Yul Brunner is obviously too old for this kind of thing. The role should have gone to someone like Gordon Liu or Bruce Lee. If you take into account that this film was directed by Robert Clouse, Bruce Lee would most likely have starred in this film if he still was alive when it was made.
This film belongs to the early seventies post-apocalypse subgenre that includes titles such as The Omega Man and No Blade of Grass. It's the type of film that you would have probably enjoyed if you watched it in the late 70's-early 80's on late night TV. Nowadays it seems quite dated, with ridiculous action scenes and silly violence. There is scene where Yul Brunner gets attacked by four men and having no other way for the hero to win this fight, the writer makes the three of them run away for no reason.
The main reason to watch The Ultimate Warrior is to see to which extent The Walking Dead show has ripped off this film. If you get a sense of deja-vu while watching this film it's because the production designers of Walking Dead have been strongly influenced by this one. Also several of the main character of Walking Dead seem to have been lifted verbatim.
The final duel between Rick and Negan-(Carson and Carrot)-was also the main influence for the duel between The Bride and Gogo in Kill Bill. The flying ball used by Gogo is nothing but an updated version of the weapon used by Carrot.
Despite the grim theme, the onscreen violence is strictly PG-13. If there was more of the red stuff on the screen, The Ultimate Warrior would probably have been better remembered.
Review of The Ultimate Warrior
