Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent adaptation.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I saw this in the 2008 Fantasia Festival and have just found it on DVD (yah!) I wouldn't call this high art by any stretch of the imagination but I really enjoyed myself. There was a lot of effort put into the making of this movie, and it shows. Among other things, the world seems lived in, which is a nice touch, even if many of the establishing CG visuals were over-amped à la Peter Jackson.Unfortunately, the editing seemed a bit slipshod as there seems to be a scene or two missing. Just before the scene near the swamp a warrior-maiden(?) is suddenly part of the caravan with no explanation. I suspect that the scene introducing her was cut for time or some such reason.However, this movie is ultimately about the titular hero being a bad-ass warrior rather than clever plotting, or careful film work. High art, it ain't but if you want a hacking good time, kick your boots off and enjoy this.Also, the landscape is fantastic. Part of me wants to go visit the area it was filmed in.

Russian made fantasy film concerning Wolfhound who seeks to get revenge on the people who killed his family and his tribe and threw him into slavery. He ends up meeting a princess and...well thats the story.I don't know if this is a great film, I really don't care, Frankly the film grabbed on an emotional level and took me back to the place I go when I read good swords and sorcery novels. From the point where we see Wolfhound and his bat, I was hooked. More so once he started his solo assault on the castle that is the first great (yes great) set piece of the film. No one is making films like this any more...or maybe ever. This film has the high adventure of old Hollywood fantasy films but mixes it with a sense of reality and gravitas that is missing in pretty much every sword and sorcery fantasy movie. As much fun as the earlier films were they always had a sense of dress up. In most cases we were not in these mythical kingdoms, we were on sets. Lord of the Rings came along and blew that all to hell. Now everything feels unreal...or did until this film came along.Set in a time when "the gods still walked among men" the film has the feel of a rural Russia. We are in these places, the towns, the forests, the castles and the temples. These are real places. The characters seem real as well. To be certain they are not real people but the fantasy equivalent, but they still feel as though they belong in the world they inhabit. This is a world where magic works and for most of the film its kept to a minimum so that the magic we see is special (indeed the film is reasonably free of CGI which only really shows up for the final show down between the various factions, and while the CGI at the end isn't LOTR perfect, it gets the job done).The story, based in some form on a novel or novels, is nicely dense. The film doesn't breeze along mindlessly, it is heading in a certain direction and it takes its time going where its going so that layers and characters are built up. Many minor characters are given enough of a presence so that when you meet them later in the film, or see them in the background you have a sense that the character is some one other than soldier number 2. If there is a flaw it is perhaps an odd side trip to a river community. While it allows for some information to be brought in to the plot it isn't wholly necessary (perhaps what happens there will have effects in the promised sequels).Also helping things is a dynamite score which is often hauntingly beautiful. I may have to try and track down a cd if one exists. The music is often married to some very beautiful sequences to stunning effect, I'm particularly thinking of the song of the prisoner who changed his fate and the sequence when the princess heads off to meet her bridegroom the latter is a beautiful sequence that is cross cut with the bad guys getting ready to attack.I love the film. I can't speak rationally about it since even though its flawed (the opening sequence where the villains attack and kill Wolfhound's family is clichéd and has some really bad wigs) I fell under its spell. Its a grand adventure film of the highest order. Its the sort of film they don't make any more- or never really did.You'll forgive me I want to go into great detail about the film but I think it would be better if you just saw it for yourself. Its wonderful.

I was amazed by the quality of his film. Acting is better than regular, CGI is right in your face. But the big difference with US pictures is that the narration here clearly has elements of Russian Folk Traditions, something that really adds to the usual fantasy/action films. Many subplots fuel the story and help establishing a singular environment that has an identity of its own. Costumes and sets also display a 1st class quality know-how. The Film was made for 20M US$ and earned more than that at the domestic Box Office in just 3 weeks of exploitation. Something that shows that Russian Audiences are clearly eager to see local productions. Definitely a must see, at least for curiosity!

I was looking for some traditional adventure movie, yet with an intriguing story. Honestly movies like Eragon didn't manage to deliver that sense of real epic journey. So I was in the mood to try something new when I stumbled across that Russian gem. Even from its very beginning the Wolfhound lived up to my expectations.A brilliant recreation of the well-known story about a boy, who seeks revenge for his murdered family. Without any unnecessary delay the story jumps in time and the boy is already a swordsman on his quest for justice for his slaughtered tribe. Following his destiny Valkodav makes new friends in the face of a charming bat, a blind magician, a saved victim and a bedazzling princess.What I particularly like about this movie is its realistic atmosphere. The people look staggeringly rigid and joyless, the breath-taking scenery alternates with evil-infected places like the dark and muddy pagan village. The hero bleeds like anyone else who meets the blade. When the ultimate battle takes place Valkodav is at his upsurge to change the course of history.If you liked Conan and The Lord of the Rings, Wolfhound would certainly surge some emotions you though you had forgotten. And all I can do is to restlessly wait for the sequel.