For a really blatant Corman-produced Star Wars clone, this wasn't half bad! Probably because it crosses the Star Wars DNA with The Seven Samurai (!), which actually works out really well.
Our hero, Shad, is trying to save his planet "Akir" (named in tribute to Akira Kurasawa) from the evil Sador. He flies around in his talking spaceship (imagine the Millennium Falcon with C3P0 built in) recruiting various mercenaries and aliens, who all agree to help him for reasons of their own. Then, in one epic space battle, the end is decided. I won't spoil, but it hews closely to the Seven Samurai roots.
I will say that this movie is absolutely SAVED by the special effects, which are top notch and all done by ... drum roll ... JAMES CAMERON. Yes, this is his movie debut, only 4 years away from The Terminator. His FX work is incredible, and lends the film a huge amount of credibility that it sorely needs. This one is worth checking out.
I enjoyed this more than I should have - it's a typical "perils of Rock and Roll" plot where a band in Arizona experiences Big Success, only to see it threatened by the usual mix of drugs, giant egos, and greedy club owners. It's directed pretty poorly, with many ham-fisted choices that almost ruin scenes, but the core story is still pretty compelling, and the guitar work is nice throughout. It's OK.
Poor Linda Blair, how did she get roped into this mess? The idea is dumb and dumber. Vicious gutter punks traveling the country in a VW bus (what?!) break into the house of a Hollywood special effects wizard because they suspect he has millions just lying around (what?!?!), but after killing everyone they don't bargain on the mutant that the effects wizard was raising, OR on the mutant's birth father who comes after them (what what what?!!??!!). This is inexplicable. Avoid.
I could have sworn I already reviewed this, but maybe not. This is the second part of Penelope Spheeris's famous documentary The Decline of Western Civilization. Honestly, as interesting and revealing as this is, it's the least of the three parts - I personally find the other two far more compelling.
The real truth that gets exposed here is the incredible and insane misogyny present in the music scene in the '80s (women are commodities) and also the insane excess. It's also amusing to see how braindead the musicians are, especially when she asks what their backup plans are if they don't hit the World Stage in the next year. "Backup.... plan? I flunked out of school, man."
It's well worth seeing, even if the famous Ozzy kitchen scene is faked.
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