This space-set sci-fi fantasy that bares no resemblance to STAR WARS is probably the most watchable movie Roger Corman ever made (not to diss "The Terror" or "Night of the Blood Beast"). It's about John-Boy Walton, who has seven days to find mercenaries to save his disgustingly peaceful planet (named Akira, not to be confused with planets Tetsuo or Kei) from evil TENEBRE star John Saxon (who hails from the planet Comb-Over). John-Boy's planet only has two dozen citizens and all they do is mill around all day, so they're not really worth saving, but what the hell, if he doesn't there'll be no movie.
So John-Boy sets out in his sassy, back-talking spaceship (which has a great pair of breasts) and recruits seven saviors (like SEVEN SAMERAI, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, or A BUG'S LIFE). George "Lieutenant-Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith" Peppard plays a stoned space trucker (BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S was a loooong time ago). TEENAGE CAVEMAN's Robert Vaugn is bad-ass Gelt, and well-endowed Sybill Danning is Saint X-Men. There's also a bland computer expert, a Lizard pimp and his sidekicks who communicate in heat, and Observer-like aliens called Nestor. The first half of the movie is watching John-Boy recruit them, and the second half is **SPOILER AHEAD** watching them all die. John-Boy finally crashes his bitchy spaceship into John Saxon and Akira is free to mill around in peace. The end.
It's a fun movie with lots of special effects (which range from awful to passable) and some nice characters. There are no monsters or cute robots, though, so beware. It's written by John Sayles, who went on to make LONE STAR, LIMBO, and SUNSHINE STATE (none of which feature a Lizard pimp).
In conclusion, it's better than THE PHANTOM MENACE but not as good as SPACEBALLS.
So John-Boy sets out in his sassy, back-talking spaceship (which has a great pair of breasts) and recruits seven saviors (like SEVEN SAMERAI, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, or A BUG'S LIFE). George "Lieutenant-Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith" Peppard plays a stoned space trucker (BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S was a loooong time ago). TEENAGE CAVEMAN's Robert Vaugn is bad-ass Gelt, and well-endowed Sybill Danning is Saint X-Men. There's also a bland computer expert, a Lizard pimp and his sidekicks who communicate in heat, and Observer-like aliens called Nestor. The first half of the movie is watching John-Boy recruit them, and the second half is **SPOILER AHEAD** watching them all die. John-Boy finally crashes his bitchy spaceship into John Saxon and Akira is free to mill around in peace. The end.
It's a fun movie with lots of special effects (which range from awful to passable) and some nice characters. There are no monsters or cute robots, though, so beware. It's written by John Sayles, who went on to make LONE STAR, LIMBO, and SUNSHINE STATE (none of which feature a Lizard pimp).
In conclusion, it's better than THE PHANTOM MENACE but not as good as SPACEBALLS.