"Winnetou - Das Geheimnis vom Silbersee" is the second of three Winnetou movies that were aired during the 2016 holidays here in Germany. Xhelilaj reprises his role as the main character while Wotan Wilke Möhring returns of course as well for the part of Old Shatterhand. To me, the first film felt more like being mostly about Möhring's character, but here it is more equal. The director is once again Philipp Stölzl and the script comes from Jan Berger who adapted the Karl May novel. This one here is the shortest of the three movies at slightly over 90 minutes only. The other two run for approximately 2 hours. They brought in new character or increased the screen time of minor characters from the first film drastically. Vogel's and Masucci's played the main antagonists in the first film, but they are gone. In exchange, German-Turkish actor Fahri Yardim plays the bad guy this time, an evil Mexican who is searching for gold in the Silver Lake that is of course also known from the old Winnetou films. And he has a very special connection with Winnetou's sister that adds a whole lot to the film and also has a direct impact on Shatterhand's relationship with the squaw when they have to head out in order to save her from the mad Mexican.
Yes there are sometimes slightly weaker moments and the film suffers again from the lack of shades really as the characters are all either very good or very evil. We also find out more about Peschel's character here and I personally am a bit divided on how much I like his story-line. Maybe I need to watch it again to really make up my mind. He sure adds something to the story and it's for you to decide if it is something good or bad. Anyway, the villain, the damsel in distress and the money/gold component make this almost a western version of a James Bond movie with Möhring playing the main character, even if the films are always named after Winnetou. I think the first film succeeded with the presentation of the story and characters and this one here is a successful continuation in terms of new faces and how the old characters are elaborated on. Berger and Stölzl deliver once again and I can only repeat myself by saying that there are many old Winnetou (and his friends') films out there that I was not fond of. But you don't need to love these old movies (I personally don't as I think Pierre Brice is not a good actor at all), maybe even it helps if you don't hold them in too high regard, in order to appreciate this more modern take on the works by Karl May. I recommend this one here. It's interesting, thrilling and has an okay story. Thumbs-up.
Yes there are sometimes slightly weaker moments and the film suffers again from the lack of shades really as the characters are all either very good or very evil. We also find out more about Peschel's character here and I personally am a bit divided on how much I like his story-line. Maybe I need to watch it again to really make up my mind. He sure adds something to the story and it's for you to decide if it is something good or bad. Anyway, the villain, the damsel in distress and the money/gold component make this almost a western version of a James Bond movie with Möhring playing the main character, even if the films are always named after Winnetou. I think the first film succeeded with the presentation of the story and characters and this one here is a successful continuation in terms of new faces and how the old characters are elaborated on. Berger and Stölzl deliver once again and I can only repeat myself by saying that there are many old Winnetou (and his friends') films out there that I was not fond of. But you don't need to love these old movies (I personally don't as I think Pierre Brice is not a good actor at all), maybe even it helps if you don't hold them in too high regard, in order to appreciate this more modern take on the works by Karl May. I recommend this one here. It's interesting, thrilling and has an okay story. Thumbs-up.