The Librarian: Quest For The Spear Review

As usual, this review is spoiler-free!  I wouldn't want to put The Librarian in danger! 

The Case

I had seen previews for this made-for-T.V. movie, noticing it only for the presence of Noah Wyle, a familiar face from E.R.  I hadn't seen it when it aired, but I recently came across the DVD at the video store and thought, what the heck?  I wasn't expecting much, and for that, I'm grateful, because it's not all that wonderful of a flick.  I was surprised, though, at how much I enjoyed The Librarian, in spite of all the expected shortcomings.

The Good

The movie is about Flynn Carsen, a thirty-something man who has spent his entire life being a student, because, after all, 'he loves to learn!'  It's what he's best at.  Of course, because he spends all of his time cooped up with his books in his room in his mother's house (uh-huh), he doesn't have much experience in any aspect of living.  He's really smart, though.  Luckily for Flynn, he's about to land the job of a lifetime - and get more of an adventure than he bargained for in the process!

The movie managed to truly capture a great action-oriented feel, and it's a lot of fun.  Plus, The Librarian is suitable for the entire family, which is always nice.  I liked all of the characters presented, especially Bob Newhart as Judson, who had his first fight scene ever in this movie!  The writing was surprisingly sharp and witty when it came to the dialogue, and it didn't take itself too seriously, which was a wise decision.  Although the movie is an adventure story, and therefore fairly predictable, there were certain elements that I didn't anticipate, so that was good.  And the best part in my opinion were the historical and mythological references weaved throughout the plot.  Honestly, that's why I enjoyed the movie as much as I did.

The Bad

There were a lot of plot holes.  And, as with most T.V. movies, The Librarian has terrible special effects.  I mean really bad!  As viewers, I think we expect much more from our films in that department after the huge leaps and bounds in the F/X arena, and the low-budget stuff used was achingly cheesy.  Everything in the movie had that overarching cheese feel.  I think it worked, though.  Again, it was a good thing that the movie didn't take itself too seriously!

The Verdict

Three stars!  For a light-hearted adventure flick, team up with The Librarian: Quest For The Spear!