I'm not sure how many of you remember when the made-for-TV movie, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear came out a couple years ago. It was sort of a big deal, with tons of promotion from TNT and lots of interest generated by ALA. I was asked by ALA's Public Programs Office to review Quest for the Spear, which I did, despite the fact that I'm not much of an action/adventure-type gal. Despite my high-level snark, I enjoyed the first one on some level, and had planned on playing along and live-blogging part 2, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines. Juniorette, who watched the first one with me, was looking forward to being a co-reviewer.
In brief: Two thumbs down. And maybe it's not fair that we even gave it a rating because neither of us finished watching it. I gave up first, somewhere toward the end of the first half-hour. It's not like I anguished over my decision to walk away, thinking that it might pick up. It just wasn't engaging me. The first one was lots more fun because I was looking specifically at the portrayal of librarians, and found plenty to comment on. But, there was nothing more to add to that discussion with this second go-round.
I did guffaw when Flynn (The Librarian, played by Noah Wyle) wiped his face on the shroud of Turin, and Juniorette thought his tussle with Exalibur was funny. What little bit we saw of Bob Newhart (curator of the archives where Flynn works) and Jane Curtin (who plays Flynn's stern, anal-retentive boss who chides him to remember his receipts next time as he heads off to do battle with bad guys of the world) was as good as it was last time, but the rest of it left us indifferent. I headed upstairs to continue reading a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln and her black seamstress, Elizabeth Keckly (Mmm....historical biography. Now that's tasty!), and Juniorette turned it off shortly after I left.
If you missed it, be assured that it will show again. And again. And again. My intentions really were good, but there just wasn't enough to keep me in my seat. I enjoy "good, stupid fun" as much as the next person, but am not a fan of this particular brand. There are plenty more reviews to help you decide whether or not to tune in:
- Fun romp (Louisville Courier Journal)
- Viewers get the shaft with Mines (LA Daily News)
- Lightweight 'Mines' faithfully follows adventure recipe (The Oregonian)
- In our troubled worldwide ecology, "The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines" is suffused with virtue. Nearly every item in it is recycled from something else. Press materials call this not rehashing but "referencing." OK. The TNT movie is a reference library.
- Good, stupid fun (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
- Innocence the real gem in 'Solomon's Mines (Rocky Mountain News)
I'll be curious to read other libblogger reviews!
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