It's immediately obvious that some comics adaptation is afoot. And that some Roberto Rodriguez' recent works, such as Grindhouse or Machete, have given Henry Saine ideas.
From the start is described the most gormless universe ever, a society that cannot physically function, where people idolise heroes worse than the criminals they hunt, and where anyone who works in a corporate cubicle also doubles as a gun-totting martial artist.
Luckily, I was in the mood to forgive the stupidity of the introduction, to relax, to give it a chance. And I had fun.
There is plenty of bad in there, but plenty of good as well. For all the blandness of the lead actor, we get the very pleasant and accurately over-the-top performance of C. Pitre as Mary Death. We have a comic relief who isn't funny, yet isn't full time in that position, becoming quite interesting when threatened.
On the worst side, we have a desert chase scene straight out of Road Warrior, with z-grade gypsies as the least original post-apocalyptic tribe ever. I like homages, but this one should have been more inventive. Other classics include heroes very hard to kill yet very easy to capture, a fair amount of predictability, and a severe case of underused Gary Busey (any good action flick kills Mr Busey in an undignified way at some point).
On the best side are the supporting cast, including the smallest talking parts, very colourful pictures and characters, and a script that surprisingly follows some logic in the aforementioned absurd settings. Plus some unexpected non-combat resolutions. Plus a great final battle, fun and creative, perfect for the genre.
On the neutral side, there's a good amount of gore, almost too much for my taste (I like it only when it serves a good bloody joke.) It doesn't affect my rating. I mention it merely as a warning, in case someone reads it, didn't know, and cares.
From the start is described the most gormless universe ever, a society that cannot physically function, where people idolise heroes worse than the criminals they hunt, and where anyone who works in a corporate cubicle also doubles as a gun-totting martial artist.
Luckily, I was in the mood to forgive the stupidity of the introduction, to relax, to give it a chance. And I had fun.
There is plenty of bad in there, but plenty of good as well. For all the blandness of the lead actor, we get the very pleasant and accurately over-the-top performance of C. Pitre as Mary Death. We have a comic relief who isn't funny, yet isn't full time in that position, becoming quite interesting when threatened.
On the worst side, we have a desert chase scene straight out of Road Warrior, with z-grade gypsies as the least original post-apocalyptic tribe ever. I like homages, but this one should have been more inventive. Other classics include heroes very hard to kill yet very easy to capture, a fair amount of predictability, and a severe case of underused Gary Busey (any good action flick kills Mr Busey in an undignified way at some point).
On the best side are the supporting cast, including the smallest talking parts, very colourful pictures and characters, and a script that surprisingly follows some logic in the aforementioned absurd settings. Plus some unexpected non-combat resolutions. Plus a great final battle, fun and creative, perfect for the genre.
On the neutral side, there's a good amount of gore, almost too much for my taste (I like it only when it serves a good bloody joke.) It doesn't affect my rating. I mention it merely as a warning, in case someone reads it, didn't know, and cares.