The Age of Commercialism

As Good As It Gets

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

For starters, "The Ultimate Warrior" only confirmed what I already knew for multiple years, and that is that Yul Brunner represents pure manliness to the fullest! This actor, and several other ones from his generation like Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen, was testosterone personified. Especially during the opening sequences, when Brunner's character just stands shirtless on a rooftop with his eyes closed, waiting for villagers from a nearby community to approach him; it doesn't get any more robust or macho than this. I hate to sound like an old and whiny critic, but actors like Brunner simply don't exist anymore nowadays. Even the toughest action heroes nowadays, like Vin Diesel or Jason Statham, can't hold a candle to Brunner and company. Secondly, for your sake, I sincerely hope that you're not going into "The Ultimate Warrior" expecting an extravagant post-nuclear Sci-Fi/thriller in the vein of "Mad Max: Road Warrior", "Escape from New York" or one of their countless Italian rip-offs. The title and Brunner's portrait on the film poster may suggest an exhilarating spectacle, but this is actually a very sober, intellectual and atmosphere-driven "after-the- apocalypse" tale. Being released in 1975, the film falls somewhat in between of the pioneers ("Silent Running", "The Omega Man", "Soylent Green") and the action-packed blockbusters. The story takes place in the outskirts of New York City, in the year 2012. The depressing images during the opening credits already say it all, in fact. Streets and boulevards that used to be crowded with people are now completely deserted and shrouded in an uncomfortable silence. There are ruins and waste everywhere. The relatively few survivors live in communities in secured fortresses and attempt to protect themselves from organized criminal gangs living on the streets. Via the leader of such a community, The Baron, we slowly learn that our planet fell victim to epidemics that eradicated all vegetation and animal life. The Baron begs for the help of lone fighter Carson, supposedly to help protect his fortress and followers against the increasing number of attacks of street gangs led by the relentless Carrot. Once recruited, Carson discovers that the Baron wants him for a secret mission to transport rare and vulnerable vegetable seeds towards an island where perhaps they may grow. The first half of "The Ultimate Warrior" is extremely powerful and intensively grim, but unfortunately all this diminishes and the second half of the film suffers too much from tedious moments and repetitive subject matter. The Baron's disciples demonstrate that they are just as barbaric and selfish as Carrot's troops, while greed and distrust destroy the last remnants of civilization. The fighting sequences come across as somewhat tame and dated by today's standards, and personally I think the film could have benefited from a bit of firepower. "The Ultimate Warrior" was written and directed by the extremely underrated Robert Clouse. The Kung-Fu movies that he made with Bruce Lee ("Enter the Dragon", "Game of Death") are successful enough, but Clouse also made a handful of really good horror/thriller movies that sadly nobody still mentions. "The Ultimate Warrior" is one of them, but also "The Pack", "The Amsterdam Kill" and "Deadly Eyes" are recommendable genre films. The DVD-version that I own of this film is a cool French release with an awesome alternative title ("New York doesn't respond anymore...") and several interesting extras.

Having recently watched I Am Legend, I felt in the mood for some more post-apocalyptic action, so, once again, into the DVD player went The Ultimate Warrior, one of my all-time favourite examples of the genre.Just like the recent Will Smith blockbuster, this movie takes place in the year 2012, after the fall of civilisation; in this hellish vision of the near future, the planet's plant life has been ravaged by disease, leaving survivors struggling for food.Yul Brynner plays Carson, a tough street-fighter who is hired by Baron (Max Von Sydow), leader of a desperate group of survivors, who are suffering from frequent attacks by a rival gang, led by the vicious Carrot (William Smith).But Baron has a hidden agenda: he really needs Carson to help his pregnant daughter escape from the city, along with Cal, her horticulturist partner, and their precious cache of plague-resistant seeds.Directed by Robert 'Enter the Dragon' Clouse, The Ultimate Warrior is a gritty, uncompromising effort blessed with a quality cast and some brutally violent and well choreographed fight scenes. Baldy Brynner is perfect as the honourable hero for hire, and looks totally bad-ass stripped to his waist and brandishing a wickedly sharp dagger. Likewise, Smith is excellent as Carson's heartless nemesis Carrot, a savage brute so cruel that he thinks nothing of using a baby as bait to lure his enemy into a trap.From it's opening scene, in which a cobweb-strewn, dusty, derelict loft provides the setting for a violent ambush, to the gripping bloody finalé, which sees Brynner and Smith battling to the death in a long abandoned subway, the Ultimate Warrior is unrelentingly harsh glimpse into a possible future where life is cheap, and often short.*Am I alone in thinking that GoGo's ball and chain in Kill Bill looks remarkably similar to the weapon wielded by Carrot at the end of The Ultimate Warrior. Perhaps Quentin took notice of my letter after all.

Because I was on a kick for some post-apocalyptic goodness and the cast included old favorites, I watched this flick. The result is mildly disappointing but might still be worth it for some. One thing that must be taken into account is that we are talking about a 1975 movie. This excuse its clunkiness and the lack of scope somewhat, although not completely.The basic plot is rather vague, all over the place. The writing is crude and ridiculous at times, yet there are worthwhile ideas to explore. The story takes place in a post-apoc New-York circa 2012. The usual staples of the genre are there. Lawlessness in a barren city, return to a semi-primitive life and lots of scavenging. Some survivors form bands. This flick focuses on two such rival groups, one of which, in the pure Hollywood tradition is the "good guys" and the other "the bad guys".Yul Brynner, for a man in his 50s, is surprisingly in shape and exudes action hero charisma. He is effective here as Carson, a super-tough survivor who responds to the (very lame, plot-wise) "good guy's offer" to protect them in exchange for a clean room, triple food rations and most importantly to him... cigars (I kid you not). Max Von Sydow's aura is equally perceptible but as in many, many of his 70s/80s movies, he's simply collecting the paycheck here. You'll appreciate his natural screen presence but do not expect to be blown away. He's the leader of the "good band" here but is not use to best effect. His character is very one-dimensional. While the one-dimensionality of Carson works, we expect more emotion from the peripheral characters. William Smith plays Carrot, your usual psychotic main villain and leader of the "bad clan". Surprisingly, he gives the best performance of the entire film by far, even if that's not saying much. The rest of the actors are extremely weak and their characters are flat and/or undeveloped.The main flaw of this movie is a failure to establish much motivations. The way leader Baron (Sydow) "recruits" Carson at the start of the movie is beyond ridiculous. The whole setup is just so unbelievable that we expect there is more to it than Carson just standing there in the middle of the city. The two clans are at war but it's difficult to comprehend why exactly. Sure, we get that it's a typical conflict but we never swallow it. But wait, you say. Why does it matter if the characters are fleshed out or not? Isn't this an action flick? There's the problem. There is a real attempt here at telling a story because there is NOT much action. It's just that there is no real story, unfortunately. We spend a lot of time with Baron's bunch. Learning about various characters and the tensions caused by the lack of food but it's all underdeveloped. You get the impression there are directorial comments here about "communal lifestyle" but they aren't clear. There's also a surprising lack of romance here or other kitsch elements. The final act of the flick is a drawn out chase in the subways that is anything but exciting. The final confrontation has nice ideas but again, falls flat.At its heart, I think Ultimate Warrior wanted to highlight the differences and more importantly the similarities between "peaceful hippies" and "hardened men" such as Carson and how the two react when facing obstacles in a lawless environment. Unfortunately, it fails. Everything this movie does, the Mad Max trilogy does way better. Except I'd rather watch Max Von Sydow than Tina Turner.Big fans of post-apoc films, Sydow, Brynner or cheesy 70s flick will want to give this one one viewing and that's it. Others are better off passing.

New York in the year of 2012 is a dangerously decayed environment that has been divided into communities who continuously fight, as the earth has been destroyed by a plague and sources of food is very limited. A small peaceful society living in a small compound are led by "The Baron" and seek that of a warrior to protect them from the street people led the malicious Carrot. The mysterious fighter Carson accepts Baron's offer. Although Carson learns that Baron actually has a plan to get his daughter, his son-law and their unborn child to an island off the coast of North Carolina. He would need Carson's help to get them there. Where did this come from? I knew nothing off it when discovering it at video shop getting rid of their VHS'. Hard to say why this is one unsung flick, as there is some potent names involved and for most part its cleverly constructed. A thoughtfully desperate Sci-fi / action stint that actually throws up some genuine social commentary without any sort forced impression. Strangely enough, you could possibly claim this to be an influential benchmark in the post-apocalyptic sub-genre. This for goes "Mad Max" and the trend that followed it. There's no doubt the 70s were a flourishing time for innovative films. The director Robert Clouse would be known for Bruce Lee's film "Enter the Dragon (1973)" and some others like "The Pack (1977)" and "The Rats (1975)". Clouse manages to give it a hard-edge and the gritty, grubby post-holocaust setting demonstrates something rather eerie and raw. The violence is brutally intense and truly grim. This only makes this hasty plight more authentic with the nature of the situation turning people to think of only themselves and become something they might oppose. It shows there's common ground despite the walls separating the two sides. For some they might find the story to never really get going until the final half, but there are some interestingly credible ideas (like the horticultural aspect of a immune plant) covered in the chatty opening half and a pinch of wit is a nice welcome. Clouse does a frank and accessible job with what his got to shape here. Fight sequences are swiftly exciting (the final super-charged climax is a hoot), even if there's not much flair and the workable stunts go hand-to-hand. There's some imagery captured with a touch of style, but it mostly done with a lot dirt and grit. Organizing the film's rhythm is Gil Melle's dry and spicy experimental music score, which works a treat alongside Gerald Hirshfeld's reliably on-the-move and penetrating photography. Making up a fine cast is Yul Brynner, Max Von Sydow, William Smith and Joanne Miles. A picture-perfect Brynner emit's a gloriously humane, but also a deadly vibe with his warrior for hire, Carson. His dry temperament was surely tailor made for the part. Von Sydow adds the class to his character, the Baron and character actor Smith milks out a fun performance as the sadistically husky voiced swine Carrot. Miles is also good in her sympathetic turn as the baron's daughter Melinda. It might look like a b-grade action movie and be spotty in parts, but there are some inspired brushes and fine performances to say it's worth the effort.