Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Absolutely amazing

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

As cheap STAR WARS rip-offs go, this isn't bad at all, and at least manages to be consistently entertaining trash. Full of typical '80s special effects (running the gamut from poor rubber suits to poor computer effects), wooden acting, and a light plot which is basically an excuse for a series of action sequences, and you have the making of a good, if cheesy, time. As an added bonus, the film was made at the peak of the 3D craze and was, thus, filmed in 3D, so expect lots of blocky titles flying out of the screen and objects flying at the camera at every moment.The two stars of the show are a wooden Peter Strauss and an irritating Molly Ringwald, who share lots of light banter. Same old story...the pair initially hate each other but eventually grow to love one another. Like we haven't heard that one before. Strauss' character is a blatant copy of Han Solo, right down to the same cocky manner and clothing. Ringwald plays some kind of desert urchin who hooks up with Strauss as a guide and manages to put herself in all sorts of danger.The location shooting is nice, offering up a realistic-looking alien planet, although sadly the inhabitants are less than convincing. Things kick off with Strauss riding around in his dune buggy (did I mentioned MAD MAX as another influence?) then discovering a Viking longship flying down a railway line (?!). A laser fight immediately ensues, the first of a couple in the film, which are really quite impressive. Some poor extra gets it ("we have blood loss here...") and Strauss loses his female helper, who turns out to be an icky android who melts at the touch of a button.From then on, it's one thing after another, with Strauss pairing up with Ringwald and together meeting all kinds of monsters and strange characters. An incredibly young, bald Ernie Hudson wanders around in a space suit and drives a shoddy-looking bulldozer which belches black smoke into the planet's atmosphere (can't be doing much for their ozone layer). A group of amphibious Amazons (!) wander around in little clothing and try to capture our heroes in giant nets - and fail. A patently plastic-looking dragon (not so much a dragon as a cardboard head on a wooden pole) puts our befuddled hero into yet another dangerous situation, while some obese rubber-suited people provide lots of mirth. In another unexplained incident, mutant children lob Molotov cocktails at our heroes from the top of a cliff.After these amusing incidents, our characters eventually arrive at Overdog's castle. Overdog is a menacing (ridiculous name aside) character, a cyborg with a human face and gigantic pincer arms. He's played by genre staple Michael Ironside, although you wouldn't recognise him under all that makeup. He's devised a tricky maze where unwilling contestants must face dangers like pools of acid, fire, pits of spikes, and giant swinging circular saw blades while being pursued by a giant steamroller. Inevitably, Ringwald finds herself in the maze and is luckily able to conquer it before being captured by Overdog, who has a thing for women you see. At the end, action man Strauss saves the day by electrocuting the baddie and shooting lots of things/people. The entire place explodes in a huge display of pyrotechnics which was also a convenient way to use up any of the budget that may have been left over.So, as adventure films go, this isn't bad at all. That is, as long as you know what to expect - fans of decent, high budget fare may think otherwise. For me, a film with plentiful action, a sprinkling of violence, and all manner of weird costumes and effects definitely passes the time in an entertaining way.

Three beautiful women survive their ship's destruction on an escape shuttle. They land on a war-torn disease-plagued planet and are quickly captured. Scavenger Wolff (Peter Strauss) and his android Chalmers go on a rescue mission for the massive reward. Ruthless ruler Overdog (Michael Ironside) has taken the women to the Forbidden Zone. Niki (Molly Ringwald) is the last survivor of an Earth medical expedition. She joins Wolff as his guide. Competitor former comrade Sector Chief Washington (Ernie Hudson) turns partner.This is one of those B-movie Star Wars wannabe with a healthy dose of Mad Max and a temporary revival of 3-D during the early 80s. I have forgotten how much cheesy fun this movie has. I remember the vehicles but I honestly forgot about the hang-gliders. The movie has the fattest mutants and midgets as well. It is utterly full-on B-movie. I actually like the adorable Molly Ringwald as a loud-mouthed pixie. I would have liked Chalmers in the group but the android gets nuked extremely early. It is a shame since Chalmers seems to be set up early on to be a lead. Ironside and his get-up with his maze is ridiculous and fun. I do not recommend this movie unless one is in the mood to see silly camp.

"Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" is a blend of a couple different influences on science fiction flicks of the 1980s. Imagine if a reluctant hero-for-hire in the vein of Han Solo traveled to a planet where the inhabitants live in a society that resembled the dystopian world of "The Road Warrior." It comes complete with scavengers, mutants, and a makeshift city whose citizens enjoy watching people fight for their lives in a deadly maze. It all sounds a little familiar, eh? It also sounds like a lot of fun!In the year 2136, Wolff (Peter Strauss), a wily salvage pilot and intergalactic bounty hunter, answers a distress signal on Terra Eleven. Agreeing to pick up three women who've been shipwrecked, he lands on the planet only to discover they've been kidnapped. Following their trail, Wolff soon encounters Niki (Molly Ringwald), a spunky orphan who agrees to guide him across the Forbidden Zone, a vast wasteland populated by plague-infested mutants. After many battles, Wolff and Niki finally reach the lair of Overdog (Michael Ironside), the planet's half-man / half-machine ruler. Discovering the women are held captive in Overdog's slave pens, Wolff's rescue mission finally begins."Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" was originally released during the 3-D craze of the early 1980s. "Jaws 3-D," "Friday the 13th, Part 3-D, and "Amityville 3-D" are other movies which are more identifiable from this era. The film is presented in 2-D on DVD, but you can definitely tell where the 3-D would've played a part at times. The cast of "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" was made up of some familiar 1980s faces. Peter Strauss is known for his many roles in television shows and movies. Ernie Hudson is best known for his character Winston Zeddemore in "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II." When the movie came out in 1983, Molly Ringwald's only major parts were in "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life." She comes off as an annoying tag-along here until the end of the film, where she makes an attempt at redeeming herself by facing down her fear and working hard to stay alive. Michael Ironside fully embraced his role as the cyborg tyrant Overdog. "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" is rated PG. It includes mild violence and gore, profanity, and frightening / intense scenes. One of the bat creatures in the film is shown topless, but it's not known whether the monster is male or female. There's definitely nothing sexy about the scene. Newer viewers might find "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" a bit heavy on the cheese and slow in stride. The special effects are all practical as well. It's nice to see all the hard work the crew put into the visual look of the film. If you love the original "Star Wars," then you'll no doubt enjoy it. Watch it through the eyes of a 10 year old in 1983 and everything will be fine.

Take star wars, mad max 1, 2, 3, running man, barbarella, and some terry gilliam films, mix them together and you have spacehunter. some of these films were made after this one so it shows some originality. I never get tired of watching this film, i think is because there are no dull moments, its just one great scene after another. Its obviously a light hearted sci-fi and the story isn't exactly complicated but it has lots of good points. there are quite a lot of chuckle moments with the strange speak from Niki and the one liners from the reluctant baby sitter Wolf.The effects are very good and still hold up especially the vehicles, no CGI here! I just like the look of it too the colour filters and locations are great to see. well worth a watch if you like any of the above films.