I like reading SciFi and Fantasy, but I've neither read nor heard of the Gor novels. I saw the summary on the Comet TV listing on cable and figured I'd record "Gor" and "Outlaw of Gor" for later viewing. I was never expecting a classic film like "The Best Years of Our Lives" (one of my favorites) or a classic fantasy saga like "The Deed of Paksenarrion," just a generic Hack-And-Slash time filler, and that's what I got.
A lot of both Gor movies reminded me a bit of the Edgar Rice Burroughs "Barsoom" novels I read in my youth--deserts, fights, hero transplanted from another world. Cabot's friend Prof. Watney Smith, an annoying schmendrick if there ever was one, reminded me of the incompetent sidekick Trent in the old "Leather Goddesses of Phobos RPG, which was released three years before this film; I guess this film compares a bit to the "lewd" mode of LGOP. He's not as treacherous as Dr. Smith in "Lost in Space," but you still want to slap him silly. I did, however, like the midget comic sidekick character Hup.
Fight scenes? Check. Skimpy costumes, including some string bikini tops designed to look topless in a long shot? Check. Sleazy sidekick you really want to slap silly? Check. Comical "short person" sidekick who sometimes finds a way out of trouble? Check. A true actor stuck in a film just to maintain his union membership so he retains health insurance and retirement benefits? Check. A couple of plot twists about who takes out the villains at the end? Check.
Three stars, something to pass the time; don't go in expecting any more that a time filler.
A lot of both Gor movies reminded me a bit of the Edgar Rice Burroughs "Barsoom" novels I read in my youth--deserts, fights, hero transplanted from another world. Cabot's friend Prof. Watney Smith, an annoying schmendrick if there ever was one, reminded me of the incompetent sidekick Trent in the old "Leather Goddesses of Phobos RPG, which was released three years before this film; I guess this film compares a bit to the "lewd" mode of LGOP. He's not as treacherous as Dr. Smith in "Lost in Space," but you still want to slap him silly. I did, however, like the midget comic sidekick character Hup.
Fight scenes? Check. Skimpy costumes, including some string bikini tops designed to look topless in a long shot? Check. Sleazy sidekick you really want to slap silly? Check. Comical "short person" sidekick who sometimes finds a way out of trouble? Check. A true actor stuck in a film just to maintain his union membership so he retains health insurance and retirement benefits? Check. A couple of plot twists about who takes out the villains at the end? Check.
Three stars, something to pass the time; don't go in expecting any more that a time filler.