Critic Reviews

Time Bandits (1981) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Time Bandits (1981) a score of 3.4263 out of 4

based on (43) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(26)

Very Good

(15)

Good

(2)

Fair

(0)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

Movierapture (Keith Allen)

Kevin (Craig Warnock), a young boy, is whisked away from his product obsessed parents when six dwarfs burst into his room one night and, in a moment of panic, take him with them as they try to escape the Supreme Being by fleeing through a magical portal. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Movierapture (Keith Allen)

IndependentCritics.com (Jacob Hall)

There are some movies that make you feel like a child all over again..."Time Bandits" is one of those movies. While watching it, you can literally feel the infinite depths of Terry Gilliam's imagination. You laugh, you are thrilled, you are driven to ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at IndependentCritics.com (Jacob Hall)

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

First reactions while viewing TIME BANDITS: It's amazingly well-produced. The historic locations are jammed with character and detail. This is the only live-action movie I've seen that literally looks like pages out of Heavy Metal magazine, with kings ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Movie-Vault.com (Friday and Saturday Night Critic)

Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits" accomplishes what few films can: it is successful as what it is, and as a parody of what it is. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Movie-Vault.com (Friday and Saturday Night Critic)

VideoVista (--)

Time Bandits, despite being over 20 years old, has hardly aged. Yes, the computer graphics and fashions have dated, but the film is still fresh, imaginative, and as wonderful as it was all those years before. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at VideoVista (--)

filmcritic.com

History belongs to the victors, and Terry Gilliam takes his rightful ownership of Western history in this timeless romp through the ages. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at filmcritic.com

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

The full screen remastered presentation of Terry Gilliam's marvelous fantasy comedy, Time Bandits , from Paramount Home Video (LV2310, $40) is preferable over Paramount's Widescreen Edition (LV2310WS, $40). The Widescreen Edition is letterboxed ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

The Voyager Company has released a single platter CLV Criterion Collection edition of Terry Gilliam's marvelous ensemble fantasy comedy, Time Bandits (CC1505L, $50). We reviewed a fresh transfer of the film by Paramount Home Video, both in full ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Moviegnome.com

Terry Gilliam, Monty Python troupe member and offbeat director, spins a fantastical yarn that spawns the globe and time itself. Kevin (Craig Warnock) is an ordinary boy who is looking for something more exciting than his mundane suburban life. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Moviegnome.com

The Sci-Fi Movie Page

About a kid named Kevin (Craig Warnock) who joins a band of mischievous dwarves on a jaunt through various eras and epochs. They've stolen a map to holes in the space-time continuum that belongs to the Supreme Being (suitably played by Sir Ralph ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at The Sci-Fi Movie Page

filmcritic.com (Robert Strohmeyer)

This is the film Grail longed to be. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at filmcritic.com (Robert Strohmeyer)

DVD Verdict - Criterion Collection (Sean McGinnis)

Time Bandits is the story of a young boy who has been whisked away by six "vertically challenged" individuals who just happen to be misguided employees of the Supreme Being (the Big Kahuna, in other words). They were bored with their lives and decided ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at DVD Verdict - Criterion Collection (Sean McGinnis)

Attack of the 50 Foot DVD!

Kevin (Craig Warnock) a bookish, history buff kinda boy who is saddled with ultra-materialistic suburban parents, has a problem: Strange things come out of his wardrobe at night. The strangest is the Time Bandits - six dwarves who used to work in the ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Attack of the 50 Foot DVD!

Right Turn Clyde

UNDER THE RAINBOW, Billy Barty, midget wrestling, dwarf tossing, lawn gnomes, Keebler elves, Munchkins, The Lollipop Kids, DORF on GOLF, David Rappaport, Tinkerbell, Herve Villechaize, midget car racing, Verne Troyer, horse jockeys, THE SECRET ADVENTURES ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Right Turn Clyde

DVD Authority

Kevin (Craig Warnock) is a very smart young boy, but he spends more time alone with his thoughts than with friends. So he spends a lot of time inside his room, reading books or letting his vivid imagination run wild. He might not go outside and ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at DVD Authority

Reel.com DVD review (Pam Grady)

A little boy, living in his own world of toys and storybooks and starved for attention from his avaricious parents, is in for the ride of his life one night, when six time-traveling dwarves suddenly bust through his wardrobe. Formerly God's servants in ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Reel.com DVD review (Pam Grady)

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Terry Gilliam's wonderful ensemble fantasy comedy is about a band of dwarves who slip through holes in time, trying to rob things. They also take with them a young English boy who serves effectively as the film's conscientious hero. Even after the many ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

DVD Verdict (Adam Arseneau)

Out of Terry Gilliam's canon, Time Bandits is not a film that I knew extremely well as a child, I admit. I certainly remember it fondly, but it failed to hold the allure and charm in my pre-pubescent brain that it held for so many others. Nevertheless, ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at DVD Verdict (Adam Arseneau)

Britmovie

Terry Gilliam's lavish, nightmarish fantasy is perhaps the most successful attempt at capturing the wild, adventurous, exciting imaginations and dreams of childhood. A rip-roaring journey through time, space and historical characters, the contrast is ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Britmovie

Horror View

Kevin (Warnock) discovers that his bedroom wardrobe is a stop on an interdimensional highway, upon which it's users can jump from one time period to another. When a group of thieving dwarves pass through, Kevin is caught between them and an angry ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Horror View

Rotten Tomatoes - Reviews from the Nation's Top Critics

It's amazing how the homemade special effects of this comparatively low-budget picture are still effective today -- even more so than many computerized ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Rotten Tomatoes - Reviews from the Nation's Top Critics

DVD Maniacs

A young boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) has a wardrobe in his bedroom that just happens to contain a hole through time. One night a troop of weird dwarfs spring through the hole while making a break from their sinister master, played by Ralph Richardson ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at DVD Maniacs

Scifilm Review

TIME BANDITS was director Terry Gilliam's second non-Monty Python film, following JABBERWOCKY in 1977. For an independent film with a modest budget of just $5 million (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, produced that same year, had twice the budget!), it ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Scifilm Review

not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)

It persists to be permanently weird, and perhaps this is the very reason it is liked. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)

Friday and Saturday Night (--)

It is a gleeful, wicked, fast-paced, and energetic film, filled with special effects but not at all doting on them as a lesser film might, and very funny. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Friday and Saturday Night (--)

Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

Time Bandits is one of those rare films that succeeds as a fantasy delightful enough for children and entertaining enough for adults. It's not one of those films that dwells on cliches or anything you might have seen before. ...read the complete Time Bandits movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

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