I was hoping for more high stake concerns in the vein of Gods of Egypt instead of a cyberpunk style wannabe Power Rangers episode. That’s because there’s often five warriors working together to honour the name of Athena. But even then, there’s others who will tarnish her role in history; she’s hardly a threat if I remember the series premise correctly.
This Americanised take is compressing too much into a long presentation and doesn’t recognise what made the Saint Seiya great. Technically, it wasn’t deemed an instant hit when that first came out. The manga fared better as it delved into exploring the life of each knight and its connection to the Greco-Roman mythology that it’s vaguely based on.
And here, the Table Round of Arthurian tradition is not fully represented. In this film, we’re introduced to only three. There’s Seiya (Mackenyu Arata), an orphan searching for his missing sister. He’s in an underground MMA fighting ring to make ends meet, rather than to gather clues to his sibling’s whereabouts. Just why he thought he’d get answers here is a plot hole, and as for showing off his combat prowess, he tends to breakdance his way to semi-victory than anything else. When his style draws the attention of Cassios (Nick Stahl) and Guraad (Famke Janssen), that’s when things get worse.
Apparently, he possesses the power of the Pegasus; it manifests in the most inopportune of times and unless he knows how to control it, he’ll never be a saint. Alman Kido (Sean Bean) and his trusty servant Mylock (Mark Dacascos) know more about the kid than he does, and although they take him into the fold, I was left wondering where are the other Knights?
Instead, what Seiya needs to discover is who he truly is in an impossible journey. This hero’s quest is more akin to The Karate Kid. His sensei is the mysterious Silver Knight Marin (Caitlin Hutson) and why she won’t help isn’t a mystery. She’s the island guardian.
Comparatively, Sienna (Madison Iseman) also can’t depart from her home, as it’s built to hide her energy signature. Guraad and Nero (Diego Tinoco) want Sienna’s dormant cosmic power. Because she is the reincarnation of Athena, they fear everything will be destroyed when the god-form fully manifests. As far as I know, there’s no legend concerning Athena hating all of humanity, and instead I was reminded of the Egyptian story, “The Destruction of Mankind.”
When Baginski is more caught up with Sony’s God of War for inspiration than to bring in full Wuxia style action, what’s presented isn’t all that exciting. I thought I was watching G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra instead. There’s a lot of obvious green screen CGI manipulation and also, Guraad is very much like the Baroness! Those robots in this movie look too much like those Cobra B.A.T.S. (robots)! When she recruits Cassios to her cause, that’s when the stakes get better. I could at least buy into the instant hate he has for Seiya.
Maybe some long beloved classic anime series should not be adapted to live-action. Technically, that hasn’t stopped some American producers from bringing the best IPs to the big screen, like Alita. When the original studio is involved, sometimes what’s made is a mixed bag. To find the right talents to helm a live action take means checking on their credentials. Knights of Zodiac suffers because Tomasz Baginski’s involvement with The Witcher is a far cry from what this IP represents.
3 Stars out of 5
Knights of the Zodiac Movie Trailer
