Great Film overall

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Blistering performances.

As the folks at "Fametracker.com" would put it, the tag-line to "Ravenhawk" should be:'Rachel MacLish has an ass! Would you like to see it???"There is always JUST ENOUGH good stuff in Albert Pyun movies to keep you watching, but the good stuff is always mixed in with a bunch of hokey, crappy, clichéd storytelling and camera work that make it hard to KEEP watching. So you can't just turn it off, because something good, or cool, or at least picturesque might come along, but you can't pay attention because you have to wade through endless stupid clichés to do it. Case in point: Rachel MacLish in "Ravenhawk". MacLish (the first Ms. Olympia) runs around in front of the camera in spectacularly "cut" condition, and she's not wearing a whole lot of clothing to hide her muscle definition. She's got killer cheekbones; huge, dark eyes; and hair to die for. So we are talking major eye candy here. However, we are NOT talking about dramatic range. As striking as MacLish is, she isn't an actress in any sense of the word. She has two expressions - furious intensity and angry confusion - and she alternates between them almost at random. Rachel, honey, you look fabulous and I love you, but you can't carry a feature movie, anymore than Cory Everson could.So Pyun's response to this problem is to exploit MacLish's body far more than even the biggest MacLish fan could ever want. There really is no need for this - MacLish (or her stunt double) can actually move fairly well, and she is reasonably convincing in the mid-shot action scenes. But every chance he gets, Pyun zooms the camera in for close-up shots of various parts of the lady's anatomy, held for many more seconds (and some times in slow motion zooms) than anyone but a bodybuilding fetishist would desire. It's actually pretty distracting and ludicrous after the fourth or fifth time. It's as if Pyun is simply admitting to the viewer, "OK, we really don't have a single bloody idea for something new, so here is a shot of Rachel's heaving, sweaty muscles to pass the time." Pyun also tries to justify the use of MacLish's exotic looks and stone-cut physique by mixing in plot elements involving tribal Indian traditions, shamanistic mysticism and and obsessed revenge against the men who killed her parents...but the results are ham-handed and cliché ridden.The 'bad guys' are so slimy and one-dimensional that no one could possibly swallow it. (One exception: poor William Atherton, who tries to salvage a modicum of dignity as the front-man for the bad-guys). The tribal folks are cardboard cutouts who suffer mutely and have the moral high ground because they are victims.One especially egregious example is the young man who plays the character of the reservation police guy. The actor playing the part is like Lorenzo Lamas without the sense of humor. Someone needed to sit down with him and talk to him about acting being more than projecting an attitude on camera, but it's obvious that no one did. Nothing personal against the young man, who is obviously some kind of clothes model in real life, and who was undoubtedly cast for his ability to wear slim cut jeans and to grow attractive beard stubble - he just sucks as an actor and needs acting lessons even more than MacLish. So in summary, "Ravenhawk" is typical Pyun - 2nd rate movie making based on third rate screen writing, with just enough flash here and there (including a good chase sequence among the mountain cliffs and some spectacular scenery) to keep the viewer from turning it off in irritation. I hope MacLish gets her agent to sign her up for some real acting lessons, and holds out for parts that show her as a woman and an actress, not just a Body.

American Indian Shadowfeather (bodybuilding queen Rachel McLish) stops desecration of holy ground by industrial corporation and avenges her family. Similar to Steven Seagal's `On Deadly Ground', `Ravenhawk' is a tough action movie pretending to say something about ecological matters and the rights of minorities. You needn't buy that, but it's tremendous entertainment anyway. Director Pyun always had great landscapes in his movies, I wish I could watch this at the cinema instead of playing a videotape. There are some beautiful shots you won't forget, for example Shadowfeather climbing on the cliff (a tiny human lost on a giant rock), or riding on her horse across the industrial estate (when nature meets technology in stark contrast). Shadowfeather has to face an impressive opponent: William Atherton (`Die Hard 2') plays the bad guy, you'll easily notice that because he wears black and listens to Italian operas instead of country'n'western – now that's what I call suspicious behaviour (just kidding). If you like Norris and Seagal movies, check out Rachel here. She worked hard for it.

I saw this awhile ago and bought the VHS for my own personal collection, because if the storyline is worthwhile I like to see it again and again. I thought Ravenhawk was good in that it called attention to an environmental problem of polluting both air and water with nuclear waste. It pointed to the problem of corruption in high places with corrupt officials who were part of the problem and heroically enough to those dedicated individuals, such as Del Wilkes played by John Enos, who persist in seeing the problem through to the solution. In the end, Del wound up killing one of the perpetrators himself, knowing the guy would be out of jail within the hour and beat the charges within a year. I'm not saying this was the answer, but John Enos did a beautiful job in the story, doing the research necessary to get to the bottom of the problem, despite interference from the Sheriff himself, whom Del later knocked out which probably caused a further investigation, since this was witnessed by yet another observer. Sadly many of these problems are solved later than sooner, but in THIS case, the plant was shut down and yet it was interesting to see that corruption continues on to this day, as some of the officials were exonerated despite wrongdoing. I thought this film drew attention to some of the problems of the American Indian on reservations as well as environmental issues. I enjoyed Rachel McLish's role, but let's not overlook JOHN ENOS contribution to the movie, because John has a real presence, makes an impact, and I for one would like to see much MORE of him in BIGGER and BETTER roles. Let's not waste this guys gifted talent.

i enjoyed this film it was a good (to me)film and i will be buying it for my video library. Rachel McLish was stunning as the heroine. The locations were great. John De Lancie ( Star Treks "Q") was execllent as one of the chief villains