The long-awaited "My Name Is Bruce" has been greeted with a lukewarm reception by disciples of Bruce Campbell. There are probably two reasons for that: Firstly, this movie is not the "Evil Dead IV"-substitute many have hoped for, but basically one and a half hours of Campbell taking the p1ss out of himself. Some may mourn the fact that we don't get to see The Return Of Ash, but for me that didn't take away any of the fun from this movie.
Secondly - and this is a much bigger problem - "My Name Is Bruce" has very low production values. Apparently a lot of people behind this project had to work for little or no wages at all. That's admirable, but it's hard to deny that the movie has a cheap look and that the script leaves a lot to be desired.
While the dialog is quick-witted and Campbell delivers his lines perfectly, the rest of the story seems as if it was structured around these one-liners. It's never explained why a whole town would put their trust into Bruce Campbell as their savior. Is this some sort of parallel universe, in which everyone is retarded? It's also questionable whether the Chinese demon Guan-Di makes for a very good antagonist, since he's neither particularly scary, nor funny (Keeper Of The Bean Curd? Hm, well...).
At the end of the day, this is another Bruce Campbell-vehicle saved by the presence of his charismatic leading actor, and even if the story makes no sense, the movie is still better than your average Campbell-flick (hell, I even liked it better than "Bubba Ho-tep"). In its best moments "My Name Is Bruce" is just as entertaining and funny as "Shaun Of The Dead". If only they would have had a bigger budget for better action sequences and better stage design, this could have been a stone dead classic.
Secondly - and this is a much bigger problem - "My Name Is Bruce" has very low production values. Apparently a lot of people behind this project had to work for little or no wages at all. That's admirable, but it's hard to deny that the movie has a cheap look and that the script leaves a lot to be desired.
While the dialog is quick-witted and Campbell delivers his lines perfectly, the rest of the story seems as if it was structured around these one-liners. It's never explained why a whole town would put their trust into Bruce Campbell as their savior. Is this some sort of parallel universe, in which everyone is retarded? It's also questionable whether the Chinese demon Guan-Di makes for a very good antagonist, since he's neither particularly scary, nor funny (Keeper Of The Bean Curd? Hm, well...).
At the end of the day, this is another Bruce Campbell-vehicle saved by the presence of his charismatic leading actor, and even if the story makes no sense, the movie is still better than your average Campbell-flick (hell, I even liked it better than "Bubba Ho-tep"). In its best moments "My Name Is Bruce" is just as entertaining and funny as "Shaun Of The Dead". If only they would have had a bigger budget for better action sequences and better stage design, this could have been a stone dead classic.