Les nouveaux conquérants

This movie is a mix of Kung-fu movies. Rambo,Raiders and other influences? the plot is about a Sword from the future and it must get to some tribe of Amazonian Women to make everything ok. I watched this movie and tried to figure out why i was watching it.

The people behind FUTURE HUNTERS have obviously seen movies before but I'm not sure they ever quite figured out what makes them good. I'm sure they've watched action movie after action movie, marveling at their favorite sequences but absorbing nothing of substance. Sitting through FUTURE HUNTERS a second time, it was easy to spot their modus operandi in its creation: make a list of "cool" action scenes and create a paper-thin plot to hang them on. It's something a child would create with toys and imagination. This is a globe-trotting "adventure" that takes obvious cues from the Indiana Jones films, perhaps even aspiring to reach that level, but this, sir or madam, is no Indiana Jones. Robert Patrick (most famous as the T-1000 from TERMINATOR 2) is our unwilling hero Slade who, with his girlfriend Michelle (Linda Carol), embarks on a mission that will pit him against Nazis, pygmies, Amazons, and a martial arts master named Silverfox. You see, Michelle is an anthropology student and Slade is accompanying her to some sort of old church for her studies when they're approached by a man who claims to be from the future. He gives Michelle an old spearhead and tells her it's from the spear that pierced the side of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. This spear bestows its owner with great (undefined) powers when reunited with the shaft and she is entrusted to keep it safe once future man dies. Soon Slade and Michelle are dodging Nazi thugs on a quest to Asia to complete the spear and keep it from the forces of evil.

The role of Slade in FUTURE HUNTERS is one of Robert Patrick's first and we can see early on he was destined for better things as the most believable character in the entire movie. From the beginning, he is nothing more than irritated for having been dragged on this adventure and I sympathize. He didn't want anything to do with this. He had a job lined up and was eager to make an honest buck. It was Michelle that insisted the future man was legitimate and demanded they follow the trail to Asia to find the research professor who could shed more light on it. But then it was Slade who constantly had to fight the baddies who continuously ambushed them. The man just wants to start his new job and his girlfriend drags him across the world to get his butt kicked by a martial arts master whose sequence, in hindsight, contributed absolutely nothing to the story. And that's something else you're bound to notice. Nothing in this movie happens for a valid reason. For example, future man arrives in 1986 with the spearhead and gives it to Michelle. How do the Nazis even know she has it at this point? Almost immediately, the Nazi's muscle Bauer (Bob Schott) meanders into the diner where Linda works to trash the place and demand she hand over the spearhead. Who told the Nazis about any of this? Did the Nazis somehow know to expect a time traveler from 2025? If the spearhead is needed for time travel, how did the future Nazis warn the present Nazis?

I could go on for pages about the nonsensical FUTURE HUNTERS. Can someone explain the reason for the visit to the "Forgotten" Temple of the Silverfox? It was supposed to be for Slade to get more information on Professor Hightower's whereabouts but instead it's just an excuse to have an unnecessary martial arts fight between Bruce Le and Jang Lee Hwang. That entire sequence could be cut from the film and no one would notice. What was the point of the pygmy tribe other than to have a RETURN OF THE JEDI battle with the tribe rising up to help fight off the Nazis with their primitive means? And how did Slade know their language? There was a throwaway comment earlier on that he was a former Air Force mechanic or something to explain why he was capable of operating a helicopter but I doubt it could explain how he was familiar with the tribe and able to speak their language. It was the 80's so I'll overlook the comical depiction of little people, but I won't deny that it's gratuitous. And it all culminates in a final sequence with a tribe of Amazon women of the Venus Valley where Michelle finally becomes useful and is forced into a battle to the death. It's total lunacy…but it's not horrible. This is mindless entertainment to its core and it has its uses. FUTURE HUNTERS is a fine movie to toss on the TV in the background while you're having drinks with friends because you can stop watching for any amount of time without missing anything important and it's full of meaningless (and occasionally fun) action scenes. It's very, very stupid but not so bad as to become boring or frustrating. It never comes close to becoming anything like what it idolizes but it's a suitable time-waster.

WTF was that? I watched the first few minutes of this awful film then I had to watch the rest in fast-forward just to see what others are talking about. They are most correct! This film "borrows" very heavily from some of the greatest films of the time era: It really does open up with the look and feel of The Road Warrior/Mad Max but the dude looks similar to and acts like Chuck Norris not Mel Gibson. I swear the is a "glimpse" of Star Wars in the background car chase looking like Tatooine and when he grabbed the spearhead it reminded me of Conan for a second or two. Keep fast-forwarding then I see Bruce Li (not LEE) doing some Kung-Fu fighting. Then it looks to be "borrowing" from Raiders of the Lost Ark then on into Rambo/Romancing the Stone in the jungle. Next we have pygmies and Amazon Women! Lots of guns firing off, car chases and crashes, explosions yep this is stereotypical 1980s action film trash that is a wannabe good action film but it falls very far away from good into the crappy category with all of it's very cheap wannabe ripoff sets, action, costumes etc... an awful film to my tastebuds.

1/10

This is actually a good film, don't let the dodge music fool you. It may have a weird plot about relic hunting and saving the world, but it has good action sequences and a young Robert Patrick who is pretty cute, and features throughout the film. This is certainly a good role for a first timer in a movie (yes his first role ever), he has so much energy and charisma. The fights scenes are quite well done on such a low budget, 'Patrick' does it realistically with vigour. It may be cheesy when it comes to plot and music but it's the 80s. I would have certainly been entertained in the 80s, it is reminiscent of other classic 80s adventure/action films, you'll see what I mean. If they had tinsy bigger budget and better recording equipment this would have been box office magic. But I believe the film would have done well if more people had bothered to see it. The film has only aged because it has been overlooked. But it's a little gem for Robert Patrick fans- I watched this all the way through with a delighted grin on my face hence the high-ish rating.

Jungle adventure? Time travel sci-fi? Post-apocalyptic action? Chop socky flick?: sometimes it's hard to decide precisely what kind of trash to watch! The answer to this dilemma... Future Hunters, Cirio H. Santiago's crazy crap-fest that mixes several genres and rips off a fair few better known films, but still manages to be a hugely entertaining one-of-a-kind experience.

The film opens with some Mad Max-style action, hunky wasteland warrior of the future Matthew (Richard Norton) blowing up an assortment of evil leather clad punks in his quest to find the Spear of Longinus, which, when placed on the original staff, has the power to save mankind. Upon finding this powerful treasure, Matthew is thrown back in time to 1986 where he is fatally wounded saving sexy blonde amateur archaeologist Michelle (Linda Carol) and her ex-marine boyfriend Slade (a young Robert Patrick) from some nasty bikers.

Before he carks it, Matthew entrusts the spearhead to Michelle and Slade, telling them to give it to a Professor Hightower, who will know what to do with it. The pair's search for the professor takes them all over the world, pitting them against power hungry Nazis, a deadly martial arts master, a bloodthirsty Mongol army, and a tribe of savage female warriors who guard The Venus Valley, the location of the spear staff.

As well as Mad Max, Santiago borrows from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Nazi's in search of an ancient religious relic), The Terminator (hero travels back in time to before the nuclear holocaust), Romancing the Stone (couple stranded in jungle), and even Return of the Jedi, a tribe of friendly native midgets helping out in a scene clearly inspired by the Ewoks battle on Endor.

It is, of course, extremely cheap and cheezy, with wooden acting and poor special effects galore, but it sure is fun, the best bits being one hell of a kung fu showdown between Hwang Jang Lee and Bruce Le (with Patrick throwing a few punches but getting his ass whooped) and a fight to the death over a crocodile pit between Michelle and an Amazonian woman.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.