STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits
In a futeristic, post-apocalyptic world, a lone warrior (Patrick Swayze) roams the desert wilderness, literally living by the sword and fending off attacks from mysterious assailants. He finds himself briefly reunited with an old mentor from his past, before he is killed by a mysterious thug named Sho (Christopher Neame.) Without any more guidance in his life, the warrior resumes his quest through the sand, until he stumbles across a group of people who have formed a peaceful community for themselves. With them, he re-discovers friendship, love and his humanity, before a final showdown with the forces of evil and a final battle for revenge.
In 1987, Swayze made arguably one of his most memorable movies ever, Dirty Dancing, but he also made this corny slice of post Mad Max sci-fi action. It's hard to believe that Lance Hool, the man behind one of Chuck Norris's most under-rated films, Missing in Action 2, could be at the helm of something as bland and unsatisfying as this.
Why do I feel this?, you may wonder. Well, really you should lose the will to live with the plot summary. It's just such an obvious and corny rip-off of Mad Max, with all the most grinding, grating clichés present (the strong, silent lead star, the revenge motif, the community he's at first at odds with, then bonds with, the attacks from outsiders etc. etc.) There's not much in the way of action going on either, to be honest, with only one or two juicy action scenes (mainly towards the end) and some syrupy late 80s special effects. That, Swayze's hammy lead presence (not hard to see why his star fizzled so rapidly in the 90s!), a ridiculous central villain, and worthless supporting turns from genre favourites Brian James and Arnold Vosloo combine to make this a regrettable experience. Worth it for nostalgia value perhaps, but hardly anything else. **
In a futeristic, post-apocalyptic world, a lone warrior (Patrick Swayze) roams the desert wilderness, literally living by the sword and fending off attacks from mysterious assailants. He finds himself briefly reunited with an old mentor from his past, before he is killed by a mysterious thug named Sho (Christopher Neame.) Without any more guidance in his life, the warrior resumes his quest through the sand, until he stumbles across a group of people who have formed a peaceful community for themselves. With them, he re-discovers friendship, love and his humanity, before a final showdown with the forces of evil and a final battle for revenge.
In 1987, Swayze made arguably one of his most memorable movies ever, Dirty Dancing, but he also made this corny slice of post Mad Max sci-fi action. It's hard to believe that Lance Hool, the man behind one of Chuck Norris's most under-rated films, Missing in Action 2, could be at the helm of something as bland and unsatisfying as this.
Why do I feel this?, you may wonder. Well, really you should lose the will to live with the plot summary. It's just such an obvious and corny rip-off of Mad Max, with all the most grinding, grating clichés present (the strong, silent lead star, the revenge motif, the community he's at first at odds with, then bonds with, the attacks from outsiders etc. etc.) There's not much in the way of action going on either, to be honest, with only one or two juicy action scenes (mainly towards the end) and some syrupy late 80s special effects. That, Swayze's hammy lead presence (not hard to see why his star fizzled so rapidly in the 90s!), a ridiculous central villain, and worthless supporting turns from genre favourites Brian James and Arnold Vosloo combine to make this a regrettable experience. Worth it for nostalgia value perhaps, but hardly anything else. **