Movie Review: The Librarian - Quest for the Spear

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun story with fun characters (sensing a fun theme?)

Cons: A bit uneven and predictable

The Bottom Line:

Quest to find a spear

Flynn is in over his head

Fun as we join him

“The Fate of the World is in My Hands?  That is Just So…Sad.”

I always had intended to watch the Librarian movies that TNT made and aired last decade.  I’d missed them when they were on TV, and somehow never got around to tracking them down after that.  But with the TV series starting up, they aired all those movies, so I was finally able to go back and watch them.  I started with The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, which I enjoyed.

Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle) is a professional student who is shocked and upset one day to learn that he is being kicked completely out of college for at least six months.  Going home to his room, in the house he shares with his mother (Olympia Dukakis), he finally gets the wakeup call that he needs to go out and do something with his life.  When he is asked to come in for an interview at the library, he thinks he’s found his job.

Only when he gets the job, he realizes that it is not about guarding books.  He’s actually working of an organization that tries to keep the supposedly powerful objects of the world safe and hidden.  That first night Judson (Bob Newhart), his new boss, is attacked and a third of a spear is stolen.  Now Flynn must use research to go into the Amazon and find the next piece before the villains get the entire thing and the power that goes with it.

Watching it, I couldn’t help but compare this to Indiana Jones.  I mean, the quest for the mythical objects is a bit obvious, right?  There are plenty of superficial elements that are different, but for the most part, it is true.

But you know what?  I didn’t care.  I was having fun following Flynn as he finally gets some real world experiences.  Granted, most of us don’t have our lives threatened multiple times our first week on a new job, but this is a movie, right?  The situations he gets into and out of are creative, and the ending is great.  There were a few slow spots, but that wasn’t enough to ruin the film overall.

Everyone seems to be having fun in this film.  Yes, the acting is fine with no performances that will pull you out of the film.  But I think they were all enjoying working on it, which often comes through to me.  As a fan of Lost and FlashForward, I got a kick out of seeing Sonya Wagner playing the female lead, Nicole Noone, who meets up with Flynn to protect him on his quest.

Not all of the effects worked, especially big green screen shots.  But this is a made for TV movie, so I’m really not complaining there.

So if you’ve missed The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, find a way to change that today.  While it might not be the most original story out there, it is fun, and you’ll be glad you watched it.