Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Boring, long, and too preachy.

A Brilliant Conflict

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I only write reviews of movies with low rating, which actually are not that bad. Give them a chance!I love movies about apocalypse and post-apocalypse and that is why I wanted to watch this one, too. It is a bad movie, but it is so bad that is actually watchable! Yup, I enjoyed it at the end. It is funny, though it was not suppose to be, and you can say that some action scenes are solid, too, as well as vehicles and costumes. Acting is fine for some characters, but nothing special. It is a Mad Max wannabe, and now while I am browsing IMDb I can see that director Cirio H. Santiago made several more Mad Max wannabes! Wow, he was really persistent! He made Wheels Of Fire two years after Stryker, and I think that it is a best bad Mad Max wannabe of all, but you can read about it more in my other review.So, about Stryker, you may enjoy it if you like apocalypse and post- apocalypse. Or if you want to watch something bad with friends so you can laugh - then, Stryker is the movie for you. You need to look at it that way so that you can watch it to the end, like I did. I can say I enjoyed watching it, it was so bad and unintentionally funny that I liked it.5/10

I might enjoy this movie if I saw again today on TV. However, when my brother and I saw it in the theater (as part of a weeknight "crowd" of about 10-12 viewers) when it was new I thought it was the most terrible "Road Warrior" rip-off that could possibly be made. One of the things I remember about it was that it was LOUD, and that there was almost no letup from the noise. Then came the moment when the hero was about to go off alone, and one of the other characters asked "Where will you go? What will you do?", after which ensued the only moment of silence in the entire movie. Into this someone in the audience inserted what is probably the loudest instance of public flatulence I have ever heard. The majority of the (bored) audience cracked up except the one preppy-looking guy who was there with the only cute chick (who also laughed) in attendance. He took that as his opportunity to stand up and tell her "Let's go!" and stalk off leaving her to look at us with a shrug and "Whatever!" look before getting up and following him out. That was about the only memorable moment in the entire movie for us, but we still talk about it sometimes when we are reminiscing and want a good laugh.

It's hot. It's the desert (well, actually, it's a gravel pit in the Philippines masquerading as the desert) They're fighting over water. End of story. Once you get past the fighting over what appears to be only a few gallons of water, the plot of this post apocalyptic grindhouse flick becomes nonexistent, as entire reels of film go by with either not much happening, or several lengthy car chases and explosions and shootouts. Most of the characters here are never even given names, let alone do we ever find out anything about them. It's also rather difficult to learn anything about the characters when there is hardly any dialogue to the film. Good looking girls in shorts, and good action in the first half hour and at the climax are about all this has going for it. Its climactic battle between the Chuck Norris lookalike leader of one tribe, aided by the Keebler elves, against the other tribe led by one-handed Anton LaVey lookalike was reasonably exciting and well done, but it's a LONG wait for it. If you can turn your mind off and just enjoy the action scenes, this movie might be more watchable for that and the good looking half nude girls, but if you want more than that, look elsewhere. I'm also a fan of William/ Bill Ostrander, so I was disappointed by his somewhat small role in the film, and by the fact that his voice was apparently dubbed for his few lines. Also, this movie looks like it was filmed a year or two prior to its release, as Ostrander looks noticeably younger than he did in Christine, which was released only three months after this.

This movie, though often described as a low budget Mad Max or Road Warrior movie, is more comparable to Wheels of Fire. It is low budget pleasure that features silly or nonexistent acting, crazy choreography, and a wonderful cast of actors and actresses you've probably never heard of. Yet, this little gem is downright action packed fun, 1980s style! The movie is set in a futuristic post-holocaust world that is largely made up of desert, dunes and rocky hills. The largest and most precious commodity in this world is water, and those in control of water sources control the most power. The plot ultimately involves a small community defending a secluded sanctuary - an underground water source - from a wicked tribe of Road Warriorish thugs. Lots of crazy car chases, gun-toting warriors, cheap special effects (pyrotechnics), and stiff choreography during the fight scenes.One fella stands out as the main character, a roguish silent wanderer named Stryker on a personal mission. He's a satisfying lead, meeting every cliché of the strong silent type. His dialogue is scarce, and his ability to express emotion comes across as forced. But he's extremely suitable for his role, however, given the handful of actors and actress he is working with in this movie. If you're not fond of the strong silent lead, you have a host of typically attractive 1980s female desert warriors, some donned in what appears to be football shoulder pads (sorta like Road Warrior). The main villain, unfortunately, never gets any sort of identity, not even to the point of cliché. He's just a mean thug who can't talk without sounding like he has a mouth full of marbles. The movie tries to build him up as someone foul enough to peak Stryker's persistent and stubborn indifference, yet, as a movie villain, he simply fails to impress the viewer as a credible threat to someone as collected and methodical as Stryker.I rate this movie 9 out of 10 because for a low budget flick, it packs a lot of action, shoot outs, and car chases. One serious drawback to the movie, however, is the extremely boring set - desert. Probably 95% of the film was shot outdoors in what appears to be nothing but deserts and dunes. After watching this setting for about 5 minutes, the movie gets very claustrophobic and you get the distinct impression that all the different filming locations were done within a 5-minute walk of each other. But the movie is really a little unpolished gem. You have to love low budget antics to give this movie an entire viewing. It's one of those movies you'll either love or shut off after the first five minutes.This movie is rated R for violence and nudity.