Leofwine_draca As cheap STAR WARS rip-offs go, this isn't bad at all, and at least manages to be consistently entertaining trash. Full of typical '80s special effects (running the gamut from poor rubber suits to poor computer effects), wooden acting, and a light plot which is basically an excuse for a series of action sequences, and you have the making of a good, if cheesy, time. As an added bonus, the film was made at the peak of the 3D craze and was, thus, filmed in 3D, so expect lots of blocky titles flying out of the screen and objects flying at the camera at every moment.The two stars of the show are a wooden Peter Strauss and an irritating Molly Ringwald, who share lots of light banter. Same old story...the pair initially hate each other but eventually grow to love one another. Like we haven't heard that one before. Strauss' character is a blatant copy of Han Solo, right down to the same cocky manner and clothing. Ringwald plays some kind of desert urchin who hooks up with Strauss as a guide and manages to put herself in all sorts of danger.The location shooting is nice, offering up a realistic-looking alien planet, although sadly the inhabitants are less than convincing. Things kick off with Strauss riding around in his dune buggy (did I mentioned MAD MAX as another influence?) then discovering a Viking longship flying down a railway line (?!). A laser fight immediately ensues, the first of a couple in the film, which are really quite impressive. Some poor extra gets it ("we have blood loss here...") and Strauss loses his female helper, who turns out to be an icky android who melts at the touch of a button.From then on, it's one thing after another, with Strauss pairing up with Ringwald and together meeting all kinds of monsters and strange characters. An incredibly young, bald Ernie Hudson wanders around in a space suit and drives a shoddy-looking bulldozer which belches black smoke into the planet's atmosphere (can't be doing much for their ozone layer). A group of amphibious Amazons (!) wander around in little clothing and try to capture our heroes in giant nets - and fail. A patently plastic-looking dragon (not so much a dragon as a cardboard head on a wooden pole) puts our befuddled hero into yet another dangerous situation, while some obese rubber-suited people provide lots of mirth. In another unexplained incident, mutant children lob Molotov cocktails at our heroes from the top of a cliff.After these amusing incidents, our characters eventually arrive at Overdog's castle. Overdog is a menacing (ridiculous name aside) character, a cyborg with a human face and gigantic pincer arms. He's played by genre staple Michael Ironside, although you wouldn't recognise him under all that makeup. He's devised a tricky maze where unwilling contestants must face dangers like pools of acid, fire, pits of spikes, and giant swinging circular saw blades while being pursued by a giant steamroller. Inevitably, Ringwald finds herself in the maze and is luckily able to conquer it before being captured by Overdog, who has a thing for women you see. At the end, action man Strauss saves the day by electrocuting the baddie and shooting lots of things/people. The entire place explodes in a huge display of pyrotechnics which was also a convenient way to use up any of the budget that may have been left over.So, as adventure films go, this isn't bad at all. That is, as long as you know what to expect - fans of decent, high budget fare may think otherwise. For me, a film with plentiful action, a sprinkling of violence, and all manner of weird costumes and effects definitely passes the time in an entertaining way.

Woodyanders Rugged intergalactic bounty hunter Wolff (a fine and engaging performance by Peter Strauss) ventures into the dangerous forbidden zone in order to rescue three lovely young ladies from the vile clutches of the evil Overdog (robustly played with lip-smacking wicked relish by Michael Ironside). Scrappy teenage orphan Niki (a winningly perky portrayal by Molly Ringwald in her pre-fame Brat Back days) helps Wolff out with his desperate mission.Director Lamont Johnson keeps the entertaining story moving along at a zippy pace, brings a pleasingly straightforward and unpretentious mean'n'lean Grade B sensibility to the familiar, yet still enjoyable and engrossing material, makes nice use of the dingy'n'desolate desert locations, and stages the exciting action set pieces with considerable skill and flair (run-ins with grotesque subhuman blobs and a tribe of Amazonian warrior women rate as the definite thrilling highlights). Strauss and Ringwald display a highly sharp and snappy natural chemistry, Ernie Hudson lends sturdy support as Wolff's two-fisted rival Washington, Andrea Marcovicci shines in her regrettably small role as spunky (and sexy) android Chalmers, and Deborah Pratt, Aleisa Shirley, and Cali Trimmins make for extremely fetching damsels in distress. The lavish sets, grimy costumes, and gnarly old school practical effects are quite impressive. Frank Tidy's crisp cinematography provides a funky stylish look. Elmer Bernstein's spirited score hits the stirring spot. A total blast.

Andy Steel The effects are not great, it must be said, but given the budget and the fact it was made in 3D; I'll forgive that. What it has in its favour is a half decent story and a cast that actually (for me anyway) make it work. I must say I love the performance of the, quite young, Molly Ringwald as Niki; I thought she was great! I also thought Peter Strauss did a decent job as Wolff; yes, he borrows heavily from Harrison Ford as Haan Solo, but (again) I can forgive that. Other noteworthy performances came from; Ernie Hudson as Washington, Andrea Marcovicci as Chalmers and Michael Ironside as Overdog.A film that is not available on DVD here in the UK (much to my dismay), I catch it almost every time it makes it to the TV screens. As I've already said, the production is not the best, but (for me) the story and the performances hold it together. Yes, it does try a little too hard in places and some of the dialogue is a little strange, but I'd still rather watch this than 'The Phantom Menace' any day! If you haven't seen it I urge you to give it a go… If you have (& didn't like it)… Give it another chance, it grows on you!... RECOMMENDED.My score: 8.0/10IMDb Score: 4.8/10 (based on 2,419 votes at the time of going to press).MetaScore: No Data: (Based on 0 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).Rotten Tomatoes 'Tomatometer' Score: 20/100 (based on 5 reviews counted at the time of going to press).Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 24/100 'Want to See' (based on 2,988 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

Neil Welch This is what we had to put up with when we couldn't get proper sci-fi films.To be fair, this tale of all-purpose low budget Han solo-lite space ranger Peter Strauss and profoundly irritating wilful argumentative waif Molly Ringwald has quite a lot going for it, and I'm not counting the 3D because I've never seen it. Admittedly, everything it's got going for it has been nicked from somewhere else. The Star Wars influences don't end with Han Solo - there's the theme music to be going along with, not to mention half the other visuals. Mad Max will be calling to collect the other half, and Lon Chaney Sr would like Michael Ironside to return the Phantom makeup from the silent version of Phantom Of The Opera, please.But it's a rip-roaring swashbuckling tale of derring do - lots of action, lots of explosions, larger than life stock characters, some fun set design, lots of trucks with bits stuck on to make them look suitably alien, lots of desolate looking locations (well, one), and just enough story to hang the rest on.These days it comes across as rather more low budget than it actually was, but it isn't really as bad as you might fear from the IMDb score.