Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Scott LeBrun
Prolific and dependable B level filmmaker Jim Wynorski had started out working for Roger Corman, and began his respectable directing career with this exploitation epic that he wrote, produced, and directed. All the hallmarks of his work are present and accounted for here, including a breezy, campy feel, a heavy sense of humour, a self-awareness (without doing too much winking at the viewer - the actors do have straight faces most of the time), and of course well endowed female cast members baring their breasts whenever an opportunity presents itself. He sure knows what he's doing: the very first shot in his movie is an iris shot that opens up on a womans' cleavage!The story hits the ground running: tough female cop Angel Wolfe (lovely Melanie Vincz) loses her brother Rob (Bill Thornbury of the "Phantasm" series), who's also a cop, to a trio of deadly ninja types in a bungled robbery. When Rob produces a throwing star kind of weapon left at the scene, it leads Angels' FBI agent boyfriend Rick (Paul Coufos) to believe a religious cult head named Dr. Sin Do could be involved. He knows that Sin Do recruits young women in groups of three to be trained as assassins, so Angel gathers together two of her friends - the Indian warrior Whitestar (Raven De La Croix) and bubbly blonde jailbird Heather McClure (Angela Aames) so that they can infiltrate the madmans' remote island fortress.There's a delightful cheesy charm to these proceedings, complete with some really fun looking sets and lots of animation effects. The dialogue is amusing, especially when spoken by De La Croix (also the associate producer and designer of her characters' costume); she has a fair number of truly groan inducing one liners to deliver. The colourful lighting is courtesy of Jacques Haitkin ("A Nightmare on Elm Street" '84) and the catchy score by Alan Howarth is reminiscent of the other work he did with John Carpenter in the 1980s.Wynorski obviously had a lot of fun in the casting decisions: "Phantasm" series villain Angus Scrimm is our nefarious bad guy (although he doesn't show his face until well into the movie), notable screen tough guy Robert Tessier plays Koro, and Blackie Dammett ("National Lampoons' Class Reunion") is the sleazy Prager; there are also cameos for the great Kenneth Tobey (using his character name from "The Thing from Another World"), Linda Shayne (who co-wrote "Screwballs" with Wynorski), and Angelique Pettyjohn ('Get Smart', "Repo Man").People who adore the wacky side of low budget cinema will likely adore "The Lost Empire" for its spirit and energy...and, of course, the assets of its actresses.Eight out of 10.
Woodyanders
A trio of rough'n'tumble gals take on evil genius Dr. Sin Do (robustly essayed with lip-smacking hammy brio by Angus Scrimm) on the baddie's remote island fortress. The ladies must prevent Sin Do from finding three sacred jewels that will give him the power necessary to rule the world. Writer/director Jim Wynorski relates the immensely entertaining story at a brisk pace, maintains an engaging lighthearted tone throughout, stages the action scenes with rip-roaring aplomb, and further spices things up with amusing touches of pleasing campy humor. Better still, there's also a vicious catfight, a yummy shower scene, a deadly laser cannon that resembles a maleficent phallus, and, naturally, a satisfying smattering of tasty distaff nudity. The lively and appealing performances by the game and gorgeous female leads gives this picture an extra kick in the pants: Melanie Vincz as tough cop Angel Wolfe, Raven De La Croix as the formidable Whitestar, and Angela Aames as the feisty Heather McClure. Veteran villainous character actor Robert Tessier snarls it up nicely as Sin Do's fearsome henchman Koro while Paul Coufos makes a favorable impression as Wolfe's amiable partner Rick Stanton. Popping up in nifty bits as Linda Shayne as the doomed Cindy Blake, Angelique Pettyjohn as mean top con Whiplash (yep, this movie makes a welcome and refreshing detour into chicks-in-chains exploitation territory), and Kenneth Tobey as the gruff Captain Hendry. Jacques Haitkin's crisp widescreen cinematography provides a splashy and colorful live action comic book look. Alan Howarth's throbbing and syncopated synthesizer score does the pulsating John Carpenterish trick. A super fun Grade B flick.
punishmentpark
Hot '80s chicks galore (though Raven is a bit beyond my taste, except for her bosom of course), and a lot of funny stuff going on, especially in the effects (robotspider for instance) and some very, very cheesy one-liners. There's a few fun and silly action scenes plus a fair amount of cleavage and even more here and there (1 prison catfight included!). Even some of the settings / backdrops were okay to look at. The acting... well, let's not call it that and just think of the ladies. This is just the kind of stuff I want to see when I'm really not up for paying attention to an actual good movie, too late at night.Now, for the rating; dare I give it 6 out of 10, because I simply had a fun time with it? Well, 5 should be enough.
toddhauser
This movie, although a grade 'B, movie.. warrants viewing ... believe me, if you like MST3k videos, you'll like this one even without robotic comments. There's something about the honesty and simplicity of the actresses that makes it a very wholesome movie ... so watch it, or drop out!
