Allan Quatermain et la cité de l'or perdu

Now... I have read everyone's reviews on how terrible this movie was. May I say... why? What is so terrible about it? No... you shouldn't take it too seriously. But, what in television should be scrutinized so much you can't even enjoy it? This movie has all the qualities I admire in a movie. Action, adventure, comedy, and the hint of a myth beyond the whole thing. All in all, it is an excellent movie.

Richard Chamberlain. Sharon Stone? James Earl Jones?? Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson??? Filled with laughs--some even intentional--and thrills--such as when the title card reads "The End". From Cannon Films, the house that Chuck Norris built. Strictly for those who enjoy such B-movie schlock, as I do.

Fun facts!... and opinions.

• Martin Rabbett, who played Quatermain's brother in the film, was actually Chamberlain's partner at the time (and for many years after). I didn't know this while watching the movie, but when the two finally meet up in the third act it's pretty clear Chamberlain has more chemistry with Rebbett than Sharon Stone.

• The music is essentially cut and pasted from the score Jerry Goldsmith did for the previous film, King Solomon's Mines. It's pretty obviously so at times, but the music itself is fantastic.

• It's more than a little painful to watch a dignified actor like James Earl Jones have to slum his way through thankless roles like these.

• Speaking of JEJ, during one scene his character is being mauled by a lion, and I'm %97.8 sure that his too obvious stunt double is Patti LaBelle.

• There's actually a character billed as "Toothless Arab". Funny thing is, that's like maybe only the 10th most politically incorrect thing in this movie.

If you go into Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold expecting anything more than a silly, cartoonish far-fetched piece of fun, then you will have a bad time.

Many of the reviewers count the style AGAINST the film, but that is the whole point of it. It isn't Citizen Kane, and that's a good thing!

This is the kind of film where you can momentarily disconnect your intellect and simply enjoy the absurdity you're witnessing. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a thought-provoking bit of cinema as much as the next person, but I don't need that in order to enjoy a movie.

Quatermain is what it is: a fun time.

This film is in truth a terrible movie, there is hardly any credible acting, even with a average cast involved. The humor is even more awful, and the film is a carbon copy rip-off of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But this movie can still be enjoyed by just about anyone, even with the whole family. When I watched this, when I was little, on tape, I really didn't care how bad it was, and I enjoyed it, I still do, but now only to a certain magnitude. This movie is for anyone who loves cheap film flam movies, like godzilla, or the famous cheap kung-fu ones made during the Bruce Lee era (not saying of course Bruce Lee movies are this bad). In truth, I saw this movie before the King Solomon's mine one that precedes it, and this makes THAT movie look like a actual wonder of a movie, and if you like one star movies, give this one chance, it really isn't avoidable in appearance only in content. My rating a VERY respectable 2 out of 10.

Some films are made so bad that they are funny. "Allan Quatermain And the Lost City Of Gold" falls under that category; this is far beyond the most awful film I have in my collection. The script I'm sure disappeared on the first day of shooting, the acting is even worse and the special effects look if it had a budget of a couple of pounds. This is all elements which becomes the force of the film. You're not laughing because it's fun, but because it's bad. Maybe that's why I can still be entertained by it.

"Allan Quatermain And the Lost City Of Gold" is the adventure genre's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (though the special effects are slightly better), and I can still enjoy watching this delightly dreadful disaster of an adventure film.