Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)

Directed by Lamont Johnson. Starring Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Ironside, Hrant Alianak, Paul Boretski, Patrick Rowe, Beeson Carroll. [PG]

Grungy, derivative intergalactic actioner mashes up Star Wars and The Road Warrior (heavy on the space Western and infiltrate-the-bad-guy’s-lair tropes), while trying to cash in on that brief window of time during the early-80s when 3-D effects were all the rage again. Strauss is a dud as an outer space bounty hunter with a gunslinger’s swagger (on paper, at least), looking to score a heap of “mega-credits” by rescuing a trio of nondescript damsels who have blown-out hair and hardly a syllable of dialogue; they’ve been captured on a hostile, dusty planet by a mutant despot called Overdog (Ironside), and the hero’s only allies are a rival ex-soldier (Hudson) and a whiny teenage native (Ringwald) whose vagrant nature, appearance, and constant use of clunky slang make her into something of a mallrat orphan. Despite a lack of originality, the photography and production design are of good quality for a second-tier genre exercise like this one, but the jagged editing and weak direction spoil the hollow thrills too often. Executive produced by Ivan Reitman; Harold Ramis has an uncredited voice cameo.

40/100