Thanks for the memories!

Excellent but underrated film

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I truly believe this is a great movie. I remember the love scene under the oh-so-precious water shower. I remember a gonzo, well-intentioned feel. And a nice plot idea. I may be disappointed when I see it again. But I believe I'll be wrong, then.

Water is scarce and the evil Templars from the planet Mithra have taken control of all of the supply. Jason (Robert Urich) leads a band of pirates in a raid to steal ice from the Templar fleet. Their raid turns into a kidnapping of Princess Karina. They are captured. Jason and his men are rescued by Karina for her own plans.It's a schlocky Star Wars derivative with a lot of campy 70s feel with some Alien and Mad Max thrown in. It's a lot of silly slapstick and broad sex comedy. I would like it if the jokes are actually funny. For some, this may be so bad that it's good. For me, this is mostly bad with a lot of amusement at how good actors get trapped in bad movies. The sets and costumes are a cheesy mix. The special effects are good B-movie work. I can't believe Anjelica Huston is in this. It's fun to see John Matuszak hulking over Ron Perlman. It's got bad sword fights, swashbuckling action and silly space battles. I'm not disputing that this brought a smile to my face which is always a good thing. It doesn't make it a good movie.

Three years before Mel Brooks poked fun at the Star Wars trilogy, a cast of fine actors had a go at the cheesy space operas of the 1980's. They made fun of old gimmicks such as water being the rarest element in the galaxy, robots, "aliens" hatching from eggs, and even time warps. Alas most viewers took this spoof movie as the real deal.The musical score is right out of a swashbuckling pirate epic. Axes and sword fights are more common than laser battles. The only flaw with this movie, is not enough jokes to keep you laughing until you bust a gut.I was amazed at the casting for this space comedy. Three personal favorites of mine were supporting roles. They included Anjelica Huston from Addams Family, John Matuszak from Goonies, and Ron Perlman from Hellboy. After watching this I am almost certain Mel Brooks took some from this movie to make Spaceballs. Be sure to watch this one at least once, it is worth the laugh. Of course, if you can find it, this movie is as rare as water.

I have always liked this movie which is probably why I own a copy of it. Okay, when I first saw it I probably did not actually get many of the jokes (such as the space herpie or the eunuch machine) but it was a science-fiction film and back then I pretty much liked anything that was science-fiction. Coming back to it years later I have a new appreciation of the rather slapstick humour that makes up this film, and while I cannot quote it by heart, I am quite familiar with the story line.Probably one of my favourite parts is when they pass through the time barrier at the end of the film and we see everybody getting older and older. That part was actually quite clever, particularly when Jason's son comes in to save the day, and then promptly vanishes when they successfully make it through the barrier. The robots are also cool, especially the one that runs and hides during combat, only to appear after it is over and starts to hit the enemy robot that has just been destroyed.All I can say is that if you are a science-fiction buff and have not seen this movie then do your best to get your hands on a copy of it. Some have suggested that back when it was released people did not understand that you could make a science-fiction film funny. I guess that had something to do with the seriousness of many of the books and films that had come out. However this film was released after Douglas Adams had produced Hitchhiker's Guide in the myriad of forms (including a television series), which suggests that back then people were quite open to a science-fiction comedy.