The Princess Bride (1987)

True Love, Sharp Swords, and My Daily Inigo Montoya Impression

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

This is another friend’s favorite movie, but this time they are getting absolutely no argument from me. The Princess Bride is one of my favorites too. In my opinion, it’s underrated. Yes, it has a devoted following and a ridiculous number of recognizable lines, but I still think the actual movie deserves as much attention as the quotes people pull out of it.

And since we’re talking about the quotes, let’s get mine out of the way:

“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

I quote that on a daily basis when this movie comes to mind. And yes, I do the accent. Yes, I’m a nerd. Y’all were going to find out eventually.

Heck if anyone brings up the Princess Bride, I instantly quite that line.

Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Directed by Rob Reiner and adapted by William Goldman from his own novel, The Princess Bride follows Buttercup and Westley, whose love story becomes tangled up with a scheming prince, kidnappers, sword fights, and a kingdom where going for a walk apparently requires accepting several different ways to die.

The whole adventure comes through a grandfather reading to his sick grandson. The boy initially has very little patience for the romantic parts, which gives the film someone to interrupt exactly when an impatient audience member might. Meanwhile, his grandfather keeps steering him back into a story that has more going on than the title suggests.

There’s romance, revenge, friendship, danger, and some very questionable decision-making. The film understands fairy tales well enough to poke fun at them while still making you care whether these people get their happy ending. “Film details and synopsis” (https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-princess-bride).

Character Rundown

Westley, played by Cary Elwes, has the confidence of a man who assumes he can talk, fight, or think his way through whatever nonsense happens next. Elwes gives him enough wit to make that confidence entertaining. He can be romantic without losing his sense of humor, and his calm delivery becomes particularly funny when everyone else is having an entirely reasonable crisis.

Buttercup, played by Robin Wright, gives the love story its emotional stakes. Her grief and stubborn faith matter, and Wright makes those feelings believable inside a film full of exaggerated characters. I do wish the screenplay gave her more chances to drive the adventure herself. She has spirit, but a lot of the action still happens around her.

Inigo Montoya, played by Mandy Patinkin, is the standout for me. Yes, there’s the line. But the line has lasted because there is a person behind it: a skilled swordsman whose life has narrowed around the loss of his father. Patinkin lets his manners, humor, and pain exist together. That makes him much more interesting than somebody who just shows up looking impressive with a sword.

Fezzik, played by André the Giant, is the friend you would want beside you when things go wrong. His size makes him intimidating, but his gentleness and loyalty give the group warmth. His friendship with Inigo is one of the film’s best relationships. They actually look after each other.

Vizzini, played by Wallace Shawn, treats his own intelligence like a qualification nobody else is allowed to question. Watching him become increasingly offended when reality fails to cooperate is a pleasure. Every obstacle seems to insult him personally.

Prince Humperdinck and Count Rugen, played by Chris Sarandon and Christopher Guest, bring different kinds of nastiness. Humperdinck hides his selfishness behind royal authority. Rugen’s calm interest in suffering is uglier. The comedy gives them room to be ridiculous, but their cruelty still has consequences.

Then there are Miracle Max and Valerie, played by Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, who turn their little corner of the story into a domestic argument with extremely important medical implications. And Peter Falk and Fred Savage, as the grandfather and grandson, give the adventure a lovely human setting: somebody taking the time to share a story with somebody else. “Cast and film overview” (https://www.criterion.com/films/29368-the-princess-bride).

Pacing / Film Flow

At roughly 98 minutes, the film has room for its personalities without making the journey drag. Each encounter changes the kind of challenge: a pursuit, a duel, a physical struggle, a contest of intelligence, a dangerous landscape. That variety matters because the characters have to use different sides of themselves.

The pauses also do useful work. A conversation before a fight can tell us as much about a character as the fight itself. Inigo’s courtesy, Fezzik’s honesty, and Westley’s quick thinking become part of the action.

The grandfather’s interruptions might sound like something that would break the momentum, but they help the story feel shared. As the grandson becomes more invested, those interruptions change meaning. He starts out resisting the book and ends up caring about where it goes.

Pros

My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.

Also this iconic scene the battle of the wits.

The screenplay is the biggest strength. So many lines are memorable because they fit the person saying them. Vizzini’s outrage, Westley’s dry confidence, Inigo’s practiced introduction, and Max’s evasions all have their own rhythm. The cast gives those lines personality instead of presenting every joke with the same delivery.

The swordplay deserves its reputation too. The movement is readable, the exchanges have room to breathe, and the fighters’ attitudes make the scene funny without taking away their skill. You can enjoy the duel as a duel and still enjoy the ridiculous politeness surrounding it.

I also love how much friendship holds this adventure together. Romance gets the title, but loyalty keeps people alive. Inigo and Fezzik give the film an emotional center of their own, and the growing connection between the grandfather and grandson makes the framing story worth having.

The fantasy has a tangible quality: cliffs, castle passages, gloomy woods, and some thoroughly unpleasant creatures. Mark Knopfler’s score gives the romance room to settle between the jokes. The world feels suitable for a storybook, including its slightly theatrical edges.

And beneath the silliness, the film allows grief and cruelty to mean something. Inigo’s history would lose its power if every mention of it became another gag. The film knows when to let Patinkin carry a scene.

Cons

Buttercup could have been given more to do. Her emotional commitment is central, but the men get most of the strategy, fighting, and rescue work. Wright supplies presence and conviction; I would have liked the writing to meet her halfway with more opportunities to act.

Some of the effects show their age, particularly when the creatures move. How much that bothers someone will depend on their taste. For me, the storybook setting accommodates a lot of it, although a threatening animal can occasionally look like it has arrived from a different production.

The opening romance is also established quickly. We understand the bond through a handful of moments before the adventure takes over. That works within the fairy-tale telling, but there is room to wish we had spent a little longer with Buttercup and Westley before their separation.

Those are fair criticisms. They don’t erase the things this movie does so well.

Final Thoughts

My friend has excellent taste with this one. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies because there is so much to enjoy beyond the obvious quotations: a beautifully performed friendship, inventive action, a love story with real conviction, and a revenge story that has actual hurt behind it.

Calling it underrated is my opinion, even with its established reputation. I think remembering the lines can sometimes overshadow how well the whole adventure fits together. The jokes work because these characters matter, and the emotional moments work because the movie has given us time to enjoy their company.

And yes, I will continue doing my Inigo Montoya impression. That particular situation is beyond saving.

Rating

10/10.

A favorite that earns its place through its writing, performances, action, and heart. A few limitations do not stop this from being a film I’m happy to celebrate.

Spoiler Warning

Full spoilers below, including Westley’s identity, the villains’ plans, Inigo’s confrontation, and the ending. The film also contains torture, stabbing, peril involving animals, and a threatened suicide.

Spoilers

The story begins with Buttercup giving the farm boy Westley orders and gradually realizing that his willingness to help her is an expression of love. Their happiness is cut short when he leaves to seek his fortune and is reported killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Buttercup shuts herself off emotionally and later becomes engaged to Prince Humperdinck. It’s an efficient fairy-tale setup, although the loss matters more once we see how stubbornly she holds on to Westley.

Then Vizzini, Inigo, and Fezzik kidnap her, and the adventure finds its stride. Buttercup tries to escape into the water, which would be a reasonable idea if the water didn’t contain screaming eels. Florin really needs better tourist information. A mysterious man in black pursues the kidnappers up the Cliffs of Insanity, and their attempts to stop him let each character have a proper introduction.

Inigo waits at the top to duel him and even helps him finish the climb. That courtesy tells us something important before the swords start moving: this man has standards. He also explains his search for the six-fingered man who murdered his father. His mission is personal, and the practiced introduction is how he has prepared to face the moment that has dominated his life.

Their duel keeps revealing more skill as they test each other. The changes of hand are funny because both men have been holding something back, and neither wants to lose the pleasure of a worthy opponent. The man in black wins but spares Inigo. He then defeats Fezzik through a different approach, using agility and a chokehold rather than trying to overpower him. Fezzik’s willingness to discuss the fight makes him difficult to dislike even while he is standing in the hero’s way.

Vizzini is another matter. His contest with the man in black becomes a spectacular exercise in convincing himself that he has considered every possibility. He reasons himself into drinking poisoned wine and dies, while the survivor later explains that he had built an immunity to the poison and poisoned both cups. Vizzini’s performance makes the scene. The man could probably turn choosing lunch into a declaration of intellectual superiority.

Once Buttercup is alone with the man in black, she pushes him down a slope, only to recognize him as Westley when he calls back to her. She immediately follows him. Their reunion gives the pursuit a romantic payoff, and Westley explains that the Dread Pirate Roberts identity passes from one person to another. The name frightens people more effectively than an unknown individual could.

Their journey through the Fire Swamp includes flame spurts, lightning sand, and the Rodents of Unusual Size. Westley’s composure helps him navigate the dangers, but the creature attack gives him a particularly rude reminder that confidence is not protective equipment. Buttercup and Westley get through the swamp together, which makes their surrender outside it more painful.

Humperdinck promises to spare Westley if Buttercup returns with him, then has Rugen take Westley to the Pit of Despair. Buttercup is trying to protect the person she loves, while the prince treats his promise as disposable. His larger plan is to murder her and use her death to blame Guilder and justify war. The royal engagement is cover for a political crime.

When Buttercup realizes she cannot love Humperdinck, she demands that Westley be found. The prince’s lies become harder to maintain, and his anger eventually sends him to the torture machine, where he pushes it far beyond Rugen’s intended setting. It’s one of the film’s cruelest moments. The story can be funny, but Westley’s suffering is allowed to sound and feel horrible.

Meanwhile, Fezzik finds Inigo, helps him recover from his drunken despair, and tells him that Rugen is the six-fingered man. Their friendship becomes essential here. Inigo’s determination needs Fezzik’s help to become action, and the two locate Westley after hearing his scream.

They take him to Miracle Max, who finds him only mostly dead. Max and Valerie’s argument gives the story a burst of comedy after the torture, and Max’s dislike of Humperdinck helps persuade him to provide a remedy. The cure does not instantly return Westley to full strength, which makes the rescue plan funnier. They have a strategist who can barely move, a giant, a swordsman, and a very urgent deadline. Somehow, that is still a better team than the prince deserves.

They bluff their way into the castle using Fezzik’s size and a terrifying performance as the Dread Pirate Roberts. Once inside, Inigo finally meets Rugen. The confrontation begins with the introduction he has spent years preparing, but Rugen runs. After all that waiting, the great object of Inigo’s revenge tries to escape the conversation entirely.

Rugen wounds him, and Inigo has to force himself back into the fight. His repetition of the introduction becomes more powerful as he recovers. What sounds playful when quoted outside the movie carries years of grief inside it. That is why the scene deserves more attention than simply recognizing the famous line.

When Rugen bargains for his life, the money and promises mean nothing beside what he took from Inigo. Killing him completes the revenge, but it cannot undo the loss. Patinkin gives the victory that weight. In a “cast interview” (https://ew.com/article/2011/10/07/princess-bride-reunion/), he connected the role to losing his own father. That helps explain the emotional force he brings to the confrontation.

Buttercup, believing Westley dead and the wedding completed, prepares to kill herself before discovering him alive in her room. He explains that the interrupted ceremony never made her Humperdinck’s wife. When the prince enters, Westley uses an elaborate threat to exploit his cowardice. He barely has the strength to stand, but he understands the man in front of him. Humperdinck surrenders, and Buttercup ties him up.

Fezzik has found horses for their escape. Inigo, with his lifelong mission finished, faces the unfamiliar question of what comes next, and Westley suggests that he would make a good Dread Pirate Roberts. It’s a small moment with real significance: revenge was the goal that kept him moving, but he still deserves a life afterward.

The adventure ends with the lovers together, and the grandson finally accepts the kissing he objected to at the beginning. More importantly, he asks his grandfather to come back and read again. His grandfather’s familiar answer ties their affection to the love inside the story.

That ending gives the film one of its sweetest payoffs. The boy has fallen for the adventure, and the time spent telling it has brought them closer. After the duels, the monsters, the revenge, and the rescue, the movie finishes with somebody wanting a little more time with someone they love. I think that’s a lovely place to leave it.