Ator el invencible

I have fond memories of 'Ator the fighting eagle' from the VHS version i saw as a teen in the eighties. Whatever happened to the great tradition of low budget barbarian films? Today you see try hard films with reasonable cgi effects but shockingly bad performances, and scripts that are usually anachronistic and too self aware (blame TV's Hercules and Xena for this?). The problem I think is the filmmakers of today take themselves too seriously. Make a low budget film and be proud of it, 'Ator' is not impressive on any technical front but it is sure as hell entertaining. This film isn't trying to be 'Conan' any more than a daytime TV soap is trying to be serious drama. it is what it is, if you can't deal with that then don't watch coz you just won't get it. If you can then you'll have a fun hour and a half.

This movie was a somehow successful rip-off of "Conan, the barbarian"because it was released a very short time after but it has nothing of the value of the film starred by Schwarzenneger. It is cheesy, non-spectacular, special effects are not good and the acting is horrid, although the blonde actress Sabrina Siani is really nice to look (She was seen in other turkeys such as "2020: The rangers of Texas" and I don´t know what happened to her later but in any case, she is the best of this movie which resembles a revision of those antique Italian peplums about Hercules, Ursus or Maciste. It´s equally bad. From director Joe D'amato I prefer his film "Absurd" which was at least gory and much funnier than this.

If you are looking for a sage tale, full of mystic fantasy that takes you off to into uncharted territories, please, do not watch. If you like really hokey barbarian movies, this is perhaps one of the best.

This is not a good movie. However, that should not discourage you. If you can accept it's badness, you will enjoy it. It is so terrible that you can sit back and laugh. The furry boots, the chest armor that looks like a large dinner plate, the fact that he wants to marry his sister... Miles O'Keeffe kinda looks like an out of work porn star.

If you enjoy really bad movies, this is a must see; one of those few gems that is a funny-but-not-supposed-to-be-funny movie.

Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1982)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

After his village members are slaughtered and his love kidnapped, Ator (Miles O'Keeffe) must travel far to battle the High Priest of the Spider (Dakar).

When people ask me why I enjoy watching bad movies, this bit of dialogue from this film comes as a perfect example:

Ator: I love you.

Sunya: And I love you.

Ator: Why can't we marry?

Sunya: Ator, we are brother and sister.

Ator: I'll talk with our father.

You know, it's really hard to judge a film like this. I mean, it is a very bad movie full of awful acting, silly special effects, lousy direction and it rarely even looks like a "real" movie. Yet, at the same time, the film is so campy and silly at times that it's hard to hate the picture too much. Not only is it hard to hate the picture but it's also so campy that you might find yourself enjoying it somewhat.

With that said, there's no question that there are all sorts of problems with this film and heck, you could argue that there are countless problems with the entire sub-genre. There are many laughable moments throughout the film including that dialogue I highlighted but O'Keeffe was obviously hired for his looks here as his acting isn't all that memorable. Ritza Brown is at least good eye-candy and Dakar is over-the-top enough to where you can laugh and enjoy the performance. Laura Gemser appears briefly as a sex object.

Director Joe D'Amato was obviously working on a small budget and it shows throughout the picture but I will say that the final ten- minutes are actually entertaining and good. Well, as least they are until we get to the stock footage and the awful closing song. ATOR, THE FIGHTING EAGLE isn't a masterpiece, a good film or even a fair film. It's a bad movie but it's campy enough to where you can get some laughs from it.

The fearless warrior Ator and his brave female companion, the Amazon Roon, travel through miles of primitive villages, forests, caves and castles to destroy the "kingdom of the spider" (or something) and kill its evil ruler. It's a dull and clunky journey. My advice is: watch the sequel ("The Blade Master") instead. Not only is it slightly more watchable than this film, but it also includes a brief "recap" of it, which enables you to see every single scene of the original that's worth seeing (so to speak) in a matter of a few minutes. (*1/2)