Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone | Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone | Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald | Great adventure

DVDs:

Spacehunter: Adven...

	Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald Sony Pictures, 2001 average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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THE MAZE OF DEATH..... AWAITS YOU

The 1980's gave us plenty of Sci-Fi adventures with the likes of Flash Gordon, Krull, The Last Starfighter, Buckaroo Banzai and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. "Spacehunter" ranks right up their with the others I've mentioned as being one of my favorites. The year is 2136 and Wolff (Peter Strauss) is a galactic bounty hunter on his way to Terra Eleven to rescue three Earth maidens from the evil clutches of someone or something called Overdog.The mechanical menace Overdog is the ruler of Terra Eleven and its grotesque assortment of plague infested mutants and monsters and he doesn't like outsiders entering his junkyard. Overdog (Michael Ironside) is a vicious and savage ruler who takes pleasure in killing people in his metal gauntlet of death. Early on Wolff attempts to rescue the maidens but he encounters Overdogs henchmen as they've already kidnapped the maidens and taken them to the forbidden zone for Overdogs pleasure. As Wolff sets out for the forbidden zone he meets a very sarcastic and annoying Earth waif named Niki (Molly Ringwald) who tells Wolff she's a tracker and can lead him to Overdog and his scrap heap of a kingdom. After some reluctance the two of them form a friendship and along the way we see Niki's character become less obnoxious and more tolerable. I really like Michael Ironside playing evil/bad characters and feel they could have done more if he wasn't covered in all that hardware. The picture and sound quality for this release is pretty decent but I feel it could have been much better. There is some evidence of deterioration and age related issues in the print and the picture is grainy at times. The disc is double sided and offers both full and widescreen versions. Even though this movie was originally presented in 3-D format, Sci-fi adventure fans will still enjoy "Spacehunter" and its special effects. This Sci-Fi B-movie from 1983 is 90 minutes of pure fun and still very entertaining.

On the DVD
Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video
Widescreen and full-screen presentations
Audio: English, French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai
Bonus trailers
-Starship Troopers
-Men in Black
-Krull
Interactive menus
Scene selections

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Great adventure

This is a good old fashioned adventure, with some comedy and good natured suspense. We remember it from when it was released, but my 8 year old grandaughter loved it - she watched it twice! We are a little disappointed in the quality of the DVD; it does seem quite grainy and not much better picture that the VHS.

Popcorn Sci-Fi Fun

Ah... the joys of pulp-science fiction. To experience the kind of stories more often found in old comic books come on the big screen can be confusing to some, but not this comic book fan. Spacehunter, along with movies like Star Wars and Flash Gordon, uses a tried and true model reminiscent of the classic Saturday morning serials. In spite of it's B-rated budget and content Spacehunter still comes out a winner.

You can see the main influences come from the post apocalyptic genre of movies like The Road Warrior, but the space opera genre is still strong with dastardly villians, brave heroes, damsels in distress, and all that. Add a sprinkle of adventure and you pretty much get the recipe of Spacehunter.

In a single word, Spacehunter is fun. The content is light and not thought provoking, but at the same time not overly simplified. You will catch some lame terminologies like 'mega space credits' and some of the spaceships look like they were made from styrofoam, but at least those shortcomings are few. Special effects work well enough and compliment the story instead of detracting from it. The props and technology range from "what?" to "cool". Gun props aren't overdone with odd accessories and the attachments they do use work well with the pace of the movie. I particularly enjoyed that mini missile launcher. Vehicles are kinda neat, and most of them are smart designs. Gotta love Wolfe's Scrambler.

The acting from the main characters is what sets this B-movie apart from most. Every one of them gave subtle and believable performances that were a very pleasant difference from most B-list science fictions. Molly Ringwald does a great job in her big screen debut as the lovable yet bratty Nikki. Peter Strauss does the standard Saturday matinee hero with style, and the hero/sidekick chemistry between Strauss and Ringwald was a treat to behold. Like I said, pretty much the entire main cast of characters made the movie as good as it is.

The DVD itself pretty much gives you the movie and that's about it. No special features or dynamic dolby audio. Just the movie and some scene selections. So keep that in mind when deciding to drop some coin on owning a copy.

I recommend Spacehunter for anybody who wants a good popcorn sci-fi flick that's not too violent or vulgar, but still wrought with low budget entertainment. Keep in mind it was made as a 3-D movie so some takes were made to fly off the screen, but of course won't. This movie is not meant to be taken seriously. If you're the type of person who can love a movie that's light on serious sci-fi content but chunky on the fun give Spacehunter a shot.

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classic!!

So much cheese and corn you get cheesy popcorn! This movie is a classic though, it makes you laugh the whole way through. What were they thinking when they made this? "It will be the next blocbuster movie since star wars!"Funny stuff worth owning it!

Review of Spacehunter