Terry Gilliam's striking imagery, masterful use of the wide angle lens, distinct camera angles, and his unique sense of humor (finely honed during his days with Monty Python) can all be found in Time Bandits. These elements are why Gilliam is one of my favorite filmmakers. There is no one else like him. I feel he vastly improved with his later films, but Time Bandits is still a spectacular experience.
A particular thing about Time Bandits that impresses me is the toys and pictures seen in Kevin's room at the beginning of the film are all represented with their real-life counterparts in later scenes. It's a brilliant touch. It's part of the movie's over-all theme of an imaginative boy, starved for attention due to his loveless, neglectful parents, who goes on an adventure through time. Did it really happen, or was it all just inventions of his imagination? The answer is not needed, but the question it raises is a touch of great filmmaking.
Also, Time Bandits should be commended for being the first, and one of the only, films to show little people as real people. They are historically exploited or stuck in silly costumes throughout entire movies, but here, they are given the chance to really act, and not be treated as glorified props. I hope Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame holds great respect to Time Bandits, and acknowledges the doors this movie opened for little people in the entertainment industry.
I give Time Bandits a 7 out of 10. It's a good movie, but it doesn't reach the greatness that he later achieved with Brazil, Munchhausen, the Fisher King, and Twelve Monkeys. Still, for those who haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a watch.
One final note: most of the camera angles in Time Bandits are low. A perfect touch, considering the small stature of all the lead characters. Many filmmakers forget this with movies told from a child's perspective.
