Dune Warriors

DUNE WARRIORS is low on many things. The plot is very sluggish, and hardly discernable, except that there is not much water kicking around, and everybody wants it. There are masked gunmen, dunebuggies(of course), bad dubbing, and silly-looking explosions. (It's quite obvious that its some flammable substance, and not the vehicles, that are shooting flame balls in the air.)

OK. So, its cheap. I like some of producer Corman's other, older films, but this is just a sample of some of the "programmer" material he puts out nowadays. It's not even worth further discussion.

The old SEVEN SAMURAI story of heroes defending a village from a marauding gang is one that has been told over and over again in literature and film. Why, just recently we've had Tsui Hark's SEVEN SWORDS which is a simple retelling of this plot line. In 1991's DUNE WARRIORS, the prolific Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago comes up with the idea of mixing a post-apocalypse world straight out of MAD MAX with this classic 'village defence' story, and the result is a typically low-budgeted but action-packed movie which is pretty much one running gun battle.

The film wins no awards for quality and there seems to be a singular lack of originality in the production – even the names of the hero and villain, Michael and William, are among the most uninspired I've come across. The paucity of the budget is evident in the cheap wood-and-cardboard sets and sackcloth costumes. Still, fans of Santiago – are there any apart from me? – will know that the director always gets every penny from his cheap budgets and the film is chock-full of explosions and gunfights that will mildly appeal to any adventure fan. The special effects guys are particularly in their element here, with lots of bloody squib hits and even a severed limb or two.

Despite being made in 1991 – a bit of a latecomer to the post-apocalypse craze, with most of the Italian Mad Max rip-offs having been produced in the early '80s – this film has the cheesy '80s feel to it, as none of the sets look professional for a second. COMMANDO is an obvious influence on the action, which is repetitive but cheesy enough to be interesting. Santiago has amassed a mostly Caucasian cast this time around, with only a few native Filipinos lower down in the cast list. David Carradine (KILL BILL) is the Hollywood draw, and he must know that this is one of the cheapest films he's ever made, because he doesn't put in much of an effort and his hero seems weak and elderly, especially in the embarrassing fight scenes. Far better is Rick Hill, an old hand at this sort of stuff, having appeared in the DEATHSTALKER films. Once he's torn the sleeves off his shirt and grabbed two machine guns, you know you're in for a fun time. Resplendent with cheap bloody fights and a totally gratuitous nude bathing scene, DUNE WARRIORS is an utterly forgettable addition to the post-apocalypse genre but one that plays out its predictability with speed and a somewhat refreshing lack of pretentiousness.

In another of his numerous 80s / 90s B movie assignments, David Carradine plays Michael, a lone wolf in a post-nuke desert. One day, he encounters a young woman (Jillian McWhirter, "After Midnight") who hopes to hire some warriors to defend her community of "Chinle". The main bad guy is a warlord named William (veteran movie bad guy Luke Askew, "Rolling Thunder"), and Michael's been yearning to destroy William for vengeances' sake.

The script (by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver) and direction (by Filipino exploitation icon Cirio H. Santiago) are very routine, but "Dune Warriors" is still sufficient entertainment for undemanding viewers. One has to respect any movie that dispenses with exposition regarding the current state of planet Earth and dives head first into the action right away. Here, we're treated to a plethora of explosions, nasty gunshot wounds, and a couple of good fire gags. Basically, "Dune Warriors" is an "action for its own sake" type of deal. But giving the story some interest is the fact that it's yet another variation on the old "Seven Samurai" formula (except that the number of warriors assembled here is five, not seven).

Carradine is okay - no more, no less - as he and the always solid Askew, his nemesis from the fantasy flick "The Warrior and the Sorceress", face off. The supporting cast is fun: Rick Hill ("Deathstalker") as Carradine's sidekick, Blake Boyd ("First Kid") as the handsome Dorian who takes a fancy to McWhirters' character Val, Joseph Zucchero ("Naked Vengeance") as the cowardly Reynaldo, Henry Strzalkowski ("Equalizer 2000") as Vals' weaselly fiancee, and especially the enticing Maria Isabel Lopez ("Kinatay") as warrior woman Miranda.

A collective dubbed "The Score Warriors" did the music, and it's pretty good; the end credits song is also quite enjoyable.

This is a decent mindless diversion for fans of the post-nuke genre.

Six out of 10.

By the power of cheese! Dune Warriors is a most delicious post-apocalyptic trashy Mad Max ripp-off with lots of explosions and killings, evil and ill-spirited dudes - and, last but not least, the mighty David Carradine himself! Dune Warriors looks more like a cheap action flick of the early 80s than a movie of the 90s but anyway, if you expect cinematic and acting excellence this piece is for sure the wrong place to look, but if you want a big slice of cheese, this one will deliver plenty. Recommended if you enjoy to watch flicks like Cyborg, Stryker, Steel Dawn, Wheels of Fire, The Blood of Heroes, Hell Comes to Frogtown and so on. Exact rate is 4 + 1 for the power of cheese only.

David Carradine stars as a martial arts expert who with his prodigy Richard Hill defend a village from viscous mutant thugs looking to make a power-play and destroy the peaceful community. Chiro Santiago is without a doubt one of the worst directors out in the field today (Yes he still makes movies) he always makes the movie feel like a cheap kung fu movie that would star Bruce Li or Bruce Le plus he never knows how to dub any actors right, so it is jarring just like a bad kung fu movie. That being said, this is the sole appeal of Dune Warriors which feels like Mad Max meets Bruce Li:The Invincible. David Carradine does do some martial arts and despite being slow (As expected for a man in his 50's at the time) looks sure of himself and puts his fancy footwork to good use. Richard Hill is also a decent hero and this remains one of Carradine's better movies of the 90's. You have to admire a movie that consists of cheap-jack action for the sake of cheap-jack action and the story manages to hold your attention through out. Also it's (mercifully)very short so your never too bored to turn it off. Plus it has Carradine in his Kung Fu mode.

* * out of 4-(Fair)