Beastmaster - Das Auge des Braxus

After seeing this movie(and while not as good as Beastmaster, but better than Beastmaster II) I have to ask if anyone else thought that the reptillian beast bore an uncanny resemblance to character of Earl Sinclair of the Jim Henson Tv series "Dinosaurs", if Earl Sinclair went on a diet and lost a ton or two? To me, the resemblance totally deflated the seriousness of the battle between the beast and Dar.

This movie will never win an Oscar (or any other award) but to be honest, I don't think it was ever made to do so. It is very much in a B-movie style and that's exactly how it should be. And shouldn't be taken too seriously.

I personally like the idea that ferrets and a lion can get on in harmony - but hey I'm an idealist.

The acting is terrible - the story has been done so often that anyone in their basement could probably make a decent job of a copy, but all that said the movie is enjoyable... as long as you take it for what it is!! AND NOTHING MORE!! In many ways it reminds me of movies like Willow and Krull - not huge productions, not great acting but enjoyable all the same.

Quick Review: Man who can command animals' sets off to save his brother (the king) from an evil sorcerer before same can let loose the power of a terrible creature... filled with swords, sorcery and scantily clad people.

Beastmaster 3 and the whole series is dumb and faky. Everone of them are B movies but this is the worst one. It combines incredibly bad acting and cheesy special effects. It is worse than a made for TV movie. If you watch this on TV like I did then you would probably find better acting and effects in the commercials you see while it is on.

Not to be taken seriously, the cast didn't even take this seriously and it looked like they had a laugh filming this piece of c**p (except the fella who got mauled by the Lion).

Plot is simple: The Beastmaster named Dar (Marc Singer) must save his brother King Tal (Casper Van Dien) from Lord Agon (David Warner) who has captured him to make himself young for eternity or something like that, wasn't really paying attention. This inconvenience took Dar away from his wanderings around the wilderness playing with his animals. Dar is joined by Seth (Tony Todd) who can't seem to talk him out of making wrong decision after wrong decision. Later we are introduced to the stunning Shada (Sandra Hess), Jaggart (Patrick Kilpatrick), Morgana (Lesley-Anne Down) and the not-so-great acrobat Bey (Keith Coulouris) are they friends or foes? Not only these, but due to his continuous mishaps Dar gets plunged into the fires time after time with savage tribes, thieves, circuses, and un-cooperative animals.

To say the acting is poor, might be a bit harsh, Marc Singer definitely just showed up for his pay-check, if he even got one. The plot, dialogue, choreography of the fight scenes, budget, effort and the direction are the real culprits. The film feels like a series episode not far removed from Xena Warrior Princess or Hercules and I have my suspicions it was to be the first of a series but expanded into a film, maybe due to contract constraints or production issue's.

All-in-all it is a fun watch, especially the ending which is pure cheese with the super villain Braxus and the corny finish which bumped it up a star for me. Just be prepared it is not B-movie gold, but rather tv movie wtf is this s**t.

One disappointment, the massive build up for Seth revealing what he got turned into by the witch Morgana is a complete anti-climax.

Cheese moment to look out for anytime Dar summons his bird-of-prey.

Old Lord Agon (David Warner) desires an object of power, the Eye of Braxus, which would provide him with new energy. Dar (Marc Singer) owns one half of the amulet, young king Tal (Casper Van Dien, with a ridiculous wig) the other half. Tal is caught by Lord Agon. Dar starts a rescue mission across the jungle and meets Shada (Sandra Hess, "Mortal Kombat 2"). He makes the mistake to trust her, but then she tries to steal the amulet. And on who's side is the witch Morgana (Lesley-Anne Down)?

It looks like a cheap TV production, not a movie, because it is a cheap TV production. The demon Braxus could be one of the Ninja Turtles on a Monday morning. Gabrielle Beaumont, an experienced TV director ("Dynasty", "Star Trek: Next Generation") does a good job within the budget limitation. The story is solid, the characters have a certain charm, thus 'Beastmaster 3' is neither a contribution as important to the genre as the first installment, nor trash as bizarre as the second part, but simply average entertainment to pass the time.