Time Bandits

[Time Bandits] brings the laughs I had expected from Palin & Co., addresses some narrative inconsistencies, and comes with a great cast.

Time Bandits is far from a perfect translation of the beloved film — and thank god for that. It cleverly and successfully carves out its own identity while paying homage to the spirit of Gilliam’s original vision. Rather than visit the past, it forges its own worthwhile future.

“Time Bandits,” premiering Wednesday on Apple TV+, adopts the premise and particulars of Terry Gilliam’s wonderful 1981 comic fantasy adventure and stretches it, without breaking, into a television series. Created by Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi and Iain Morris, it’s likable, lively, funny and fun.

Few high-concept family TV shows dare to invite people to do their homework. “Time Bandits” floats the possibility that viewers learn a few things while accepting that most will watch for the lighthearted jokes and the stars. That approach may not earn it a future season. But we’re content enough to tag along for the hours it’s been allotted.

A worthy tribute to both Gilliam’s baroque, fantastical style and the blustery humor of his script, co-authored by fellow Python member Michael Palin.

This rambunctious caper will still appeal to fans of the original, but is easy enough to delve into for those unfamiliar with Gilliam’s eccentricities. If thing we might have in common with the gang, its that our time is precious – it’s worth spending yours on Time Bandits.

If you're looking for a fun, silly diversion and clever character-oriented comedy for the family, "Time Bandits" is a pleasant time to be had. This iteration stands well on its own as a delightful sci-fi romp that might actually make your kid want to crack open a history book for once.

Time Bandits is something akin to Horrible Histories meets Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. There’s nothing new here, but it really doesn’t matter. This is a loving – and ultimately loveable – homage.

In the season’s latter half, the fantasy plot supersedes our character-focused frolicking and the frothy misadventure vibes of Time Bandits take a slight knock, but the show confidently regains its footing for a conclusion that sets up a prospective next season of adventure and inter-dimensional intrigue that, no matter how skeptical you initially felt, you’ll want to see where—or when—we end up next.

It's an ideal match of creative talent and material, with serious appeal for history buffs of all ages.

The good news is that “Bandits 2.0” finds that sweet spot between simply tracing over the original and straying too far from the source material, the result being a breezy, slyly humorous, rousing adventure suitable for all but the very youngest of viewers.

Time Bandits loses a little steam late in the season as the focus turns to Kevin's quest and away from his trip through time. It's unclear, too, whether some dangling plot threads got lost in the process or will be resumed if the series gets a second season. This first season, however, makes that prospect a welcome one.

The new gear that Time Bandits finds in its second half isn’t necessarily ambitious or inspired, and it definitely won’t traumatize young viewers — decide for yourself if a less disturbing, less bizarre Time Bandits is a pro or con — but it’s fun and something I’d happily watch more of.

I like the writing in pretty much every episode I watched (about half the series), and the performances are never less than adequate, even if the supporting cast is so overrun with Aussie soap stars as to underwhelm in many a promising historical part.

The resting comic temperature is Our Flag Means Death (which Waititi also starred in) meets Horrible Histories. If you’re after family viewing suffused with warmth and brazen silliness, you won’t be disappointed.

Despite the huge budget the show clearly has, it says a lot that some of the most memorable moments come when the show strips that down, focusing more on the people than the place they’re in. Overall, though, the series is a fun and heartwarming ride, with plenty of potential to go further should they decide to.

There are enough funny elements, and good performances, in Time Bandits to keep watching beyond the first episode. But we’re not sure there is enough there to sustain audience interest — whether it’s kids or adults — for ten episodes.

Waititi and Clement’s lack of breaking stereotypes surrounding the little people first seen in the film could have been considered, instead of pushing them to the background. While the season finale sets up a bigger story for them, it should have been equally emphasized. This lack of depth in the ensemble cast diminishes Time Bandits' overall impact, as it fails to stand out as a series worthy of the cult classic.

The 10-episode season is passable, even pleasing, for the most part. It rarely feels overly indebted to its predecessor, even if it’s also not ambitious enough in mapping out its own course. Maybe a second season is all they need to break up the routine.

"Time Bandits" is genuinely educational and quite definitely a family program. But the bandits themselves (Tadhg Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Kiera Thompson and Rune Temte) are rather dim and their leader, Penelope (Lisa Kudrow), is little more than a sour-dispositioned kleptomaniac.

Though relatively faithful in premise to Terry Gilliam’s 1981 original, this TV remake sands down most of its edges.

Depending on one’s attachment to Terry Gilliam’s 1981 movie, the series version of “Time Bandits” on Apple TV+ will land somewhere between a loving reboot and cinematic heresy.

It’s a lesser piece of work from its creators, having the rough comic shape of their more famous material, but not being distinctive, funny, or emotionally resonant enough to stick.

The show is unfailingly clever, visually interesting and at least mildly amusing. It is wan, though, compared to other series that Clement, Morris and Waititi have collaborated on, like “Flight of the Conchords” and the riotous “What We Do in the Shadows.”

Despite its combination of great comedy talents, this ambitious adaptation sadly falls flat, failing to capture the anarchic zing of the original.

A blunder of historic proportions.