaur was done well. It didn’t look like a human with a bovine head mushed together but it looked like one coherent being.

The narrating was perfect. Often narrations in films feel odd and unnecessary but in this film it definitely felt essential.

The minotaur symbol was well-designed. The quality was such that I’d only expect it with a big budget company.

The royals breathe in fumes via a bull skull. That’s such a creative idea.

The king has a nose ring, like a bull. Nice touch.

 

Sometimes there were moments that were puzzling.

Only eight youths from the village were taken. I thought maybe the other youths (to bring it up to twelve boys and girls each, as per legend) would be taken from other villages but no such luck. Realistically, twenty-four characters in the labyrinth together would have been too much.

The princess licks the bottom of the sacrifices’ noses. An odd detail but not problematic. Why wouldn’t a royal have a bizarre foible?

The Minoans hardly wear any clothing. Is this a heat thing? A hedonistic lifestyle thing? A we-need-to-make-some-characters-look-sexy thing?

One child hissed like a snake when aggravated. Why? Who decided that was a good idea?

The pronunciation of ‘minotaur’ is weird in this film. The first bit is said in the American way (minnuh) but the second bit is said in the British way (tor). Either pick the American (minnuh-taar) or British (my-nuh-tor).

The princess wears white clothes yet they turn brown after she goes in the water. The water doesn’t appear dirty enough to do that.

 

Being the star of the production, details about the minotaur were very important to get right. Unfortunately they weren’t.

            The minotaur looks like a bull with a skull head. That’s great. But when it’s born, it’s a human baby with a bull head. How, when and why did the human body become a bull body? If there were some kind of metamorphosis, it should have been at least mentioned.

            There is a lack of size consistency. The most glaring example is when the minotaur dies, appearing much, much smaller in death than it did in life. Maybe what was being animated was Theo’s perception of the minotaur. However, if this were the case, Theo would have to say something like, ‘It’s so much smaller in death’. As there was no acknowledgement of Theo’s perspective, it can’t be assumed.

 

Goodness there were so many problems with this film.

            All the screaming in this film was unrealistic. Whether that’s down to bad acting, bad directed or both I’ll never know.

When Theo’s hit in the bottom of the neck by a blow dart, his hand shoots to the side of his neck… nowhere near the dart’s actual location.

One girl keeps on screaming when she’s put in the labyrinth. She knows the minotaur is there so why do anything to advertise your presence?

The soldiers wore masks with horns. This was a nice idea until you realise the horns were from antelopes, not bovines. (Minotaurs are part-bull which is a male bovine.)

There is a locked door between the palace and the labyrinth. How can that keep the minotaur in the labyrinth? Also, the door’s not guarded, so anyone could come and open the door and let out a homicidal monster.

There are skeletons in the labyrinth. But how could it have stripped bones with those teeth and no hands? Rats, maybe, but considering the whole plot is the minotaur trying to eat the humans, we can safely assume the film makers were indicating the minotaur stripped those humans of flesh.

Instead of running to a hiding place that he knew existed, Danu lets the minotaur get him. Why? It’s clear everyone had time to hide so no distraction (like Danu being caught) was needed.

Gas suddenly appeared everywhere in the labyrinth, exactly when it was needed to attack the minotaur. How convenient!

Theo uses the minotaur’s broken horn to kill it. In this process, he was pressed tightly against the wall by the minotaur. He then pulls the broken horn free of the wound but in reality he wouldn’t have had the room to pull the horn free.

 

This film definitely isn’t one of the greats. There were so many issues that I’m dumbfounded they weren’t noticed. But there were some brilliant, creative ideas that deserve to be celebrated. Hopefully this film served as a stepping stone to better things.