Don't Be So Quix to Judge?

So it turns out that Terry Gilliam is not the only one who is using Cervantes’s famous foibled fighter Don Quixote as a springboard for a feature film. Joel Silver and Warner Bros. are planning an adventure for the knight errant as well. However, they’re taking a “different” approach. They’re making it more sleek and modern-ish. It's being touted as akin to the Pirates of the Caribbean series. It's also been described as along the lines of the recent Sherlock Holmes film.

My gut reaction: Please don’t.

Then I thought about it a bit more. Before I get to my re-evaluation, let me rant just a wee bit. I have not, and will not, see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Why? Because I’m a purist at heart. And I’m sorry, but that is NOT Sherlock Holmes. I’m not saying it should be banned or anything. Just that I can’t abide it myself. Part of my disenchantment is the title. In my opinion, you can’t go calling it Sherlock Holmes when it doesn’t fit with the original concept. Holmes is not an action hero. I’d have less of a problem with it if they’d titled it Sherlock, or Holmes. I say less because the truth is even though that would ‘settle' the matter for me, I just don’t like the idea of Holmes with weaponry, clever quips that belong in “flicks” and such action-oriented sequences. In other words, I don’t cotton to a James Bond-esque Sherlock.

Okay, so, as you might guess, I’m hoping that the new Don Quixote movie is not simply titled Don Quixote when it's nothing like the original. And then the more I thought about it, the more I warmed the idea of revamping this tale. Unlike Holmes, Quixote lends itself to this kind of treatment. I can totally see some dude with ramshackle but nifty armor loaded with pop out knives. I already have a mental image of his army of transforming windmills. It would be stupid… but the kind of stupid that works. And my title suggestion? Quixotic. Or, better yet, if it turns out to be “full on” techno-saavy knight errantry… then I say Psychotic Quixotic.

Let’s hope it’s fun.