MOVIE REVIEW: Epic Heroine! "Epic"

"Epic" is the typical tale of young girl gets pulled into a mythical, magical world, finds a set of cajones she never knew she had, and steps up to save the world alongside a rebellious hero type of film. It was textbook, and I don't say that in a mean way -I teach out of textbooks after all. What stood out for me was the portrayal of Queen Tara as played by Beyonce Knowles Carter.

Beyonce (as Tara) was on screen, via her voice, for maybe fifteen minutes or twenty minutes. Her mocha-colored skin coupled with her barely cleaned up Texas-ebonic drawl absolutely delighted me! Unlike the main heroine, M.K. who was thrust into a brave, green world and had to learn the rules fast, Queen Tara existed in this world and its rules; rules that she could create, bend, and stretch. Still being the most powerful being in matriarchal world, the secret lands of Moonhaven held a hint of the male-dominated chauvinism.

What delighted me about Tara, and the sass Beyonce lent to this character, was that this Queen was the perfect balance of I Can Do This Myself and Can You Fellas Give Me A Hand With This. Taking a nod from her true husband, Beyonce as Tara brushes this sad truth off her shoulders with easy smiles and zen-like quips. Tara has the power to take any of her guard down with a flick of her magical wrist but she always identified and admitted when a situation was too much for her. Perfect role model; not just for my daughter but for me too!

I found myself hoping that my daughter ignored the scripted heroine of this tale, M.K., who started off clueless, then puffed out her chest in mock-bravery upon entering Moonhaven and soon rushed in foolhardy to situations that she couldn't handle which inevitably gave the rebel without a cause hero, Nod, something to do. Textbook trope that needs to be updated. But then you see the irony that it was. In this very film!

Ignore those crazy kids. There's another love story afoot! It's so subtle this other love story that I think only the adults understood that a little sumthin' sumthin' was going on behind the trees. The chemistry between Queen Tara and her Captain of the Leaf Guard, Ronin played by Colin Farrel, was palatable and tear-jerky. Their unsaid romance stayed with me after the film. It was perfection! It was epic.