Les anges de la haine

Yet another Seven Samurai ripoff--did you notice the picture of Steve MacQueen in Michael Pare's hovel, just in case we didn't get it? This thing has two things to reccomend it--Bruce Dern being more or less as crazy as always, which has been a great thing to watch since The Cowboys at the very least, and Adam Ant proving that he should have done more movies because he is really entertaining. I wonder if they've done it on MST3K.

It's 2087, 75 years after the start of the final war. It lasted 15 years and left the world devastated. It hasn't rained for 50 years. Lost Wells is a settlement in the desert that actually has water. The peaceful villagers welcome Derek Abernathy (Adam Ant) and his cult followers. Abernathy immediately massacres and enslave many in the settlement. Ethan (Bruce Dern) rises to challenge him. Ethan takes school teacher Angie Banning (Catherine Mary Stewart) to the big city and find a barbaric world desperate for water. Ethan recruits his old partner George Landon (Michael Paré) and others to battle Abernathy's cult.

This takes the style of 'Mad Max 2' even including the white outfits. They're throwing hubcaps like the boomerang. The plot is pulled from 'Seven Samurai' like many other movies such as Steve McQueen in 'The Magnificent Seven'. However it's nowhere near the same vision or quality. Adam Ant is not the most imposing villain but he fits the low quality camp. I always like some Catherine Mary Stewart and Bruce Dern is one of the great actors of our times. Michael Paré is an oddity of the 80s and I've never understood his leading man appeal. The setup is clunky. The dialog isn't much better. It's a poor production pulling elements from other better movies.

Chances are, if Michael Pare is the star of the movie, it is cheesy. Not necessarily bad, but cheesy. "Streets Of Fire", in my opinion, was great, but cheese notwithstanding. This movie is of the Mad Max ilk, but instead of fuel, it's water that is coveted. Adam Ant plays a Manson-type cult figure who is trying to rob Bruce Dern's town of its water/treasure, and Michael Pare comes in to help Dern with a pretty motley bunch. Adam Ant was quite good, and Bruce Dern was funny. Michael Pare was....well...Michael Pare. No one will confuse his body of work with DeNiro or Pacino, but if you like him, as I do, well, it doesn't make us bad people, does it?

If you are looking for "Saving Private Ryan", this ain't it. If you are like cheese, this beats Velveeta.

The Seven Samurai serie B version in an apocalyptic future.

It's honest, unassuming, old school, fun and politically incorrect.

I recommend it to those nostalgic for 80s cinema.

I remembered Michael Pare and Adam Ant as heart-throbs from my highschool days in the early 80's, and so snapped up this so-called futuristic action flick when I saw it on the cheap shelf at my local video rental shop.

The cast are a notable list of where-are-they-now's doing their best with a rather unimaginative Mad Max clone.

Worth seeing for a few dazzeling action sequences, and some amusing one-liners, if you've nothing better to do on a weeknight. Just don't expect Thunderdome.