The peaceful planet Akir is threatened by the evil warlord Sador. Having no army of their own, the people hire a strange group of mercenaries with varying agendas to help them. Can they prevail, and can they trust their new protectors ?
Cashing in on the Star Wars boom, this cheeky little movie is really more of a science-fiction remake of The Seven Samurai - the people are called the Akira, Vaughn reprises his role from The Magnificent Seven and whole scenes (such as the return to the empty village) are lifted straight from the Kurosawa film. It's a bit cheesy, to be sure, but it's fun and witty and hard not to enjoy. It was made by a bunch of talented young filmmakers at Roger Corman's New World Pictures company; Murakami went on to become a respected animation director; scriptwriter John Sayles is one of the most original directors currently working, composer James Horner is now one of Hollywood's best and many of the special effects crew have had prestigious careers. Its other gift is its mixed cast of bright young things and likable old has-beens. Everybody is good, but I particularly like Peppard's aw-shucks cowboy, Saxon's cartoon villain and the eye-popping Danning's Valkyrie warrior woman. If you have an aversion to B-movies this is probably not the film for you, but I happen to be very fond of them and this one is terrific. Put it on a double-bill with Reds, and I can guarantee you which film you'll enjoy more.
Cashing in on the Star Wars boom, this cheeky little movie is really more of a science-fiction remake of The Seven Samurai - the people are called the Akira, Vaughn reprises his role from The Magnificent Seven and whole scenes (such as the return to the empty village) are lifted straight from the Kurosawa film. It's a bit cheesy, to be sure, but it's fun and witty and hard not to enjoy. It was made by a bunch of talented young filmmakers at Roger Corman's New World Pictures company; Murakami went on to become a respected animation director; scriptwriter John Sayles is one of the most original directors currently working, composer James Horner is now one of Hollywood's best and many of the special effects crew have had prestigious careers. Its other gift is its mixed cast of bright young things and likable old has-beens. Everybody is good, but I particularly like Peppard's aw-shucks cowboy, Saxon's cartoon villain and the eye-popping Danning's Valkyrie warrior woman. If you have an aversion to B-movies this is probably not the film for you, but I happen to be very fond of them and this one is terrific. Put it on a double-bill with Reds, and I can guarantee you which film you'll enjoy more.