The Librarian: Quest for the Spear | 
| Director: Peter Winther
Actors: Noah Wyle, Sonya Walger, Bob Newhart, Kyle Maclachlan, Kelly Hu
Category: DVD
Buy New: $29.99
New (1) Used (1) from $29.99
Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 82272
Format: Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Running Time: 92 Minutes
UPC: 012569642782
EAN: 0012569642782
ASIN: B000ADKSKE
Theatrical Release Date: December 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Broadcast to record ratings on the TNT cable network, this Raiders-esque adventure does not go by the book, staring with its atypical action hero and his decidedly uncool profession. Flynn Carsen (Noah Wylie from E.R.) is a thirtysomething perpetual student who still lives with his mother (Olympia Dukakis). When his exasperated professor finally ejects him into the real world, Carsen's Holmesian deductive acumen lands him a job as the librarian at the Metropolitan Library. This is not an ordinary library. It houses history's most mythic artifacts, including the Ark of the Covenant, Pandora's Box, and the sword Excalibur. The fate of the world is in Carsen's hands ("That's so sad," he observes) when the dread Serpent Brotherhood steals the library's Spear of Destiny, and Carsen must retrieve it. His reluctant, and antagonistic, partner is Nicole (Sonya Walger), who is as skilled in martial arts as Carsen is schooled in the Dewey Decimal System. Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin add welcome comic relief, with Newhart, of all people, getting into the action by film's end. The humble hero (who would rather be known as "Flynn, the rather pleasant at parties"), somewhat cheesy special effects, and corny comedy make The Librarian a fun guilty pleasure. As Carsen proclaims, "Being a librarian is actually a cool job." This looks like the beginning of a beautiful franchise. --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 78 more reviews...
 The Librarian - Quest for the Spear June 27, 2009
J. Weaver
The Librarian - Quest for the Spear
A truely fun adventure, told in an Indiana Jones, tongue-and-cheek type fashion. Production values are pretty good for television. The two sequels: Return to King Solomon's Mines and Curse of the Judas Chalis are also worth taking a look at. A pretty good series of adventures the whole family can enjoy together.
Wonderful characterization June 20, 2009
Sarah O. (United States)
I've watched all three of the Librarian movies, so this will sort of be a conglomerate review of the trilogy. Flynn Carson is adorable as a thirty-something, professional student whose head stores more facts than Encyclopedia Brittanica or reputable ".org" sites. After 16 years of college, he has 22 different degrees (12 bachelor's, 6 master's, and 4 Ph.D's). According to my math (and no differential equations involved with this computation), he should be 34-years-old in the first installment. Yet he celebrates his 32nd birthday in the second movie, when logically, he should be celebrating his 35th. Ahh well, maybe he was dual-enrolled.
His mother is forever setting him up with young women, including his own (a few times-removed) cousin in the third movie. Flynn realizes after a blind-date (arranged, of course, by his fretting mother) with a social worker, that he needs to change in some ways. So, when a Harry Potteresque invitation to apply for "The Librarian" post at the Metropolitan Museum of New York arrives unexpectedly in the mail, Flynn applies for the job. He is selected because he can apply all his book learning to deduce that Charlene, the interviewer, had a reconstructive nose job in early childhood, currently suffers from swollen glands, and has two cats who left practically invisible traces of fur on her blazer. He also knows what's important in life, gleaned from a recent pep talk with his mother: it's the heart that matters more than the mind.
The librarian job is a tour-de-force, and Flynn's prolonged studenthood was a serendipitous (or not so-serendipitous) preparation for the job description: saving the world. These movies could also be called "The Curator," as it seems like a private collections art curator is more apropos; Flynn repeatedly rescues or destroys mythical artifacts that have magical powers.
After much adventure and near-death experiences, Flynn successfully retrieves the spear. However, I thought that one detail was inconsistent. The spear was purposely split into thirds to render it less dangerous. These three parts were hidden across the globe, one of which was housed at the Museum, where it was stolen. The splintered pieces of the spear harnessed enough energy from a pyramid alignment that the spear became whole again. Yet, Flynn is not asked to break the spear apart again once it is returned to the library. I would have thought that he'd have to arrange for it to be splitered again and then hide the remaining two pieces at other remote geographical locations.
Still, a lot of fun. The character of Judson is mysterious. The third movie implies he is much more than director of The Library, perhaps a supernatural deity. Flynn tells Judson, "I know who you are." Flynn persists, "You're over two thousand years old," whereas Judson shakes his head and sallies, "Two thousand years old, think about it, now that is just insulting."
In these movies, myth is history and the far-fetched is fact. A lot of fun and undergirded by light humor. I absolutely love the characterization of Flynn Carson. This character has no idea how gorgeous he is, and he makes bookish and nerdy smolderingly hot.
 Light-Hearted Fun and Adventure May 1, 2009
Cara (Texas)
The Librarian series should provide good fun for fans of the Indiana Jones genre, and "Quest for the Spear" does a fine job of introducing the premise and the continuing characters. Notably, we meet the nerdy-but-adventurous Flynn Carson (Noah Wyle), who is persuaded to abandon his comfortable niche as a professional student and apply for a job at the mysterious Metropolitan Library--which does indeed have books but is mainly dedicated to safeguarding legendary artefacts such as Pandora's Box and the Sword Excalibur. When the Spear of Destiny is stolen, Flynn, as the Librarian, must trek through the Amazon and over the Himalayas to thwart the villains determined to use the spear for evil purposes. Never mind a few holes in the plot; after this, viewers will never see librarians--or Bob Newhart--in the same way again.
 Low budget film March 28, 2009
Larry G. Bell (San Diego, CA, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The movie is entertaining but lacks the depth of a big production movie. I have seen better made for TV movies. This was the less entertaining of the three.
escapism fun March 7, 2009
Mary V. Baird (Houston, TX)
Great light hearted fun. Don't examine the plot too closely, but if you like movies like the Indian Jones series or Romancing the Stone, you will love this bookish unlikely hero. Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin are perfectly cast in their supporing roles.
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