Hot Topics:

Beastmaster 2 - Through the Portal of Time

Fincher to make 'Sacrifice'(1618 views)

Universal not in the 'Zone' at B.O.(1454 views)

E! gets 'Pretty Wild'(1407 views)

Tribeca unveils complete lineup(1345 views)

Cable providers miffed by court ruling(801 views)

'Good chance' for more 'Curb'(740 views)

Republic/Films 21. Director Sylvio Tabet; Producer Sylvio Tabet; Screenplay R.J. Robertson, Jim Wynorski, Sylvio Tabet, Ken Hauser, Doug Miles; Camera Ronn Schmidt; Editor Adam Bernardi; Music Robert Folk; Art Director Allen Jones

Marc Singer
Kari Wuhrer
Wings Hauser
Sarah Douglas
Charles Young

Despite this low-budget sequel's silly dialog and cheesy special effects, Beastmaster 2 is a mildly engaging tongue-in-cheek fantasy about mythical characters traveling through a time warp to battle it out in the mean streets of contempo LA. Like its 1982 predecessor, pic should do well on homevid following a modest theatrical run.

Blond, lithely muscular Marc Singer returns in his loinclothed title role as a sort of violent St. Francis figure accompanied by a tiger, an eagle and two ferrets who help him out of scrapes with the evil rulers of his desert abode. Singer maintains a winning simplicity despite all the sword-and-sorcery hokum.

The dandy bad guy is laser-wielding Wings Hauser who turns out to be Singer's long-lost brother, and a half-human creature (John Fifer) gives Singer the unpleasant task of saving the land from destruction by committing fratricide.

Goofball script is rife with contemporary slang, even in the mythical kingdom. Hauser's voluptuous witch-companion (Sarah Douglas) has visited LA through the time warp. Ronn Schmidt's lensing is suitably noirish.

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1991. Running time: 107 MIN.

Variety is striving to present the most thorough review database. To report inaccuracies in review credits, please click here. We do not currently list below-the-line credits, although we hope to include them in the future. Please note we may not respond to every suggestion. Your assistance is appreciated.