Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

"Deathstalker III: Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell" surpasses "Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans." John Terlesky and company in "Deathstalker II" might as well have been swatting at each other with tennis rackets for all the swashbuckling thrills and chills that the tame first sequel failed to deliver. John Allen Nelson of "Hunk" looks like he could be the eponymous character. Mind you, Nelson is no match for Rick Hill but he is a hundred times better than Terlesky, and Mexican director Alfonso Corona shuns the juvenile antics that Jim Wynorski emphasized in "Deathstalker II." Moreover, nobody gives an embarrassing performance in "Deathstalker III" that compares with the truly abysmal performance of Monique Gabrielle. Although it isn't as campy as its pathetic predecessor, "Deathstalker III" contains some humor. Director Corona prefers to play things along the lines of the straight and narrow. For example, a secondary character dies under tragic circumstances so this second sequel isn't as lightweight as the first sequel. The only flaw in the original "Deathstalker" was the death of our hero's companion too early in the action. Conversely, the character of Marinda here is introduced early in the action and survives until the finale when she helps our unarmed protagonist defeat the villain."Deathstalker" scenarist Howard Cohen sticks to the formula of the strong man who rescues a comely princess from the clutches of an evil sorcerer. Occasionally, Corona and Cohen generate a modicum of suspense, particularly in Deathstalker's torture scene and Cohen scores with one major surprise that enhances the action. Further, Cohen has an adolescent character that is good with a bow and arrow appear at opportune moments, but he foreshadows the child's skill with the weapon. Basically, "Deathstalker III" revolves around two multi-faceted white stones that when combined will yield their power. These two stones will take the owner to Erendor, the city of lost treasure. The villainous tyrant of Southland, Troxartes (Thom Christopher of NBC-TV's "Buck Rogers of the 25th Century"), possesses one stone, while Deathstalker winds up with the second stone. He obtained his stone from a princess running around incognito to find a wizard. Indeed, Carissa (Carla Herd of "Wild Zone" in a dual role) has spent the last three years searching for Nicias (veteran Mexican actor Aarón Hernán) who wanders from village to village prophesying about the villagers' future. One cool looking villain, Inaros (Roger Cudney of "The Border"), rides around with batwings attached to either side of his helmet. This entry in the quartet of sword and sorcery sagas was lensed on location in Mexico, but it is still a low-rent Roger Corman spectacle. The orchestral music by Alejandro Rulfo and Israel Torres captures the atmosphere of this mock-heroic nonsense, and Troxartes makes good use of a falcon as his eyes in the skies.The first scene in "Deathstalker III" resembles the opening scene in "Conan the Barbarian" when the evil warriors stormed a village, killed most of the inhabitants and captured young Conan. Deathstalker is enjoying himself at a village festival, swapping blows with an adversary on a felled tree as they battle with long sticks. At the same time, the long, gray-haired wizard Nicias tells those who can afford his prices what their future holds. Nicias wears a long fur robe. Carissa has been looking for Nicias and shows him her half of the stone, hoping the wizard to have the other half. Suddenly, warriors on horseback wearing ominous armory ride into the village and start slaying people. Deathstalker fights them long enough for Nicias to escape and vanish into thin air with only his smoking footwear to note his presence. Carissa flees, and she winds up in Deathstalker's camp where she identifies herself as a princess. Deathstalker is amused by his luck. "Why is it I keep getting mixed up with princesses?" Carissa tells him about Erendor and its treasure. "Enough to make my people strong forever," she assures him. Deathstalker isn't impressed. "Here I go again, riding hundreds of miles, fighting whole armies, up against magic maybe. In the end all I will get is flowers on my heading telling me how wonderful I am."No sooner has Deathstalker seen his future than the same warriors who raided the village strike his camp and kill Carissa. She gives the stone to Deathstalker. Before she dies, Carissa tells Deathstalker about her sister Belizean. According to Carissa, "It was either me or my sister and she cannot put on her own shoes." This description fits Elizena. Later, after Deathstalker eludes Troxartes, he stumbles into a valley looking for a horse. He tries to steal one from a mother and daughter who live in the valley and live on a diet of potatoes. Marinda (Claudia Inchaurregui of "The Bikini War") is the daughter who hasn't set foot outside the valley and has never made love to a man. Marinda lets Deathstalker deflower her and then leads him out of the valley. Mom believes that Deathstalker has abducted her daughter so she leads Troxartes' army after them. Once he is safely away, Deathstalker runs into Carissa's sister, Elizena, and Elizena is every inch the stuck-up princess that we're used to seeing. Troxartes yearns for the second stone. His mistress Camisarde (Terri Treas of "All That Jazz") asks him, "Aren't you rich enough without one more jewel?" She goes on to add, "You own every inch of land and peasant between here and the sea and me if you ever noticed." Troxartes points out, "That city is power. The magic of a thousand generations lives in the stones of its wall waiting to erupt by the one who puts these stone together. When this is complete the world is mine. With it I'll live forever!" "Deathstalker III" is a relief after the abomination of "Deathstalker II.

I have never seen the other films in this series and, boy, am I glad! This is an utterly charmless sword-and-magic tale with the most repugnant hero ever captured on film. I swear, he makes Captain Jack Sparrow look like George Clooney. He is not likable or charismatic at all, he is awful to look at, he has a libido that would put Wilt Chamberlain to shame, and he is horrible at protecting damsels. When you end up hating the protagonist of the film you are watching, RUN!!!!!!! I am not even going to comment on the story. It is something to do with twin sisters and this bad guy named Troxartis (sic) who want to control this army of ghosts who don't look so much like ghosts as they do like knights who have spent too much time in an abandoned warehouse. All of this leads to, fittingly enough, a nonsensical action climax where the heroine dies but no one is affected by it. Also, the princess (not the heroine; I know, I know) is a whiny brat. Not that I can blame her seeing that her rescuer is a complete jerk.All of the other aspects of this production are atrocious, as well; sets, music, costumes, editing, etc. There is some hammy acting from Thom Christopher as Troxartis and his wife whose name I can't remember. But they cannot even begin to salvage the train wreck of this movie. BTW, what Deathstalker wears in the torture scene is gross. So watch the version on MST 3K. If they can't convince you that this film is utter garbage, no one can.

I have to say that this has got to be one of the most ridiculously funny movies I have ever seen. It seems the lead actor graduated from the Kevin Costner School of Funny Accents. One minute he's Australian. The next he's British followed by some cowpoke accent I could barely decipher.The best way to watch this movie is the MST3K version that is download-able off WinMX. The comments made by the characters on MST3K make this horrid mess viewable, and adds a few extra laughs along the way.By the bye, whoever decided that they use the infamous line "It's potatoes is what we eat!" should be caught and summarily beaten within an inch of their lives with a wet noodle!

You know, I admit to enjoying Krull and the Beast Master movies and most of Arnold's Conan films. But this movie was bad, like a rotten potato. The MST3k version is barely tolerable. What's up with them ripping off the Dune soundtrack anyway? Hopefully they paid for the rights. I got to wondering for a while there if our potato girl would start whispering her thoughts out loud to the audience. Of course, I doubt it would have mattered, even Lynch couldn't have saved this turkey from the Bay Watch-like charm of its star.