Review of Heavy Metal (1981) by Randy K — 27 Oct 2009
Heavy Metal (1981) -- [6.5] -- Producer Ivan Reitman wrangled together animation companies from around the world to assemble "Heavy Metal", a string of six animated shorts based on the popular adult fantasy magazine.
The stories are tied together by a loose framing device involving an ominous green orb that destroys everything it encounters. My personal favorite sequences are "B-17", which depicts a zombie attack aboard a WWII bomber plane, and "Taarna", which features a warrior sex goddess who gets medieval on some barbarian asses.
The soundtrack includes several hard rock tunes from the likes of Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, and Sammy Hagar. There's also a lush orchestral score provided by Elmer Bernstein. I admire "Heavy Metal" for taking animation into largely unexplored territory, but by incorporating horror, drugs, violence, and full frontal cartoon nudity, its appeal is fairly limited to adolescent males and animation afficionados.
This review of Heavy Metal (1981) was written by Randy K on 27 Oct 2009.
Heavy Metal has generally received positive reviews.
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