The Master of Ballantrae is a swashbuckling film that tries to mark Errol Flynn's comeback, but falls short to do such thing. The movie has some wonderful swordplaying, but lacks story and strong acting. Errol though once again does his part, but the filmmakers don't do their's, except the cinematography. The scenes without the action are dull and tiresome, and the whole set-up of the film isn't very exciting. Errol was at the age of 43 and has aged considerably in the past 15 years. He at times in the film look like he's bored and tired of playing these swashbuckling hero's. The way Errol looks in this film, it's hard to tell that he was the same guy to play Robin Hood and Captain Blood. He at times looks totally unrecongizable. Errol's companion in the film Robert Livesay is a welcome addition and the scenes of the film with him and Errol are fun to watch, but the scenes with anyone else are just not that fun. The film's conclusion is a bit disappointing. The film doesn't end with a mammoth swordfight, but a little, weak chase that was in desperate need of a huge action sequence. To sum it all up, not good, not bad, just average. ** out of ****.
Review of The Master of Ballantrae
