Well I already did Space Mutiny so this was the only true way to end this week with another Reb Brown classic.
When I was doing a tiny bit of research on this movie I discovered two facts, one I'll get to now and the other I'll save for later. The first fact was that this is actually an adaptation, based off a comic book from Argentina which immediately makes me want to track down every issue of it cause I want to see more of this material which apparently the movie adapted faithfully. The story is quite possibly the most basic and yet simultaneously awesome of the bunch this week, following a mysterious hunter named Yor who travels across a desolate world in search of answers to who he really is, he soon meets a young woman named Kala and her protector Pag who accompany him on his travels. What follows is a bizarre sequence of events where Yor battles purple cavemen, dinosaurs, sand mummies, and much more before the movie drops a bombshell with just 30 minutes left of film. Spaceships exist, confirming this is not a pre-historic story but actually a post-apocalyptic story where the world was wiped out by atomic weapons leading to the various mutants and dinosaurs roaming about that Yor encounters. What soon follows is a very slapdash showdown between a rebellion led by someone who looks like if you combined Adrian Brody and Ricardo Montalban in Wrath Of Khan together, and some cloaked figure known as the Overlord and his garrison of androids that look like Dark Helmet from Spaceballs and the Borg thrown in a blender. The movie was already a bit off it's rocker with papier mache dinosaurs and impressively cheap costumed villains, but then it adds thing after thing to the point where it surpasses a so bad it's good movie and simply becomes an amazing movie. Once again though, the cast is dedicated and treats it seriously with Reb Brown giving one of his most subdued performances in his filmography but then I learned he was actually dubbed for this movie. Which honestly makes zero sense because he has a good voice I mean the man can emit a warcry that would freeze Lucifer himself in his tracks, and he has his voice in productions of both american and italian cinema so what the hell? He's still awesome though, Reb is the true Humanoid Typhoon virtually wiping out every single civilization he comes into contact with in this movie and is literally invincible against all possible harm. Even the Terminator can't boast such a high casualty count and inability of damage. We then have Corrine Clery who does nice work and honestly makes a great match for Reb, but again is dubbed for no real reason, okay yes she was born in Paris but she speaks english well and does have a nice voice. Luciano Pigozzi has starred alongside Reb on more than one occasion so it's cool to see him now and again, and for an older guy he is pretty awesome in his own right in this film. I will fully admit the villain is rushed and while the performance and voice of John Steiner is good, there really wasn't much going on in the last half hour. Odd to say when it basically becomes Space Mutiny all over again with lazer battles galore in a factory setting. But what it lacks in story and bits of the ending, it makes up very quickly with the score specifically the fist pumping spectacular theme, and one of the most absurd and yet truly awe inspiring shots that might just be the most awesome thing ever recorded on film. Needless to say this movie was brought to my attention a decade ago by the Spoony Experiment who showcased his review on it and made it all the awesome, which I highly recommend you watch even if you don't see the movie. And now comes the part where I divulge the biggest discovery I made about this movie, it wasn't always a movie. The movie was an italian production shot in Turkey, and was broadcasted as a television mini-series. Four episodes, each with 50 minutes of footage. You're telling me that there is a movie that is over 3 hours long, of Reb Brown fighting dinosaurs, cavemen and androids, and I do not own it?? I implore you, Signore Margheriti, I beseech you, share that mini-series with the world. The film got a full Blu-Ray release which I already am looking into buying, but it pales in comparison of such a magnum opus. And by all accounts of the director, it was made with virtually zero budget and was just a fun project they wanted to do, to just make a fun and very entertaining picture, which honestly if you walk in with that mindset you can have quite a good time with this. It falls in the middle ground, not as trashy and cheap as Deathstalker but not as amazing and well made as Beastmaster. I still give it 2.5 stars, 6.5/10, I have seen worse movies in terms of production and story and this really ain't even close to one of the worst movies I have ever seen. You can find the movie in decent quality at the good ol' Internet Archive so if this sounds like a great movie to have a watch party with friends, drinks, chips, dips, chains, whips then by all means go for it. Until next time, BAT!
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