Even with the wise-cracking from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 gang, I had a hard time getting through Warrior of the Lost World. Whenever I see a movie as bad as this one, I’m always baffled that no one, at no point, felt compelled to throw up their hands and said, “Wait a minute everybody. This doesn’t make any damned sense.” The only saving grace this movie can muster (and I mean only) is that the punks, freaks, and weirdos are sufficiently nutso, that there’s a lot of them, and that they overthrow a corrupt Orwellian government. Ahh, to be a dystopian punk…
This bland confusing mess centers on a mysterious figure known as “The Rider” (Robert Ginty). Through a bizarre series of events including a gladiator-style fight with the awesomely titled “Marginals,” he finds himself as the newly anointed “chosen one.” This means he and his talking motorbike (oh, did I forget to mention the talking motorbike?) are to lead the rebellion against Omega, the evil post-apocalyptic government that rules this land in which we’ve found ourselves reluctantly invested in. The Rider, being the standoffish loner type that he is, wants no part of the uprising, but is eventually convinced to join the party. There, now you know as much about the plot as I do.
Warrior of the Lost World is bizarre, but not in a fun way. Not much makes sense in writer and director David Worth’s vision of the future. I don’t mind movies that are whacked out and bonkers, but there must be something to latch onto – an anchor that grounds us in the world we’re meant to inhabit, even if that world is out of its mind. Warrior has no such anchor. It aimlessly wanders about, led by characters with no motivation or sense of identity. Ginty is a half-assed amalgamation of every 80s tough guy imaginable all scrambled up into one body. One-dimensional heroes were certainly the norm for that decade, but that’s one more dimension than we’re given with The Rider. The gang refers to it as “Sad Max,” and I couldn’t agree more. (on a side note, “Sad Max” is used again to describe their send-up of the movie Alien from L.A.)
Apparently, Warrior of the Lost World is a fan favorite among MST3K aficionados, but I don’t see it. There’s a couple of good lines referencing Stiv Bators and Richard Hell, and a good one about the Mall of America, but after that, it’s mostly a bore. The braindead punks and freaks save it from being a complete waste of time as they always do, and prove that it’s easy to stage a coup and topple a corrupt authoritarian regime. It doesn’t even take very many people, as it turns out.
P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for big-name “B” stars like Donald Pleasence and Fred Williamson. The end of the film sets us up for a sequel so it’s important to know where every character winds up so we won’t be lost when Part II goes into production.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.