Mythica: A Quest for Heroes is a 2014 action-adventure fantasy film directed by Anne K. Black, starring Melanie Stone, Adam Johnson, and Jake Stormoen. The film is the first film in the Mythica film series and follows a young slave girl named Marek who meets the priestess Teela and forms a crew to save Teela’s sister’s, who was kidnapped by a wild ogre.

Watching this film, I felt like I was something from Dungeons & Dragons or Dragon Age. It has the gritty feel of the dark time that it portrays while at the same time feeling like a lighthearted adventure. The story is pretty simple and favors the underdog troupe which I think works to the film’s benefit. I liked the story and thought it was enjoyable. Yeah, there are films that have done it better. Yeah, it’s pretty predictable. I thought the ending would we be dull, but it was pretty fun. The spiders were random but fun. Not really much character development, although Marek does become a stronger character.

The characters are decent and check most boxes of a film like this. Marek is the magic user, Thane’s the brawler, Dagen’s the thief, and Teela is the priestess. They’re okay as a unit and by the end of the film I thought they were okay. Yeah, they quarrel quite a lot, but I think they did grow. Thane disappointed me a lot because he’s a veteran soldier but in almost every skirmish he gets wounded or knocked out. And maybe that’s because he’s the brawler, but I would’ve liked to see him be this force of nature. Overall, the story and characters are decent though they could’ve done better. (2 out of 5)

The film does a decent job with the special effects despite the film’s budget. Now, there are some instances where the special effects are a little wonky. The practical and makeup effects are actually good. The costume designs are actually pretty good. There are some decent locations and set pieces.
The special effects when it comes to the creatures and magical powers aren’t the best but they’re decent for film’s budget. Have there been YouTube videos with better effects. Yes, yes there have been. There’s also a giant ogre and yeah, it’s pretty obvious. Pretty much PS2/PS3 quality. There’s a fight with giant spiders and they’re practical, although the animatronics aren’t the best.

The music and sound design are decent, and I liked Nathaniel Drew’s composition. You will not walk away from the film remembering the music but there are some good bits to help emphasize the emotion or the action. At times the music does sound a bit grandiose, especially when our characters are doing these mundane tasks, during some of the battles, when characters are delivering a speech. Overall, the special effects are a joke at times but the practical and the music is good. (3 out of 5)

I did not mind the cast and I thought they did a good job. Melanie Stone plays Marek, the main protagonist of the film, and she’s pretty good. I though she gave a good, convincing performance. Supporting her is Adam Johnson (as Thane), Jake Stormoen (as Dagen), and Nicola Posener (as Teela) and they’re good as they can be. Not as much chemistry as it could’ve been, but I liked the performances.
Of course, the star power is Kevin Sorbo. The guy is a legend in the fantasy series because of his performance as Hercules. He’s plays Kevin Sorbo (as Gojun Pye) which brings a certain charm to his performance. He’s not given much time but if you’re a fan you’ll like what he contributes (and probably be frustrated he’s not in the film more). This cast also includes Christopher Robin Miller, Natalie Devine Riskas, Bobby Jacoby, Kee Chan, Jay Beacham, Sebastian Michael Barr, and Michael Fynn.

The script and the writing are okay. You shouldn’t walk into this expecting a Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit level of writing. But it’s enjoyable enough to where you won’t walk away feeling like you’d just watched 2000s Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a lot of violence though there are some films breaking (actually a lot) moments. There’s an epic battle with our heroes against a horde of vicious orcs. And they take them out fairly easy. The dialogue is pretty decent, the characterization could be a little better, the pacing and editing is a bit of a roller coaster, but the direction is good. I didn’t mind the direction Anne K. Black was going for. I think she understands the genre though I think she could’ve worked a little better towards the story and characterization. The casting, performances, and direction are okay though the writing could’ve been better. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict: Mythica: A Quest for Heroes is actually a decent film. It’s definitely direct-to-DVD quality but it’s actually pretty entertaining. Of course, it being low budget the special effects aren’t the best and the writing does suffer from questionable choices and lackluster quality. However, I liked the characters, the performances, the action, and the music. Mythica: A Quest for Heroes gets 3 out of 5.