Review of Barb Wire (1996) by Cannot T — 08 Jul 2007

21st century. USA. The second civil war. The whole country is in a state of emergency. What was formerly called the American Congress now rules with fascistic methods. There is only one free city left, Steel Harbor, headquarter for the resistance. This is the hometown of Barb Wire, owner of the night club Hammerhead. As times aren't good, Barb has a second job. She's a bounty hunter and you probably wouldn't want her after you. Barb's credo is to never take sides for anybody and that's the only way to survive these days. As her former lover Axel Hood appears asking for a favor, Barb suddenly finds herself to be key player on high political stage. Now she has to take sides.

I really didn't want to watch this film. I thought it would be all sex and nudity but I gave it a try and I was surprised. I actually liked it! First, without the bashing, let me give you some reasons: Barb Wire is a unique, kick ass character. I loved her! The one liners are extremely cheesy that it makes you smile. And this picture has a lot of work put into it like any other great film ever made.

I like the whole look of the film. It's (obviously) exotic for the hormone raging male teenagers to love and the apocalyptic look is very good and realistic. You got to give these guys some credit. The action sequences were surprisingly decent, although there aren't many in this film as I thought there will be.

The character Pamela Anderson makes out is fantastic, but at the same time, it's kind of dull. Temuera Morrison gives a good performance as well as Victoria Rowell. I like that the last 15 minutes of the film has non-stop action. I love the explosions and fighting sequences.

Maybe the reason I like the film is that this film knows it is being bad, but it has a fun time with it. Yes, there are gaping plot holes and it's preposterous but it doesn't matter. I really didn't care.

Of course, this isn't going to be a very good film but it isn't a bad one either. It's surprisingly satisfying and the lines are cheesy that it puts a smile to your face. If you would like to watch a film with some good action sequences and a lot of exotic scenes (including nudity), you'll like this film. Even hormone-raging male teens will like this.