Can Shooting an Apple Start a Franchise?

As Swiss legend goes, William Tell became a medieval folk hero when occupying Austrian militants forced him into a sick game: He was forced to fire an arrow into an apple atop his son’s head to save his family from execution. It was a daunting task, but the warrior’s aim was true, inspiring a rebellion among the Swiss and, centuries later, everything from Gioachino Rossini’s iconic overture to a very funny “Far Side” comic. With “William Tell,” producers hope that fable can spawn an action franchise as well.

Debuting at the Toronto Film Festival, it’s a film driven by future-proofed storytelling, setting up an overwhelming sweep of characters over its plodding 133-minute running time, before culminating in a shameless sequel tease in its final image. And yet, with a towering Claes Bang in the lead role and a dynamic supporting cast, it’s easier to swallow the notion of there being more Tell adventures to come.

Drawing inspiration from Fredrick Schiller’s 1804 play about Tell, writer-director Nick Hamm looks to engage audiences immediately by reminding them that this character is an icon: He’s the guy who shot an apple off his son’s head! The comically overwrought opening sees Bang’s hero ready his crossbow against his child (Tobias Jowett), surrounded by a vicious army and aghast townspeople. Now, I bet you’re wondering how they all ended up here.

From that preposterous first impression, the movie cuts to three days earlier, presenting itself as a brassy epic while counting ridicule with hideous period-appropriate haircuts, lines like “scimble scamble” and Steven Price’s overblown orchestral score. There are rousing war speeches and elaborate, multi-stage battle sequences, but the best pleasures come from basking in how seriously the stately film takes itself. Mounted at a substantial $45 million budget, the decorated medieval sets and big vistas are captured in widescreen by DP Jamie D. Ramsay,…