Mandrake the Magician gets rebooted

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Mandrake the Magician gets rebooted; with Anakin Skywalker
Topic Started: May 19 2009, 11:01 AM (305 Views)
mcr07376	May 19 2009, 11:01 AM Post #1
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 61 Group: Members Member #313 Joined: December 9, 2007	According to a story on comingsoon.net, Star Wars prequels star Hayden Christensen will star in a new rebooting of Mandrake the Magician. With that and a SciFi Channel version of The Phantom, which looks terrible in the works, how many more old comic characters will be left to trash.



The Batman	May 19 2009, 11:16 AM Post #2
Charter Member Posts: 5,570 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: September 4, 2005	That's horrible news on both fronts, M. Hayden Christensen is a terrible actor, especially in genre material, as evidenced with the Star Wars prequels and JUMPER. And the SCI-FI Channel's involvement in anything will guarantee that it stinks. Bad news, all around.



CliffClaven	May 19 2009, 12:12 PM Post #3
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 232 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	Mandrake exists more as an icon than a character, so you could conceivably do just about anything with him and get away with it. People sort of know he's the stereotyped top-hat magician who fights crime, but only serious buffs would even recognize sidekick Lothar -- either in his outrageous original incarnation or his current identity as the less-anachronistic half of the team. The original comic strip was certainly silly, but it was more impressive than the Columbia serial that gave us a bland, clean-shaven Mandrake, turned the muscle-man Lothar into a vaguely Asian servant, and offered jaw-droppingly lame "magic" (Mandrake thrills people with grade-school level coin tricks, and when even minimal skill is required they zoom in on what are likely someone else's hands or even find an excuse for Mandrake to wear a head mask).



The Batman	May 19 2009, 12:21 PM Post #4
Charter Member Posts: 5,570 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: September 4, 2005	CliffClaven May 19 2009, 12:12 PM Mandrake exists more as an icon than a character, so you could conceivably do just about anything with him and get away with it. Really, Cliff? Does that mean you should be allowed to? Have you seen THE SPIRIT?



CliffClaven	May 20 2009, 09:23 PM Post #5
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 232 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	I only saw ads for THE SPIRIT -- that was enough to tell it was a misfire. But if the Eisner estate signed an agreement, that made it legally if not artistically defensible. As a practical matter, there are characters audiences will let you mess with and others who require special handling (Just wait till the new Sherlock Holmes movies come out). As an aesthetic matter, there are some that invite reinvention (Batman's basic story plays as everything from camp comedy to bloody film noir) and some that resist it. The Spirit himself is just a private eye with a mask. What makes the comic great is not the character but Eisner's not-like-anybody-else art and storytelling. If you're going to take that away, you damn well better have something to fill the void. The Spirit isn't as well known as Batman, so general audiences didn't recognize the lack of Eisner's sensibility. But they DID recognize a big action movie with empty space under the special effects. Mandrake the Magician is not remembered for being a great comic strip. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find anybody outside of serious buffs who remember him at all. The name calls up the iconic image of a silk-hatted magician -- but nearly nothing else. I have a book of 40s Mandrake strips; they're B-movie slick, probably on a par with most of the comics of the day, but far behind Terry and the Pirates or even Alley Oop. Lee Falk came up with something genuinely novel with the Phantom, and his backstory and adventures really helped overcome what is still one of the silliest superhero costumes ever. But in Mandrake, it's just a hypnotist making thugs hallucinate (When that didn't work, it was time for Lothar, the African strongman who wore little shorts and a fez. His battle cries included, "You bad fellas! Me fix!"). Very little else by way of style or substance. In recent decades Mandrake has evolved -- He married his faithful princess, the tuxedo gets a rest once in a while, and the cringe-inducing Lothar matured into a black American action hero with proper English and proper pants. But with adventure strips shrunk and shoved off too many comic pages, the old Mandrake image is the one that persists. Mandrake is comparable to Betty Boop, whose image moves a lot of merchandise even though her cartoons are only available as a few sorry PD titles. I'd almost bet that somebody in Hollywood heard a character called Mandrake still had measurable recognition and was available fairly cheap. A deal was made and now they're reading through old copies of the strip to see where CGI effects can go ("Hey! This Mandrake guy is a magician, see? He can make dinosaurs appear!"). Of course it's unlikely to be faithful to the strip, either in its "classic" or current incarnation. My point is, the very few who notice are equally unlikely to really mind. That said, if they screw up the Lone Ranger or the Shadow again, there's gonna be trouble.



The Batman	May 21 2009, 07:05 AM Post #6
Charter Member Posts: 5,570 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: September 4, 2005	Cliff, again, sure legally Frank Miller was allowed to make THE SPIRIT; but morally, he should not have been allowed anywhere near it. I'm not saying you can't mess with a less iconic character like Mandrake. I'm just not pleased with the type of "talent" that will be involved in making it.



Black Tiger	May 21 2009, 07:45 AM Post #7
Charter Member Posts: 1,818 Group: Members Member #50 Joined: September 15, 2005	I agree with Batman on this one. The Spirit movie was a total misfire (well, except for the gorgeous women, of course ). Seeing the ads is only the tip of the iceberg. I mean, giving the Spirit a super heroic healing ability? Really, now! Eisner's estate may have agreed to it, but it has none of the wit, charm, humor or talent of Eisner's strip at all. As far as Mandrake goes, a "Sci Fi Channel Original" program is a major red flag. They have yet to produce anything worthwhile. I'm not saying they won't some day, but they haven't to date. Their Flash Gordon comes particularly to mind.



The Batman	May 21 2009, 07:48 AM Post #8
Charter Member Posts: 5,570 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: September 4, 2005	Black Tiger May 21 2009, 07:45 AM The SCI-FI Channel have yet to produce anything worthwhile. I'm not saying they won't some day, but they haven't to date. Their Flash Gordon comes particularly to mind. Don't forget their MAN-THING movie! What a disappointing treatment of one of my favourite offbeat Marvel characters.



greyseal	Jun 16 2009, 06:02 PM Post #9
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 411 Group: Members Member #355 Joined: February 10, 2008	I don't think the Mandrake film is going to be a Sci Fi (or Syfy) original program. Hayden Christensen's career has not gone that low yet. It's going to be a theatrical release. Here is a url with the information about the film Mandrake film One good thing is we've been spared Criss Angel in the staring role, but here is a quote from the web page with the film synopsis: Quote: Jackson Mandrake lives life on the edge. Working as an underground magician and escapologist, his act has grown increasingly dangerous. Following a daring escape from an SUV that has been dropped out of an plane at the Burning Man Festival, he is coerced by the CIA into breaking a deep-cover agent named Xi Shing Lung out of a maximum security jail. Hypnosis, contortion, distraction and technical wizardry all come into play as Mandrake breaks the agent out from the inside within a 24-hour deadline. But back on the outside, Mandrake learns that it was all a set-up. Xi is a CIA agent gone bad. He offers Mandrake the chance to join his crime ring. When Mandrake refuses, he�s a marked man. He must escape his would-be-killers and also the real CIA who accuse him of being in league with Xi. His quest to clear his name leads him into all sorts of dangers, which he must overcome with daredevil escapes that require all his conjuring skills. And along the way, Mandrake is forced to confront his past and the girl he left behind� It might work, it couldn't be any worse than Jumper.



The Batman	Jun 17 2009, 06:22 AM Post #10
Charter Member Posts: 5,570 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: September 4, 2005	greyseal Jun 16 2009, 06:02 PM It might work, it couldn't be any worse than Jumper. Yes, it might, and with a little effort yes, it could; respectively.



CliffClaven	Jun 18 2009, 12:42 PM Post #11
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 232 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	From the sound of it, the name Mandrake is the only connection with the comic strip. They could dub their hero Magic Guy and save whatever money they paid for the rights. It's a puzzlement as to why they bothered, since Mandrake's name probably has zero value to SciFi's audience -- unless they all have fond memories of "Defenders of the Earth." In that case, be on the lookout for a really bad version of The Phantom (they already took their shot at Flash Gordon).



mcr07376	Jun 19 2009, 06:37 PM Post #12
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 61 Group: Members Member #313 Joined: December 9, 2007	Actually SciFi (Or whatever they call themselves) are redooing The Phantom as a miniseries. I don't recall who've they cast but it was another "Pretty boy" which is my issue not only with that, but Mandrake and even John Carter of Mars. It seems the directors and studios instead of casting actors who might be right for the roles are going for these guys because they can get teen girls into the seats. To me that's the sad thing, that instead of wondering if these guys have any talent whatsoever it's get some teen heartthrob. Granted I don't expect Marlon Brando, but to me its the difference between Harrison Ford in the first Star Wars (great charisma and humor) vs. Hayden Christensen in Episode II and III (no personality and very stiff.) I also agree with the Bat, Frank Miller may have had the rights, but did really have the moral justification to ruin the Spirit. What did Eisner do to him?



Black Tiger	Jun 20 2009, 10:44 AM Post #13
Charter Member Posts: 1,818 Group: Members Member #50 Joined: September 15, 2005	Speaking of the Sci Fi Channel, just why are they changing it to Sy Fy?



marlin lee	Jun 20 2009, 07:58 PM Post #14
Charter Member Posts: 5,076 Group: Members Member #6 Joined: September 2, 2005	Black Tiger Jun 20 2009, 10:44 AM Speaking of the Sci Fi Channel, just why are they changing it to Sy Fy? Legal reasons. Sci-fi being a generic term makes it harder to trademark.



panzer the great & terrible	Sep 14 2009, 12:52 PM Post #15
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,356 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Why do they cast heartthrobs in superhero movies? So they can be date movies. Hollywood has been that way for almost a hundred years, it's never going to change and there's no use complaining.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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