Reviews

I've been an anime fan for six years now, and had never seen "The Slayers" in any shape or form before this movie. I had always meant to though, since I'd learned from other fans that it was a great series. Last week, I noticed this tape was available for rent at the video store. I eagerly picked it up........

And was VERY disappointed. I thought that this movie was just plain awful. It was neither funny nor containing any shred of an interesting plot. On top of my list of problems with this movie:

-I found the dialogue to be irritating (though the humor found in the Slayers series might rely on campiness, so I might have missed the point);

-the characters annoying, with personality traits that are barely interesting;

-a rather dumb plot (why exactly DO Lina and Naga team up, anyway?). I will admit that the 'breast enlargement' sub-plot made me smirk (as did the breast-bouncing bit in the castle midway through the flick), but a quest for a bigger bust does NOT make for a good movie when that's all that's going for it;

-and the battle scenes almost put me to sleep. Lina and Naga just fire off spell after spell after spell - whoopee ding. There was no sense of challenge or suspense/danger of the protagonists losing the magic fights.

Sorry to those who enjoyed this (though I'll be darned if I can figure out how you did), but this movie wasn't worth the free rental coupon I used to get it. 'Slayers: The Motion Picture' wasn't as bad as the first 'Sorcerer Hunters' video, or that loathsome 'Battle Arena Toshinden' movie, but it wasn't too far behind in my book.

I won't be giving up on the 'Slayers' series - maybe 'Next' or 'Try' or the originals will float my boat. But it'll be a cold day in hell before this turkey winds up in my anime collection.

Try the Project A-Ko series instead.

Looking for a martial arts movie with realistic villains? A made-for-TV-movie with a 'theatrical' budget? An ethnic hero whipping some redneck racist butt? Well, you'll find it here, albeit with sub-par results.

While the actual fighting in the film is all right (though I've seen better), some of the dialogue and characterizations need re-editing. The acting ranges from passable to 'William Shatner' (especially from the Klan leader - the guy with the goatee). The plot for BOTB3 is shaky - you can easily predict what the racists are going to do next and what the hero is going to do about it. The climax can be described as similar to the average horror/chop-sockey movie: not quite believeable (how can one guy take on 50 (or so) villains - with guns no less?) and devoid of thrills. Oh yeah, that Owen kid (the troubled teen who joins the racist gang) is heavily involved in the climax, and EVERYONE who watches this movie will be able to guess what he does at the end, even if they turn it off half-way.

This film is kind of like an episode of 'Walker, Texas Ranger' - tame, predictable, and really not worth bothering with, since there are so many better choices available in your video store.