Sheena, reine de la jungle

I remember watching this on TV in the 80's. The old gang back at the college dorms really enjoyed this too. This film has a lot GREAT eye candy. Tanya Roberts was sooo worth watching in BEASTMASTER that the big wigs at the studio thought they'd give her another film to "show off" more of her special talents. Not to be sexist, they threw in SOAP's Ted Wass as her love interest and made him show some of his "special talents". Just like in the BEASTMASTER, there are plenty of those adorable animals to entertain and attack those nasty old villains.

With so many bad things happening in this world, do yourself a favor and get away for 90 minutes. Watch something mindless like this to make you forget about elections, markets, wars, terrorist, and J Lo. Let Tanya tame you......

I will admit this is not a masterpiece of cinema but as for jungle adventures go this is very good and entertaining. It moves along at a swift pace, lots of action plus a very likeable and sexy heroine. There is quite some nudity (but no sex) from Tanya Roberts ofcourse but also from the evil black princess. Director John Guillermin makes sure you get a good look at their (great) bodies.

Guillermin is familiar with the topic because in the early sixties he made some excellent Tarzan movies starring Gordon Scott. In my mind he is also an undeserved neglected director who had his fair share of flops ("Shaft in Afrika","King Kong lives",etc...)but who almost always succeeds in delivering an entertaining movie, not great art, but rousing actioners as "The Blue Max", "Guns at Batasi", "The Bridge at Remagen" or even the 1976 "King Kong". Whatever the topic, you won't get easily bored by a Guillermindirected movie.

Just compare "Sheena" with other so-called jungle movies from the early eighties : "Tarzan the Ape Man" with Bo Derek, one the true worst movies of all time or the two abysmal Allan Quartermain movies starring Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone.

Sheena comes off quite nicely.

I gave it 7/10.

As several others have noted, the reviews seem a bit rough. This is not an Academy Award drama. It is a fun family film with a very strong female lead. There is much more nudity than is seen in PG movies today, yet it is still fitting as a family film. It is done in the sense of cultural norm and the body not being something shameful. I think it actually opens the door for discussion of the body in the family setting for those that are comfortable with the discussion. But if nudity offends you then this is definitely not a good family film choice for you.

Not that bad. The production values are excellent and the story line is no worse than TV or low-budgeted action adventure. This is a PG film after all. I remembered this being marketed as a family film, however there are some very violent scenes. The shots of her swinging on a vine were very realistic as were the flamingo and rhino attacks. I was twelve when I first saw it and it was good to have a female action hero. She was very beautiful AND strong. In her early scenes she is shot sexy beautiful, but as the film progresses we see her more as healthy beautiful. I never saw earlier versions of Sheena, however no updated comic book hero movies ever match the originals (Batman, Superman, etc...) Lois Lane is forever updated to match social change, why can't Sheena become more politically correct when it comes to not wearing fur? I think Tanya Roberts has gotten a bum rap over the years. Besides being so beautiful, she has a certain charm and sweetness to her. The hauntingly beautiful theme song is one of the best of any movie. The final shot of Tanya Roberts, a reprise of her first shot, galloping on a zebra along an endless beach of flamingos in the background is breathtaking and worth the rental.

I just have to say now that this film has aged rather well. What with "Charlie Angels" up on the big screen audiences are a little less politically correct with regards to heroines. As long as the lead is smart, strong, and independent, it is okay that she is beautiful too. "Sheena" shares the same orb as "Wonder Woman," "Supergirl," Emma Peel of "The Avengers," "Le Femme Nikita," and most obviously, "Xena." This is a family adventure film that is most of all fun where the children seem to enjoy it equally as well as the adults. Children like things that are pretty, and this includes people, so Tanya Robert's natural beauty is appealing to children too on a more simpler level. Yes, there is a little violence (of the adventure film variety) but not grotesquely, frightenly, or sickenly so. The same can be said about the display of skin which is never shown to be associated with sex or violence. What a concept! Thank you! Yes, there are two scenes where Tanya Roberts is fully nude, one of Sheena showering under a waterfall, and another of Sheena walking across the screen to bathe in a pond. But, they are so natural and appropriate (especially for children) that I have to applaud the screenwriter for creating these two scenes in lieu of the usual stupid reasons movie makers have to include nude scenes. Roberts does a terrific job as Sheena.