Do you like Tom Hardy? Good luck with your first starring role that’s funny!

When we think of an actor who became famous, we sometimes forget that success knocked on his door slowly. This was the case with Tom Hardy, who took seven years to break through Bronson (2008). In the meantime, he made several small appearances, as well as the film Minotaur (2006), which marked his first leading role.

what does he say

Every three years, the village of Tena sends eight young men into an underground labyrinth to sacrifice to the terrible god the Minotaur. Learning from a prophetess that his previously sacrificed companion would still be alive in the labyrinth, Theo decides to replace one of the victims and confront the terrifying creature.

The film is directed by Jonathan Inglis, who a few years later would direct the very good Blood of the Templars released in French cinemas in 2011 and its sequel (available straight to DVD and less successful). The Minotaur is his second feature film and marks Tom Hardy’s first major role in his career.

There are features!

Filmed for $7 million in Luxembourg and distributed by Lionsgate, it was never released in France. Minotaur First broadcast in the US on the SyFy channel, then straight to DVD. And if SyFy broadcasts the movie above average for the genre, we have to admit that The Minotaur has several features, but here are some of the same:

– More than adequate special effects with the minotaur visually standing (but on four legs, contrary to the most common image).

– Special attention to the decorations of the Disciples of the Minotaur, which recall the cult of Mola Ram and the cult of bandits in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (a sect that actually existed).

– The atmosphere sways towards “slasher” with the sacrificial prisoners of the labyrinth and the creatures that can appear at any moment. That’s all for a while for fans of the genre.

For the rest, there’s not much to salvage from this film, which is too corny for its own good and in which the actors do their best to breathe some life into it. They all lack charisma, including Hardy, and the fact that the actor is wearing a too-obvious wig makes the Minotaur lose all credibility, making it a very average B-series and pretty laughable overall.

However, a find for the curious and (false) mythology lovers!