Why so much hype?

just watch it!

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I was led to believe that this was a big pile of boring crap, but those folks were wrong. It's a big pile of enjoyable crap! C'mon! Early eighties dimension jumping nonsense. Sign me up! There's earthquakes in LA, and this causes a mad scientist, a TV presenter, and a handyman/kendo guy the TV presenter had a car crash with to fall into an intra-dimensional transporter and be whizzed off to some crazy other world that suspiciously looks like Earth with some cheap stuff added.In this world, however, John Saxon is in charge! He's so macho he's wears a vest with nothing underneath. And he's shoots folks at random! And growls a lot. Plus, Mr Saxon has been involved in some of my favourite films, including Violent Naples, The Rat, The Cynic and The Fist, Tenebrae, Cannibal Apocalypse and Enter the Dragon. He's pretty much infallible like the Pope.So in this film the scientist in order to keep himself alive has introduced dynamite and gunpowder to Saxon and therefore Saxon is all cocky about taking over the world. Pity that Kendo guy and TV presenter have teamed up with a green man, a guy who looks like Anthropophagus Beast, and an gay Irish dwarf thief to take Saxon down! I dunno how anyone thinks this film is boring because our team of heroes are going up against dwarfs with crappy glowing eye effects, fighting men painted gold around rocks that make you explode when you touch them, and cloaked zombie dudes who reminded me of the Blind Dead.I'd say this one is a fair bet for Saxon fans and fans of folk who just like eighties films with eighties effects. I've got no complaints. It's even got a sudden abrupt ending that we all loved back then.

The year is 1983. Battlestar Galactica has finished and Richard Hatch is out of work..."I'll take anything", says Richard, running nervous fingers through his famously luxuriant dark hair, trying to remain in control of his emotions but exuding more than the merest whiff of desperation from his once proud figure. His agent smiles apologetically before stammering his way through the sentence which will ultimately cost him his job. "I, er... have this for you, Richard". He stops for a moment to dab at his forehead with a handkerchief already damp from nervous sweat. "It's called 'Prisoners of the Last, sorry... Lost Universe'. What do you think"? The haggard looking former TV star looks sorrowfully at the script, remembering the good old days of brown uniforms, Dirk Benedict, kissing Jane Seymour, and evading Cylon Centurions blasting him with lasers. Then, after recollecting the state of his dwindling finances, he swallows, closes his eyes and says, "I'll do it. God help me, I'll do it".And that is how Prisoners of the Lost Universe came to pass (with John Saxon having virtually the same conversation with his soon-to-be- fired agent as well). Probably.Hatch and cheap Farrah Fawcett-alike Kay Lenz disappear through a mad scientist's inter-dimensional gate into a parallel universe (which isn't all that parallel really) inhabited by mute giants, a green native American (sorry, native Vanyan) a cheery Irish/Scottish/English (depending on whichever line he's speaking at the time) thief, giant gold warriors, megalomaniacal overlords who laugh evilly at everything, and some small, but very angry, stripy pygmies wearing owl masks with flashing red eyes.Bad actors act badly, bad lines are spoken badly, bad visual effects are used badly (and have not aged at all well), comedy sound effects are employed with completely non-hilarious results and awful bad guys get their painfully convoluted come-uppances. The music score demands special attention, being part Superman, part Shaft. Quite the combination, I can tell you.A truly terrible film with only one question hanging over it. Why, if it was so utterly awful, did I want to watch it all over again the moment it ended?If there was a way to vote 0/10 & 10/10 at the same time, I'd do that. Instead, I'll split the difference and give it 5.

By accident a scientist by the name of "Dr. Hartman" (Kenneth Hendel), a young television reporter known as "Carrie Madison" (Kay Lenz) and a maintenance man named "Dan" (Richard Hatch) find themselves transported to "a strange and violent land" existing in another dimension. Once there they encounter a number of hostile people and creatures in a desperate struggle to survive. Anyway, so much for the plot. As far as the movie is concerned it pretty much featured one ridiculous "comic book" scenario after another filled with corny dialogue, bad acting, cheap costumes and ludicrous characters. It was pretty bad. As a matter of fact, about the only thing worth mentioning was the presence of Dawn Abraham ("Shareen") and the aforementioned Kay Lenz who at least added some nice scenery to an otherwise totally wasted effort. In summation, my strong recommendation is that you spare yourself from wasting an hour and a half on this drab and uninteresting film. You will be doing yourself a huge favor.

I've now watched this movie twice. The first time I stumbled across it in one of those packs of DVDs that has 50 obscure movies you've never heard of. I went in fully intending to mock it throughout. I was pretty happy early on watching the main characters all come together. Then as the movie progressed, I realized there was a real plot, and some well thought out ideas. There are colorful characters, and some pretty interesting ideas in this thing. I also have an appreciation for the strong female lead in this movie. It's very welcome.When you absorb it all, you have to allow for low budget, sometimes odd dialogue, and occasionally slow pacing. If you look at the variety of characters, follow their travels and enjoy the campiness that is built in, you should have a good time. This is an earnest movie throughout, and I love it for that. I have no doubt I'll watch it again in the future. The story involves (although you may have read this already) a scientist, a reporter, and a guy who just happened to be in the neighborhood. Through a series of events, they all wind up in another dimension. The goal is simple. Find out if there is a way to get home, and if so, go for it. This movie is the tale of their adventures. Aside from some language, it's definitely family friendly. The violence is modest by todays standards and mostly consists of swordplay. Pop in that DVD and enjoy. You'll be glad you did!