Review of The Beastmaster (1982) by Srdjan M — 07 Aug 2008

Creative take on sword and sorcery genre as Marc Singer portrays a skilled swordsman who can communicate with animals and is an unknown heir to a kingdom now under the control of a priest (Rip Torn), who instills terror into the people with ritual sacrifices.

Solid action with some cool character designs, particularly the tall, bird worshiping folks who engulf their victims within their large rubbery wings. The creators also did a great job of creating an exotic, yet believable landscape. They also excelled in making a "used" or lived-in universe, a la the original Star Wars films.

Torn provides a creepy foil for the film's heroes, while Singer and John Amos ("Good Times", "Die Hard 2") are solid.

Some of the action sequences are a bit dated and the script isn't anything special.

The animals that the Beastmaster communicates with are also well used. (Although it's never explained why the Beastmaster never tries to communicate with the horses the bad guys are riding on.) The impact of lovable ferrets Kodo and Podo can also not be ignored. The number of kids in America wishing they had ferrets as pets after seeing "The Beastmaster" is probably too high to count. What all that means, I don't know.

All in all, there are cool ideas and visuals, but some of the dialog, acting and action sequences simply don't hold up to today's standards.