Cast:
Robert Ginty (The Rider), Persis Khambatta (Nastasia), Donald Pleasence (Prossor), Fred Williamson (Henchman), Harrison Muller Sr (McWayne), Philip Dallas (Elder), and Laura Nucci (Elder) Written and Directed by David Worth.
Review:
Making a rip-off of Mad Max is bad enough but being a low rent knock-off is the true crime when it comes to boredom inducing schlock. You've got all the ingredients for boredom here: weirdo nomad mercenaries that have the acting chops of drywall, high-tech motorcycles that beep dialogue at you, and a totally evil government headlined by a bald evildoer. At director was David Worth, who got his start as a cinematographer in the 1970s that added directing to his output with films such as Poor Pretty Eddie (1975). In later years, the Los Angeles natie served as cinematographer to mainstream works such as Bronco Billy (1980) and Bloodsport (1988). although his most noted film as director is probably Kickboxer (1989). Although he is now over eighty years old, he apparently keeps busy in the movie business. So yes, what else is featured in the film: weird "Enlightened" supernatural beings that have a wall that people could just bump into like our main character that have a "New Way" as rebels. You've got a woman interest who gets guys into saving their dad by threatening to shoot the hero in the balls. Don't forget the real highlight: A Megaweapon truck that could beat the hell out of most armed forces...except one guy and his weirdo plan while weirdly sounded gunfire is in the background. The torture scenes aren't even something worth getting hysterical over. To top it all off, the movie even sequel baits itself at the end, made more amusing with an awkward kiss between our heroes. The philosophy of the movie is one you've heard from other movies, only now there are punks to join the cause, so that's interesting, I guess?
It is a bland B-movie, silly to make fun of in how much of a rip-off of better things it ultimately is, one that even has the balls to having an opening text crawl. The 92 minutes roll off with bland amusement, where seeing the talking motorcycle might be the most interesting sequence in the film. Ginty is a total non-entity in this film, somehow coming off as a bad impersonation of both Clint Eastwood and Kurt Russell. This offbeat attempt at a Mad Max-Western mixup proves pretty bad when you don't have an interesting lead actor to carry things. I guess Williamson would've been cooler if he was in the film for more than three little scenes. Muller looks like he wanted to play a stiff leader in the vein of something like a politician, but he only ends up as a stiff board. When it comes to performances, they all are pretty bad, but I respect Pleasence, dressed in a suit that might as well be Blofeld from You Only Live Twice, trying to keep things on a semi-solid level with his attempt at creeping villainy (at least what you might see from an actor in their mid 60s). However, since none of the other actors have anything remotely close to charisma, he ends up as the weird one to focus all your attention on. Hell, he outacts Khambatta, who might as well be confused with a broomstick. Things happen in the wasteland that might as well double for some random European dump that might mean that this would be extra primo material for someone to rip-off for their own silly movies, complete with making their own crappy gun effects. As a whole, the best way to enjoy this film is either as a riff or as a way to see better things mashed up together, which makes it an ideal day for a "turkey" spotlight.
Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: The Adventures of Pluto Nash.
