- Title: The Librarian Quest for the Spear
- Director: Peter Winther
- Date: 2004 (5 December 2004)
- Studio: TNT (Television)
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
- Cast: Noah Wyle, Sonya Walger, Bob Newhart, Jane Curtin, Kyle MacLachlan, Kelly Hu, Olympia Dukakis
- Format: Color, Widescreen (HD)
- DVD Format: R1, NTSC
"You are about to begin a wondrous adventure from which you will never be the same. Welcome to The Library." -- Judson (Bob Newhart)
"You are now part of a very special community. The secret of the library has been kept for thousands of years." -- Judson
"I believe in you, Flynn, I think there's a possibility you could be a great librarian." -- Judson
Flynn Carson is a bookish professional student, with twenty-two degrees, six alone in Egyptology (one wonders how he paid for them all? But thinking of the Real World is not something you should do while watching this film). His current professor gets fed up with him, and throws him out into the "Real World" to get a job midway through the semester, signing off on his degree. Flynn is devestated - he has no idea how to get a job and doesn't really want one. He goes home, where his mother has set him up on a blind date with a girl about his own age - who's a social worker. Flynn gets even more depressed.
Flynn's in his room, when he suddenly finds an envelope. He opens it and words appear, inviting him to apply for the position of The Librarian. Flynn goes to the interview. At The Library, there's a huge line of applicants. Flynn hears the protests and even cries of the previous applicants. He's about to duck out of line when a voice orders him in. Flynn passes the pre-test question easily, and more importantly passes the Real Question. He meets Judson, who takes him into The Library, underneath the library. The Library is a wondrous place, indeed, home to all of human knowledge, and a number of magical, mystical, and real human artifacts, such as Pandora's Box, the Mona Lisa, the Ark of the Covenant and Excalibur.
Flynn is beginning to settle in to his new job, when there's a break in. Judson is knocked out, but not seriously harmed. It seems one part of the Spear of Destiny has been stolen. The Spear was broken in to three pieces for safe keeping. Flynn is sent on a quest to find the other two pieces of the Spear and stop the evil organization known as the Serpent Brotherhood from assembling the Spear and causing havoc. Flynn is soon joined on his quest by Nicole, a bodyguard for the Library.
The film resembles classic adventure films like the Indiana Jones films and Romancing the Stone. But it is not a parody. It takes that style of film and introduces it's own characters and it's own plotline, but most of all it has fun. There is a lot of humor in this movie - it's it's not simply the obligatory quip and the occasional really good one-liner. The film is simply fun to watch and the cast is terrific. Noah Wyle is great as the wide-eyed, bumbling, professional student who has, among other things, memorized the Earth, but can't quite master flirting with a girl, or have much in the way of practical knowledge of the Real World. Nicole is very like Michael Douglas's character in Romancing the Stone - we even see her hacking away at jungle growth with a machete, while the branches hit Flynn. But the story opens up too - not only do the characters go to a jungle in South America, but also to mysterious Shargri-La in the Himalayas. Nicole has a reason for her somewhat icy personality, but she's dedicated to her job of protecting The Librarian. And Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin, have small roles in terms of screen time - but they are vital to the plot. And both make the film that much more fun.
This is simply an enjoyable film to watch. It's bright, and funny, and fun. And it's a good start to the series' universe. Yes, this is a TNT Original film, which spawned two sequels, and a television series which starts in December 2014.
Recommendation: See it
Rating: 4 Stars
Next Film: The Librarian Return to King Soloman's Mines
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