Product Description

Noah Wyle (TV's ER) is back as Flynn Carson, along with Bob Newhart (Elf) and Jane Curtin (Coneheads), in the most thrilling adventure in The Librarian series yet! On a deadly mission to recover the historic Judas Chalice, Flynn is saved by - and falls in love with - Simone, a dazzling French woman who harbors a terrifying secret. But when double-crossed by a respected professor (Bruce Davison - X-Men, X2) and ambushed by a ruthless gang, Flynn realizes Simone's secret, his true mission and a shocking discovery are all lying within a decaying New Orleans crypt?a crypt that may be holding Prince Vlad Dracul, whom the world has feared for centuries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1921 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2009-02-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
The third installment in the Librarian franchise more than keeps up with the (Indiana) Joneses. It's unpretentious, good-natured, family-friendly fun without any Crystal Skull-esque letdown. And it's got vampires! Not soulful, swooning high-school vampires, either, but the Big Kahuna of bloodsuckers--Dracula! Noah Wyle returns as Flynn Carsen, the globe-trotting librarian who battles supernatural forces while securing the world's mythical artifacts for the mammoth (and secret) Metropolitan Library. But a disillusioned Flynn needs a vacation after the demands of his job cost him yet another relationship with a woman who cannot deal with "the wild and unpredictable lifestyle of dating a librarian." No sooner does he arrive in New Orleans then he becomes embroiled in a former KGB agent's outrageous plot to restore Russia's former glory by using the eponymous relic to revive Dracula to lead an army of "unkillable soldiers." Throw in a beautiful French chanteuse (Stana Katic) with a secret (suffice to say that when she sings about how she wishes she could feel the sun again, she's not kidding) and a disabled professor and vampire expert (Bruce Davison) and the stage is set for good old fashioned B movie (okay, B+) pleasures, including corny jokes and special effects that work hard for the money. The appealing Wyle, as one character observes of Flynn, "is very convincing as a hapless loser," and he gets invaluable comic support from Jane Curtin, as cost-scrutinizinglibrary administrator Charlene, and Bob Newhart as Flynn's mentor, Judson, who encourages the reluctant hero to "embrace his destiny." Hopefully, that means another Librarian adventure. If not, Judas Chalice brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Treasure hunts, exotic beauties, saving the world - it's good to be the Librarian
- An outraged Flynn Carsen (on having his tuxedo shirt ripped during a sword duel): "This is rented!"
- His urbane (yet evil) opponent: "Of course it is."

It's always a guilty pleasure catching up with the Librarian, whose job is to guard history's secret relics and treasures, some of these magical in nature and all stowed away in the hidden chambers of the Metropolitan Library of New York. Flynn Carsen is sort of like a modern-day Indiana Jones, except that he's awkward and plenty nerdy. But Flynn does keep his wits about him, and, after years of holding down the Librarian gig, he now boasts experience and smidgens of confidence. This current Librarian may fumble about some, but it's always fun seeing how he'll get out of whatever scrape.

The more things change... The movie opens with Flynn at a posh event applying the finishing touches to his tuxedo. He then navigates down a stairway, sips champagne, and then does a spit take with the champagne. Which goes to show that, even after all this time, Flynn Carsen is still refreshingly hapless. But, after this latest escapade, which climaxes in a sword fight, Flynn Carsen is officially burnt out (his girlfriend dumping him has something to do with it). Back at the library, by virtue of sheer grousing, he gets himself some time off and ends up flying to New Orleans, all gigged out in bow tie and panama hat. So, as they say in the Big Easy, laissez les bon temps roullez.

Or not. The holiday rapidly turns into a desperate relic hunt, with Flynn taking on ex-KGB agents, voodoo magic, and the undead. Along the way, he partners up with a mysterious chanteuse to rescue a kidnapped scientist. The relic in question is the rumored Judas Chalice, of which origin dates back to Judas Iscariot and his 30 pieces of silver. The chalice reeks of malice but holds the brew that is true - that is, if you're a vampire in need of resurrecting. And, since those ex-KGB agents have unearthed the coffin of Vlad Dracul, you can see where this is going.

What I like best about TNT's Librarian series is that it's not at all pretentious. It wallows in its unabashed cheesiness and farce, even as it hunkers down with a pretty good adventure story. THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE is the third in the series, and it doesn't disappoint its fans. Hokey fun, mythical artifacts, indecipherable manuscripts, supernatural villains, and a likable, nebbish, talky hero (even the bad guys complain of his always talking in paragraphs). By now, Noah Wyle's got his part down cold. The neat thing about his character is that he can do something heroic but, then, subsequently have the rug pulled out from under him. And, when this happens, he's so damn good-natured about it.

Flynn has had a hard time keeping his lady loves. First Nicole (Sonya Walger), then Emily Davenport (Gabrielle Anwar). This time out, Wyle's romantic interest is exotic Stana Katic, who plays bluesy singer Simone Renoir with femme fatale nuances. Maybe she's a keeper. Or not. Meanwhile, Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart (at his stammering best) are again solidly on board as the museum directors.

I never thought I'd ever say this, but I had a better time with THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE than with that last Indiana Jones flick. This movie, like its predecessors (The Librarian - Quest for the Spear & The Librarian - Return to King Solomon's Mines) are tongue-in-cheek throwbacks to those high adventure pictures churned out back in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. I don't think I'm reaching that much when I say that even the score here is rousing enough that it actually reminded me of those Errol Flynn swashbucklers. But, of course, Flynn Carsen is no Errol Flynn. Errol doesn't know the Dewey Decimal System.

Just when you thought there wasn't anything good on TV
This is the third of the "Librarian" TV movies with Noah Wyle and I think they keep improving each time out. With all the vampire movies and books out there right now, it must have seemed only natural to pit Flynn against the undead and it did not disappoint! Action, humor and mystery in good combination. Bob Newhart and Jane Curtain were excellent as always and Excaliber had a very nice scene. That sword has definitely become a character in itself! The only downer is that I kept hearing that this was the final one and I'm really hoping that either I heard wrong or they change their mind! Great production values and good FX but these movies are definitely story and character-driven. Make more please!!

Surprising depth
I've enjoyed all three installments of this series, the "Curse of the Judas Chalice" may well be the best of the three.

The Librarian series is Indiana Jones Lite, and that's just fine. There is plenty of humor and other elements to interest adults, and action and 'cool factor' for kids to enjoy ... or vice versa. LOL

The one thing the Librarian might want to work on, though, is hiding his trail. Where ever he's heading, the bad guys always show up just behind him, and occasionally even beat him there!

These movies are worthwhile if, for no other reason, to see what may turn out to be some of Bob Newhart's final roles.