Two-fisted, end of the world, rock'n'roll high camp
Yes, this film does have it's faults. Most low budget films do. But the overall theme of this work is a multi-layered spoof of many genres. The Hong Kong fantasy samurai film, end-of-the-world pictures, rock and roll musicals, and the obsession with Las Vegas.
I had the fortune to see this film at a multiplex in Las Vegas, and was not disappointed. Buddy is a bad-ass rock'n'roller with a katana hidden in his guitar with his sights set on being the next king of Las Vegas. "The Kid" is annoying and has a ear-splitting shriek (Why wouldn't he? No playmates, no cartoons, just empty land and not a Gymboree or video arcade in sight!), and the various bad guys (loved the evil bald bowlers) come in just about every shape and size.
Elements of "Wizard of Oz", "El Topo", "Mad Max", Sam Peckenpah, and God knows how many Kung Fu/Samurai films are in this, seasoned with a handful of self-conscious humor.
Living in the Las Vegas area, I'm familiar with most of the scenes featured (The bombed out gas station is the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada), so it was a kick seeing some of those places in a film.
It isn't for everyone, and some will dislike it, mostly for it's campiness, but this is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously...and neither should you.
I had the fortune to see this film at a multiplex in Las Vegas, and was not disappointed. Buddy is a bad-ass rock'n'roller with a katana hidden in his guitar with his sights set on being the next king of Las Vegas. "The Kid" is annoying and has a ear-splitting shriek (Why wouldn't he? No playmates, no cartoons, just empty land and not a Gymboree or video arcade in sight!), and the various bad guys (loved the evil bald bowlers) come in just about every shape and size.
Elements of "Wizard of Oz", "El Topo", "Mad Max", Sam Peckenpah, and God knows how many Kung Fu/Samurai films are in this, seasoned with a handful of self-conscious humor.
Living in the Las Vegas area, I'm familiar with most of the scenes featured (The bombed out gas station is the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada), so it was a kick seeing some of those places in a film.
It isn't for everyone, and some will dislike it, mostly for it's campiness, but this is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously...and neither should you.
- Baroque
- 13 nov 1999