I originally only watched the last hour of this movie and glad that was all. This film lacked many necessary features in order to make it any type of real monster conflict movie. There were also numerous details that were missing or conflicted. A Pegasus is supposed to have wings and this only showed a white horse - boo hiss. A Chimera, although various depictions exist, is mainly a multi-headed beast which this was not. Towards the end where the Chimera and the Pegasus were battling, the movie showed a wound to the left side of the Pegasus and then shortly afterwards, the wound was on the right. Get serious, what kind of amateur would allow that! Also the camera man was so shaky at numerous points, I almost got seasick. Overall this was a lackluster attempt at a mythological conflict and wasn't worth the time to even view it.
8 Reviews
Horsing Around
wes-connors25 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
A couple of men in togas encounter a dinosaur-type beast. The incident ends tragically for the beast and one of the men. Many years later, we are apparently in medieval times, give or take a few thousand years. Our hero turns out to be the younger man, who survived the opening attacks. He is blacksmith Sebastian Roche (as Belleros). The villains are magical Carlo Rota (as King Orthos) and henchman James Kidnie (as General Actae). They both have shaved heads. One drinks the other's blood and throws-up "Chimera"...
On the less dark side, Mr. Roche gets royal help from pretty Nazneen Contractor (as Princess Philony) and motherly Mimi Kuzyk (as Queen Caria). They are assisted by the occasionally winged horse "Pegasus". The monster "Chimera" is patterned after a feline. It looks most realistic when jumping a few feet up, in one scene. You'll have to wait until the last moment of this "Syfy" TV movie to see "Pegasus" in all his glory. It's too bad "Mr. Ed" was no longer available to play with the role. There is a molecule of wit contributed by director John Bradshaw and Mr. Rota, but there's no denying "Pegasus vs. Chimera" is a wasted effort. The shaky camera is not a special effect.
** Pegasus vs. Chimera (9/15/12) John Bradshaw ~ Sebastian Roche, Nazneen Contractor, Carlo Rota, Mimi Kuzyk
On the less dark side, Mr. Roche gets royal help from pretty Nazneen Contractor (as Princess Philony) and motherly Mimi Kuzyk (as Queen Caria). They are assisted by the occasionally winged horse "Pegasus". The monster "Chimera" is patterned after a feline. It looks most realistic when jumping a few feet up, in one scene. You'll have to wait until the last moment of this "Syfy" TV movie to see "Pegasus" in all his glory. It's too bad "Mr. Ed" was no longer available to play with the role. There is a molecule of wit contributed by director John Bradshaw and Mr. Rota, but there's no denying "Pegasus vs. Chimera" is a wasted effort. The shaky camera is not a special effect.
** Pegasus vs. Chimera (9/15/12) John Bradshaw ~ Sebastian Roche, Nazneen Contractor, Carlo Rota, Mimi Kuzyk
Fast-forwarding footage of a horse doesn't make it look like a Pegasus.
VeraWade7 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Unfortunately, the good people at Syfy seem to have thought it does.
While "Pegasus Vs. Chimera" is not the absolute worst of the Syfy library, it still fares extremely bad on pretty much all areas. The writing is bad and the acting is either over the top or emotionless (mostly the latter), so be prepared for a lot of cringe-worthy lines. The story is nothing special; there's a couple of bad guys who basically want to conquer the world. It's up to a blacksmith and a princess to stop them, and eventually there are a Chimera and a Pegasus fighting on both respective sides.
At a lot of points a badly executed shaky cam technique is used. On top of that there are numerous, and may I add pointless, establishing shots that might give you motion sickness. Also, be prepared for a lot, and I mean a lot of unnecessary and abrupt cuts. Some of the scenery looks okay, however the bad guys do seem to like to visit the same beach a couple of times, which is also the same beach where the father of the hero was murdered years before. What a coincidence, huh?
As might be expected of a Syfy movie, it contains a lot of bad CGI and special effects. The Chimera isn't well animated itself, but any scene in which someone fights him looks simply horrendous - that is as far as you can even see any of it, since there are so many cuts, even during the most important scenes. The way they tried to make an ordinary horse look like a Pegasus is possibly the worst aspect of this movie. As the title of this review says, footage of the horse is fast-forwarded to make it look like it has "extraordinary powers".
One thing I did like about this movie, is that in one scene near the end of the movie, everyone is involved in a battle, while the horse quietly stands behind them, grazing. Hilarious.
While "Pegasus Vs. Chimera" is not the absolute worst of the Syfy library, it still fares extremely bad on pretty much all areas. The writing is bad and the acting is either over the top or emotionless (mostly the latter), so be prepared for a lot of cringe-worthy lines. The story is nothing special; there's a couple of bad guys who basically want to conquer the world. It's up to a blacksmith and a princess to stop them, and eventually there are a Chimera and a Pegasus fighting on both respective sides.
At a lot of points a badly executed shaky cam technique is used. On top of that there are numerous, and may I add pointless, establishing shots that might give you motion sickness. Also, be prepared for a lot, and I mean a lot of unnecessary and abrupt cuts. Some of the scenery looks okay, however the bad guys do seem to like to visit the same beach a couple of times, which is also the same beach where the father of the hero was murdered years before. What a coincidence, huh?
As might be expected of a Syfy movie, it contains a lot of bad CGI and special effects. The Chimera isn't well animated itself, but any scene in which someone fights him looks simply horrendous - that is as far as you can even see any of it, since there are so many cuts, even during the most important scenes. The way they tried to make an ordinary horse look like a Pegasus is possibly the worst aspect of this movie. As the title of this review says, footage of the horse is fast-forwarded to make it look like it has "extraordinary powers".
One thing I did like about this movie, is that in one scene near the end of the movie, everyone is involved in a battle, while the horse quietly stands behind them, grazing. Hilarious.
Hard pressed to find any redeeming qualities here
TheLittleSongbird13 October 2012
I saw Pegasus vs. Chimera having little else to do, and as I've said many times SyFy movies are mostly terrible but there's something about their badness that makes me curious as to whether they're capable of making a worthwhile movie. They've actually done a few of those, but they're far too between, and Pegasus vs. Chimera is not one of them. Not one of SyFy's worst, but other than the scenery which is quite nice, I did find it very difficult to find anything halfway decent, let alone good, in this film. Technically, it is very poor. The special effects are really crude and fake-looking, Pegasus is nowhere near mythical/magical enough and Chimera is more Manticore than Chimera. But what made Pegasus vs. Chimera even more horrible to watch was the camera work, the shaky camera technique I've seen far too many times, here it is overused and made me very dizzy(not good for my recently diagnosed epilepsy). Pegasus vs. Chimera is very badly written too, I never warmed to the annoying stereotypical characters, the overall cheesiness of the writing and the unexciting predictability of the story. The final battle between the two titular characters fails to rouse or thrill, with no sense of conflict. I have seen worse acting before, but this is the sort of cast who tries but can't do anything with what they are given, which was hardly a surprise to me. In conclusion, an awful and almost irredeemable movie. 1/10 Bethany Cox
A waste of everyone's time
degeneraatti28 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Before this current digital age came to being the only way to film something was to actually spend some film on it. You know, the light- sensitive tape, exposed image by image, and then edited and cut with scissors and a carpet knife. If you wanted special effects, now taken for granted, it was arduous work. And all this cost money. The more film you spent shooting, the less you had budget left to work with.
Now with everything being digital, shooting film doesn't have to cost anything after the initial purchase of the equipment. For some (I'm looking at you, SyFy) it seems to work as an excuse to churn out intolerable amounts of garbage. What used to be a waste of perfectly fine film and thus money nowadays amounts only to wasted hard drive space.
This assumption could not be further from the truth. A film like Pegasus Vs. Chimera proves that there still are cases were no excuses are good enough. Here's a spiteful little take on the movie in question:
I had a few more points written down but I think all of us get the picture by now.
Sincerely, if you (SyFy) want to make a movie, understand this: no cgi, no fantastic setting, nor sword-fighting make compelling film. What this purest cross-breed of art and entertainment business needs to tick either one of its' parents' boxes is sincerity, some spirit, some feel, enthusiasm and a hint of vision. I may have forgotten to list some here, but what all of them have in common is that none of them can be bought, so budget restraints are no excuse.
Pegasus Vs. Chimera has nothing going for it. I wish I could have some of that healing Pegasus blood, so I could wash all those responsible for this flick clean.
Yet, I forgive you. It was I who chose to waste my time watching this steaming pile of you-know-what. Now I write this as a warning to any potential viewer before I willingly push this film out of my brain and forget.
Now with everything being digital, shooting film doesn't have to cost anything after the initial purchase of the equipment. For some (I'm looking at you, SyFy) it seems to work as an excuse to churn out intolerable amounts of garbage. What used to be a waste of perfectly fine film and thus money nowadays amounts only to wasted hard drive space.
This assumption could not be further from the truth. A film like Pegasus Vs. Chimera proves that there still are cases were no excuses are good enough. Here's a spiteful little take on the movie in question:
- Knowing the location of the rec-button and having the skill to apply enough pressure on it to make the camera record does NOT mean any commendable camera work is taking place. - Reading through the lines given to you while wearing a costume given to you does NOT mean any acting is taking place. - Making the background music louder and shaking the camera does NOT equal exciting action, no matter what they say in the Michael Bay Film School
I had a few more points written down but I think all of us get the picture by now.
Sincerely, if you (SyFy) want to make a movie, understand this: no cgi, no fantastic setting, nor sword-fighting make compelling film. What this purest cross-breed of art and entertainment business needs to tick either one of its' parents' boxes is sincerity, some spirit, some feel, enthusiasm and a hint of vision. I may have forgotten to list some here, but what all of them have in common is that none of them can be bought, so budget restraints are no excuse.
Pegasus Vs. Chimera has nothing going for it. I wish I could have some of that healing Pegasus blood, so I could wash all those responsible for this flick clean.
Yet, I forgive you. It was I who chose to waste my time watching this steaming pile of you-know-what. Now I write this as a warning to any potential viewer before I willingly push this film out of my brain and forget.
Greek mythology...on a very low budget
Leofwine_draca3 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
PEGASUS VS. CHIMERA is a cheap fantasy film based on Greek mythology. Instead of filming it in Greece, they made it in some back woods in Canada somewhere, so a good suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy this film. Otherwise it's a standard SyFy Channel movie, packed with lame CGI effects and some very wooden performers.
The light plot is about an evil king who kills off some people that the hero loves, including his own father. He also has a Chimera which he uses to massacre random folk. COMMANDO's Rae Dawn Chong shows up as a witch who helps the heroes by invoking the Pegasus. I should note that the famous winged horse only gets wings right at the end due to budgetary constraints and that's the only time we see it flying too. Elsewhere there's some very badly choreographed comedy, lame dialogue, and a general waste-of-time feel.
The light plot is about an evil king who kills off some people that the hero loves, including his own father. He also has a Chimera which he uses to massacre random folk. COMMANDO's Rae Dawn Chong shows up as a witch who helps the heroes by invoking the Pegasus. I should note that the famous winged horse only gets wings right at the end due to budgetary constraints and that's the only time we see it flying too. Elsewhere there's some very badly choreographed comedy, lame dialogue, and a general waste-of-time feel.
REVENGE OR JUSTICE?
nogodnomasters26 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Everything you have read about this movie is true...unfortunately. This is a simple good guys vs. bad guys film. King Orthos (Carlo Rota) is the bad king who is aided by Warlock General Actae (James Kidnie). Belleros (Sebastian Roché) and Princess Philony (Nazneen Contractor) fathers were killed by Orthos. They vow revenge or justice. The bad guys conjure up a CG Chimera to kill her people. The good guys seek the aid of a witch (Rae Dawn Chong) who conjures up Pegasus to help them.
Not much in the way of plot twists. Pegasus has wings while in the air, on the ground it is just another white horse. The sword play was poorly choreographed as I don't think the actors could spell sword let alone wield one. There were a lot of cut-aways during the action as you never really see any type of penetration. Toward the end of the film, during a battle, I had to laugh at Pegasus. The fighting was "intense" causing Pegasus to get excited as we see close up scenes of the horse neighing and jumping up and down. When the camera goes back to the men fighting, the same horse is calmly tied to the wall.
Pegasus is a magic healer and also removes blood stains from clothing, eat your heart out Tide. The leather band Bellerous also seems magical as it bounces back and forth between his right forearm and left forearm at will. Destined to be an MST classic.
Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. Killing, blood splatter, and bloody body parts strewn around.
Not much in the way of plot twists. Pegasus has wings while in the air, on the ground it is just another white horse. The sword play was poorly choreographed as I don't think the actors could spell sword let alone wield one. There were a lot of cut-aways during the action as you never really see any type of penetration. Toward the end of the film, during a battle, I had to laugh at Pegasus. The fighting was "intense" causing Pegasus to get excited as we see close up scenes of the horse neighing and jumping up and down. When the camera goes back to the men fighting, the same horse is calmly tied to the wall.
Pegasus is a magic healer and also removes blood stains from clothing, eat your heart out Tide. The leather band Bellerous also seems magical as it bounces back and forth between his right forearm and left forearm at will. Destined to be an MST classic.
Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. Killing, blood splatter, and bloody body parts strewn around.
The chimera stole the show. The rest of the movie, well, it was just a time filler...
paul_haakonsen22 August 2013
Right, well there are worse SyFy Channel movies out there, and "Pegasus vs Chimera" is a close runner up. I enjoy fantasy movies and movies that deal with mythology, but this movie was just not really worth the effort.
The story is about King Orthos (played by Carlo Rota) who wants to unite all seven realms into one nation with him as self-proclaimed emperor, and he lays waste to all in his path to oppose him and do not kneel before his might. Belleros (played by Sebastian Roché) who saw his father killed by King Orthos's men as a child is drawn into the conflict as an adult when princess Philony (played by Nazneen Contractor) shows up at his blacksmith store. But King Orthos have had his warlock Actae (played by James Kidnie) summon forth a chimera from Hades to track down and kill the last survivors that stand against him. And in order to best this demonic creature, Belleros and Philony gets help by a pegasus that is summoned to their aid by the witch Mayda (played by Rae Dawn Chong).
The storyline and concept idea is in itself good enough and had potential. However, the movie just failed to deliver given its low production value, questionable CGI effects, and an overwhelming lack of convincing the audience that this is taking place in a fantasy setting.
It should be said that the chimera was really nicely animated and looked rather cool. Thumbs up for this, because it really made the movie worth watching for this creature alone. The chimera looked realistic and moved about in a realistic way. Plus the details on it was quite cool, and it made for a pretty mean movie creature.
But on the opposite hand, then the pegasus was really badly animated about 90% of the time you saw it. You never saw its wings disappear or appear, as this creature oddly enough could manage to make them go away when on the ground. And for some strange reason when airborne, the pegasus suddenly had armor and padding on it, but this magically disappeared together with the wings while on the ground. And pay close attention to the two scenes where the pegasus takes flight with Bellerus and Philony on it the first time, and again when it lands. By all that is unholy, that was some of the worst CGI animation I had ever seen.
The acting in the movie was half-hearted and wooden at best. You never really bought into the characters, because they were portrayed in a sense that you made think that the actors themselves didn't buy into this movie.
Speaking of half-hearted things, then the very first fight with two of King Orthos men - where Actae kills Bellerus's father - has got to be one of the worst sword battle scenes in the history of filmmaking. It was so wooden and badly choreographed that it was literally painful to witness.
Princess Philony said in the movie, something about being able to lay a hail of arrows with her bow, but pay attention to how awkwardly she is holding the bow when firing it. It just makes you laugh.
"Pegasus vs Chimera" is in the lower end of the budget and entertainment-wise scale as far as fantasy movies go. If you watch this movie, do it for the chimera, because everything else was not really worth mentioning.
The story is about King Orthos (played by Carlo Rota) who wants to unite all seven realms into one nation with him as self-proclaimed emperor, and he lays waste to all in his path to oppose him and do not kneel before his might. Belleros (played by Sebastian Roché) who saw his father killed by King Orthos's men as a child is drawn into the conflict as an adult when princess Philony (played by Nazneen Contractor) shows up at his blacksmith store. But King Orthos have had his warlock Actae (played by James Kidnie) summon forth a chimera from Hades to track down and kill the last survivors that stand against him. And in order to best this demonic creature, Belleros and Philony gets help by a pegasus that is summoned to their aid by the witch Mayda (played by Rae Dawn Chong).
The storyline and concept idea is in itself good enough and had potential. However, the movie just failed to deliver given its low production value, questionable CGI effects, and an overwhelming lack of convincing the audience that this is taking place in a fantasy setting.
It should be said that the chimera was really nicely animated and looked rather cool. Thumbs up for this, because it really made the movie worth watching for this creature alone. The chimera looked realistic and moved about in a realistic way. Plus the details on it was quite cool, and it made for a pretty mean movie creature.
But on the opposite hand, then the pegasus was really badly animated about 90% of the time you saw it. You never saw its wings disappear or appear, as this creature oddly enough could manage to make them go away when on the ground. And for some strange reason when airborne, the pegasus suddenly had armor and padding on it, but this magically disappeared together with the wings while on the ground. And pay close attention to the two scenes where the pegasus takes flight with Bellerus and Philony on it the first time, and again when it lands. By all that is unholy, that was some of the worst CGI animation I had ever seen.
The acting in the movie was half-hearted and wooden at best. You never really bought into the characters, because they were portrayed in a sense that you made think that the actors themselves didn't buy into this movie.
Speaking of half-hearted things, then the very first fight with two of King Orthos men - where Actae kills Bellerus's father - has got to be one of the worst sword battle scenes in the history of filmmaking. It was so wooden and badly choreographed that it was literally painful to witness.
Princess Philony said in the movie, something about being able to lay a hail of arrows with her bow, but pay attention to how awkwardly she is holding the bow when firing it. It just makes you laugh.
"Pegasus vs Chimera" is in the lower end of the budget and entertainment-wise scale as far as fantasy movies go. If you watch this movie, do it for the chimera, because everything else was not really worth mentioning.
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