This kind of cheesy adventure yarn was a staple of my youth - and every time I see one of these films, it brings a tide of nostalgia pouring through me. WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS is a film which just wouldn't stand up to a modern audience's viewing - it's not politically correct, the acting is poor, and the special effects not particularly effective. But to a child, the film becomes a wonderful story of monsters, aliens, and plenty of protracted fight scenes. The film starts off well with an excellently animated octopus attacking a boat and dragging the survivors to a new world. This octopus attack is really quite splendid, okay so it's not original but the model effects really do look good. After there things can only go downhill, but there are still plenty of laughs and fun to be had as our heroes enter a weird society of primitive gill-men and alien rulers.
The chief nasty bloke in this case is Michael Gothard, a man who lent his unique persona to such schlock as SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and the respectable JACK THE RIPPER before committing suicide in the early '90s. He always reminded me of a British Klaus Kinski. Gothard is at his sneering best here as the evil alien commander, although sadly he is given far too little screen time and not much to do apart from stand around and bark orders. Opposing him as the face of good is a solid Doug McClure, whose shirt gets torn off yet again and who pushes his way through the film with his own brand of wooden acting. He might have his critics (and many of them), but for me, McClure will always be a hero. Much like modern action stars, he's a man who never gets injured, who always wins out in the end. and who gets to fight loads of baddies and monsters single-handedly.
Which brings me on to the monsters, which look a lot like dinosaurs. Sadly these are of the back-projected variety (the cost of the octopus must have eaten the budget), and even if they look quite nice, the projection does look awful, much like in AT THE EARTH'S CORE. You can almost smell the rubber on some of these monsters. The film reaches new depths with an attack of flying fish (a truly unbelievable scene), but I quite liked a toothy snake thing which came out of a swamp to grab somebody's leg. If your idea of fun is a cheesy and amusing film, then this one is for you. Packed with effects and action scenes which seem to go on forever, any child would love it. I would rate it as better than AT THE EARTH'S CORE, but not quite as good as that all-time favourite, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT.
The chief nasty bloke in this case is Michael Gothard, a man who lent his unique persona to such schlock as SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and the respectable JACK THE RIPPER before committing suicide in the early '90s. He always reminded me of a British Klaus Kinski. Gothard is at his sneering best here as the evil alien commander, although sadly he is given far too little screen time and not much to do apart from stand around and bark orders. Opposing him as the face of good is a solid Doug McClure, whose shirt gets torn off yet again and who pushes his way through the film with his own brand of wooden acting. He might have his critics (and many of them), but for me, McClure will always be a hero. Much like modern action stars, he's a man who never gets injured, who always wins out in the end. and who gets to fight loads of baddies and monsters single-handedly.
Which brings me on to the monsters, which look a lot like dinosaurs. Sadly these are of the back-projected variety (the cost of the octopus must have eaten the budget), and even if they look quite nice, the projection does look awful, much like in AT THE EARTH'S CORE. You can almost smell the rubber on some of these monsters. The film reaches new depths with an attack of flying fish (a truly unbelievable scene), but I quite liked a toothy snake thing which came out of a swamp to grab somebody's leg. If your idea of fun is a cheesy and amusing film, then this one is for you. Packed with effects and action scenes which seem to go on forever, any child would love it. I would rate it as better than AT THE EARTH'S CORE, but not quite as good as that all-time favourite, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT.