If you are not from Central or Eastern Europe, most probably you won´t be familiar with a name of Tomasz "Tomek" Baginski. He was credited for his brilliant work on the "Legendy polskie" ("The Polish Legends"), a series of short movies bringing the old Slavic mythology into a screen with an extremely modern adaptation. If you are a fan of "The Witcher" series you may remember something like "Oh, yeah, isn´t it a guy who produced the first season?" If you are not, the sentence would rather be "Look, I´ve never read fantasy books and I´ve never played any games. So, where the hell this whole "Witcher" thing comes from?"
There is a purpose in this intro: Baginski has been in the movie industry for more than 20 years but "Knights of the Zodicac" is the first ever feature film which he directed.
Apparently, the idea was similar: it is a known fantasy story, so we bring it to the modern time, trying to make a dynamic and fun movie for all kind of spectators. There was only one problem: this is neither any longer the Slavic mythology, nor an adaptation of a fantasy book which plot is based on Europe´s "Dark Ages". It is a story from a completely different culture with completely different traditions and a very different vision on the things. And, for what it worth, you would make it with their money and under Sony, one of their most conservative studios. If Tomek thought they will allow him to do a sort of "The Japanese Legends", I´m afraid he was very mistaken.
We have to greet Sony as well: every time when it looks like they really cannot go lower, they make a new attempt which amazes even the most skeptical. This time they simply have not selected a right person for a right task. And, by the way, I´m not even mentioning this part or the script where "a good man helps an evil woman with kidnapping and killing children". If Sony thinks this will be welcome by parents who will watch "Knights" with their children, they are probably very mistaken.
As for Tomek, I only wish he chooses a right project next time, something where he really can contribute. If you want my opinion, it would be "Twardowski 3.14" and the expansion of the universe based on the Slavic mythology. I´d say the world would welcome these ones much more than yet another re-boot of some old glory which resulted in a questionable script, questionable characters and very questionable future for all involved personnel.
