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In some dystopian future, water (instead of spice) is the most valuable substance in the universe and on the hunt for riches pirates are trying to board transport-ships filled with ice.

In the same year published as Lynch's interpretation of Herbert's classic Dune, The Ice Pirates is another classic sci-fi. Okay, it is a B-Movie but it got lots of fine ideas, a good shot of humor and some good actors like Ron Perlman and Robert Urich.

What we get is sword fights, fighting robots, time warps, and the eternal war of man and woman (in love).

If you like sci-fi and if you like comedies, this one is definitely a watch for you.

"The Ice Pirates" is a pretty engaging off kilter comedy spoofing both space adventures and swashbucklers, with enough verbal and visual gags to make it pleasant, and impossible to truly dislike. It's clearly not aiming to be something particularly memorable or special, just an irreverent diversion on lazy afternoons. It's played enthusiastically by an interestingly chosen cast that helps it to have a cult-film sort of appeal. The script, co-written by director Stewart Raffill ("The Philadelphia Experiment", "Mac and Me"), has a muddled story but a disarming sense of humour. Not all of its scenes work that well, but it's sure to have its viewers smiling if not laughing out loud.

TV stars Robert Urich ('Vega$') and Mary Crosby ('Dallas') headline a cast also featuring Michael D. Roberts, Ron Perlman, Anjelica Huston, John Matuszak, Bruce Vilanch, and a too briefly seen John Carradine. Urich plays Jason, the leader of the title characters in a galaxy where water is the most precious commodity. After their latest escapades, they're captured by the baddies - dubbed Templars - and then acquired by princess Karina (Crosby) so they can help in a quest to find her father.

Reasonably good visuals and a decent score by Bruce Broughton help in the enjoyment of this little bit of escapism, as well as a fairly clever finale taking place inside a time warp where our heroes steadily age while fighting the bad guys. There are also a variety of interesting and likable characters, human, robot, and otherwise, with actors and actresses such as Natalie Core, Jeremy West, Alan Caillou, Marcia Lewis, Robert Symonds, Rockne Tarkington, Ian Abercrombie, Hank Worden, and Carmen Filpi in various small roles. Perlman is particularly funny as one of Jasons' comrades, while Huston gets to be a total badass.

This would make a decent double feature with another off the wall cult genre effort from the same year, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension".

Six out of 10.

Water is scarce and the evil Templars from the planet Mithra have taken control of all of the supply. Jason (Robert Urich) leads a band of pirates in a raid to steal ice from the Templar fleet. Their raid turns into a kidnapping of Princess Karina. They are captured. Jason and his men are rescued by Karina who has her own plans.

It's a schlocky Star Wars derivative with a lot of campy 70s feel with some Alien and Mad Max thrown in. It's a lot of silly slapstick and broad sex comedy. I would like it if the jokes are actually funny. For some, this may be so bad that it's good. For me, this is mostly bad with a lot of amusement at how good actors get trapped in bad movies. The sets and costumes are a cheesy mix. The special effects are good B-movie work. I can't believe Anjelica Huston is in this. It's fun to see John Matuszak hulking over Ron Perlman. It's got bad sword fights, swashbuckling action and silly space battles. I'm not disputing that this brought a smile to my face which is always a good thing. It doesn't make it a good movie.

This movie is generally underrated, which may be because people expected it to be something it's not. It's a comedy, a spoof, and an excellent one. It is not a serious sci-fi action adventure.

Who knew Robert Urich could be this funny? The scene where the captured ice pirates are being prepared for slave duty alone is worth the price of admission!

Then there's the robot that was purchased for an inexplicably good price. That particular scene is so dark that it may be necessary to play it back a couple of times to see what's going on.

You find a beautiful woman in suspended animation. What would you do?

The biggest shortcoming of this film is the ending, where there's a rather silly chase through a wormhole or some such. It doesn't really work, and since it's right at the end of the film may help explain why so many review the film so poorly.

I saw this movie as a kid and just watched it again. Some may think it's a sci-fi action flick that hit well below the mark. Others view as a comedy that hit pretty much dead-on. I don't really care ... it's got men being men, women kicking a**, lots of aliens and space battles that make a shoestring budget look appealing, but work anyway. It's lowdown, dirty, often vulgar, and succeeds in making just about every character in the bunch the butt of at least one joke. The only thing is, I can't remember any other movie that made Ron Perlman out to be the small, weaselly guy. Score one more for the Ice Pirates!