5 Reasons to Watch The Princess Bride

I recently re-watched The Princess Bride recently and was reminded how much I love that movie. If you've never heard of it, I hereby order you to go watch it immediately. Whether you have or haven't, here are five excellent reasons to watch the film. (But seriously, never hearing of it is inconceivable.)

1. Ultimate Fairytale Story

This movie has it all. A princess, a farm boy, and a scheming prince. True love, sword fights, revenge, death, and riding off into the sunset on white horse. Westly, the male protagonist, is the perfect gentleman. Buttercup, the female protagonist, is faithful to him even when she thinks he's dead. Chivalry runs throughout. This story has all you could ever want from a fairytale.

And even though it has all that, it doesn't feel overworked or outlandish. It's perfectly balanced. I love it because it feels like something you could read from the Grimm Brothers or Hans Christian Anderson. It's inconceivably good.

2. Twue Wuv (or true love, if you don't know the movie)

I said it once, but I'll say it again. The Princess Bride has some amazing true love in it. Two peasants fall in love and when Westly dies, Buttercup refuses to love anyone else. Throughout the whole movie, the two of them remain devoted to one another. (Don't know how they can when one's dead? You'll have to watch it to see what happens.) You just don't see that kind of love in movies anymore. Real, pure love for one other person.

3. Witty Characters

Every character in here has the perfect thing to say in any situation. I thought about calling them sassy, but that's not the right word in this case. Sassy means you're cheeky, whereas witty means you use quick and inventive verbal humor. That's what this film is full of.

In a world full of characters that all seem to be full of snark, these characters that have a witty comeback for anything is great. The verbal battles in the movie are just as good as the physical ones. I suggest you watch it just for that alone, if it weren't for all the other great things about it.

4. Epic Fights

There are many fights scattered throughout the film, from fighting R.O.U.S. (rodents of unusual size) to battles of the wits. Whether fighting man or creature, the characters show their skill with whatever their specialty is. The best fight of all, however, is the sword duel between Westly and Inego Montoya. There is so much skill, wit, and politeness in one five minute duel, it's astounding.

5. Inego Montoya

After Westly and Buttercup, the most beloved character of the film is a secondary character called Inego Montoya. He's a Spaniard out for revenge against the six-fingered man who killed his father. His person quest for revenge almost steals the movie. On Thursday you'll get a post all about writing a character like him, so I'll save my best points for that. Just know he is awesome and his speech he makes to his father's killer is probably one of the best in movie history.

Now, go and watch The Princess Bride. If you've already seen it, you're probably smiling very fondly about all the things I just said. If you haven't, time to have that remedied.

Let's talk! Have you seen The Princess Bride? What's your favorite part? Tell me in the comments.