I will never doubt again.
There will never be a need.
I don’t think I actually do have to say anything. This movie is a classic. That fact is just obvious, I think. It’s just a blast of pure fun and pure joy. The cast is brilliant. Wallace Shawn is a hoot as the hilariously obnoxious Vizzini, Chris Sarandon is pitch perfect as the pompous, arrogant Humperdinck, Cary Elwes shows perfect dash and charisma and Robin Wright (not yet Penn, God bless her) is beautiful, charming and, I suppose, the heart of the movie. Even Andre the Giant is brilliant, a genius bit of stunt casting that works beyond perfectly. And, oh, yeah, mustn’t forget the modern day story; both Peter Falk and Fred Savage are so perfectly cast as to be absurd. Probably best of all from the cast is Mandy Patinkin; there’s a lot of winking at the audience here, but Patinkin plays Inigo like the movie is Shakespeare. His storyline has a surprising amount of real pathos, real emotional weight, thanks to Patinkin’s committed performance. But I go on too long. The script is something like pure genius, loaded with quotable lines and witty plot twists. Then you’ve got the brilliant swordfight at the Cliffs of Insanity, the hilarious storming the castle sequence (where Elwes really shows off his brilliant physical comedy), the battle of wits with the poisoned goblets. I mean, it’s astonishing. And just so very, very warm-hearted. It’s brilliant; it’s basically perfect (even the somewhat jarring Miracle Max scene works well enough once you learn that it’s there and stop being shocked by it), and it holds up on repeated viewings like gangbusters. What fun! 4 stars.
tl;dr – near perfect fairytale surely needs no defense; a great cast, a witty, clever script and a warm-hearted goodness elevate this film to a level of absolute brilliance. 4 stars.