''El Capitán Trueno y el Santo Grial'' is a 2011 Spanish

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...

film directed by

Antonio Hernández Antonio Hernández may refer to: * Antonio Hernández (boxer), Mexican boxer * Antonio Hernández (cyclist), Mexican cyclist * Antonio Hernández (director), Spanish film director and screenwriter * Antonio Hernández (footballer), Mexican footba ...

and based on the comic books of '' El Capitán Trueno''. Its stars

Sergio Peris-Mencheta Luis Sergio Peris-Mencheta Barrio (born 7 April 1975), better known as Sergio Peris-Mencheta, is a Spanish actor, and theatre director. Early life Luis Sergio Peris-Mencheta Barrio was born on 7 April 1975 in Madrid, son to a Spanish father and ...

and Natasha Yarovenko. The film suffered from problems since its development phase and proved to be a box office failure, also earning very poor reviews.

Plot

The fiction follows the adventures of the Capitán Trueno and his band, formed by Crispín, Goliat and the princess Sigrid.

Cast

Production

Earlier failed attempts to bring the comic book character to a live action film involved

Juan Piquer Simón Juan Piquer Simón (16 February 1935 – 8 January 2011) was a Spanish film director best known for directing two cult classic horror film, horror exploitation film, exploitation films, ''Pieces (1982 film), Pieces'' (1982) and ''Slugs (1988 fil ...

Juanma Bajo Ulloa Juan Manuel Bajo Ulloa (born 1 January 1967) is a Spanish film director. Biography Juanma Bajo Ulloa was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, on 1 January 1967. His parents mortgaged their house to fund Bajo Ulloa's film beginnings. His first feat ...

, Alejandro Toledo and

Daniel Calparsoro Daniel Calparsoro López-Tapia (born 11 May 1968) is a Spanish filmmaker, considered one of Spain's most adept action film directors. Biography Daniel Calparsoro López-Tapia was born in Barcelona on 11 May 1968, although he was raised in between ...

as possible directors. None of them came to fruition and, following the entry of in the project (as producer and tentative director), the direction was eventually tasked to

. At some point Álex González and

Elsa Pataky Elsa Lafuente Medianu (; born 18 July 1976), known professionally as Elsa Pataky, is a Spanish model and actress. Pataky is known for her leading role of Raquel Alonso in the Spanish teen drama '' Al salir de Clase'' (1997-2002)'','' before garn ...

were slated to star as lead characters Capitán Trueno and Sigrid but they left the project. Natasha Yarovenko (originally set to perform a villain role) was subsequently recast to perform the role of Sigrid.

also came in as Capitán Trueno. Produced by Sorolla Films and Maltés Producciones, filming started on 16 August 2010. Shooting locations included

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

Baños de la Encina Baños de la Encina is a city located in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to 2024 INE figures, the city had a population of 2563 inhabitants. The 10th-century Burgalimar Castle is located on the southern edge of the town. See also * Lis ...

(Jaén), Aldea del Rey (Ciudad Real),

Lagunas de Ruidera The Lagunas de Ruidera are a group of small lakes in the Campo de Montiel (Ciudad Real), Campo de Montiel, Castilla-La Mancha, between Albacete Province, and Ciudad Real Province, Spain. Most of the lakes are interconnected and their total water ...

(Albacete), the cave of Las Palomas in Yátova, the Turche Cave in

Buñol Buñol is a town and municipality in the province of Valencia, Spain. The municipality has an area of some 112 km2, and is situated approximately 38 km west of the provincial and autonomous community capital city, Valencia. It lies alon ...

, Abantos, Chulilla and the Ahuir Beach in

Gandía Gandia (, ) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa de Valencia, south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can access the city through road N-332 and ...

(Valencia), the ''Saladar d'Aigua Amarga'' beach in

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

and the

Ciudad de la Luz Ciudad de la Luz ("City of Light") is a film studio in Alicante, Spain. About 60 films were shot on the studio's premises between opening in 2005 and closing in 2012. In May 2012, the European Commission ruled that public subsidies received by the ...

film studio in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

. Shooting wrapped in November 2010. The film had a budget of €8.39 million.

Release

No member of the cast attended the presentation of the movie in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on 5 October 2011, leaving producer alone. Vergara was credited as the single screenwriter, but Peris-Mencheta claimed Vergara was opportunistic ("''tiene un morro que te cagas''") and that the screenplay should be credited to the director too. Days later, Peris-Mencheta attacked Vergara in

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, stating "may Pau Vergara pay what he owes and stay away from Spanish cinema forever". Distributed by Walt Disney España, the film was theatrically released on 7 October 2011. The film grossed €739,162 and 118,749 viewers.

Reception

The film earned very poor reviews. Reviewing for ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'',

Javier Ocaña Javier Ocaña (born 1971) is a Spanish film critic. Life and career Ocaña was born in 1971 in Martos, province of Jaén. He earned a licentiate degree in law from the University of Granada and a master's degree in journalism from the Autonomo ...

titled his review as ''deforme insensatez'' ('warped foolishness'), noting that the "direction of actors is simply nonexistent", positively comparing leading actor Peris-Mencheta to the rest of the cast ("at least he does not take risks"). Even the president of the

Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain The Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain () is a professional organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of Cinema of Spain, Spanish cinema. Founded in 1986, it is responsible for the annual Goya Awards, Spain's princ ...

() raised his opinion on the matter, deeming the film to be a 'drag' (''pestiño''). The film was presented in media as "the biggest fiasco of Spanish cinema".

References

External links

''El Capitán Trueno y el Santo Grial''
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capitán Trueno y el Santo Grial, El 2011 films 2010s Spanish-language films 2010s fantasy adventure films Films shot in Spain Sword and sorcery films Films shot at Ciudad de la Luz Films based on Spanish comics Spanish fantasy adventure films 2010s Spanish films Films shot in the province of Ciudad Real Films shot in the province of Valencia