★★★★☆

Curse of the Judas Chalice earns four stars in my book. The movie trilogy and the resulting television series has a high re-watchable factor. Admittedly it doesn’t have quite as high a re-watchable factor as Warehouse 13, but it’s still pretty high. Probably why I own the Warehouse 13 DVD set and just watch The Librarians when it is on. Of course, with ElectricNow Television, it is always on and worth sitting through the commercials.

Bankable

Years ago I had a co-worker who stated they didn’t like the actor Noah Wyle. I never understood. Then I saw my first movie with Ryan Reynolds and completely understood. There are just some actors who rub you wrong. Any movie that has him in it has to have a whole lot of people I like before I will even consider it. I don’t even care what the plot is.

Thankfully Noah Wyle doesn’t have that problem with me. He seems kind of an every-man hapless Joe and doesn’t overplay the stupid. If I had to give a reason for Ryan Reynolds I would have to say it is because he always overplays the stupid. Movies littered with F-Bombs aren’t funny either. There is a magic threshold and Ryan’s movies always seem to go over it.

Another piece of the bankable factor for these movies is they always seem to include women I like. This one is no exception, it includes Stana Katic. I have talked about her before on this blog. If you remember her from nowhere else, you remember her from Castle.

Strong Women

Strong women make great characters in this movie franchise. Stana really delivers in Curse of the Judas Chalice. They give her both a sexy and bad-ass role, but not in a Marvel Comics way. Read my other review of this franchise for a bit more information on that. The fact they aren’t there to simply be eye candy or simpering puddles is refreshing.

Artifact Era

The Artifact Era started in 2004 with National Treasure starring Nicholas Cage. While the artifacts they were using didn’t have magic powers, they had hidden secrets that unlocked other secrets in a journey. In 2006 Return to King Solomon’s Mine came out, launching this franchise. This opened the door into mass quantities of ancient artifacts having magical powers and the need to lock them away. In 2009 Warehouse 13 took the concept to a shiny new level and ran until 2014.

When Warehouse 13 went off the air, the audience went through mass withdraw. From 2014-2018 we had The Librarians series. It wasn’t Warehouse 13, but it was all we had. In its defense, it wasn’t bad. You can also watch that for free on ElectricNow Television. The writers appeared to know they weren’t as good as the Warehouse 13 team so they dramatically increased the cast. They were hoping the audience would at least bond with characters. We bonded with both in Warehouse 13.

Final Movie in Original Franchise

As a final move in an original franchise this was really well done. You have to keep in mind this was made for cable television on a channel where kids could watch without their parents. You weren’t going to get Game of Thrones cussing, nudity, and violence. When you watch the movie now you will notice some very familiar faces. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself playing the “where are they now” game in your mind.

Sumary

ElectricNow Television made a shrewd investment acquiring the movie franchise and the series. All of them have a high re-watchable factor. You know how it ends and still you watch it all for a third time. Turning these on is a visit from an old friend.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.