Review of The Ultimate Warrior (1975) by Allan C — 28 Oct 2017

The year is 2012. The world has been devastated by nuclear war and plague. The few surviving humans living in New York City have formed into two warring gangs, scavenging off the remnants of the old world in order to survive.

My all-time favorite character actor, William Smith, plays Carrot, the evil red-headed leader of one gang. Max von Sydow plays the kind and thoughtful leader of the good but weak gang who want to restore some semblance of civilization.

In walks the titular Ultimate Warrior in the form of Yul Brynner, in one of his final film appearances, and helps Sydow fend off the villainous Carrot (the least menacing of name for a villain of all-time) and his savage gang.

Directed by Robert Clouse, who will always be remembered as the man who brought Bruce Lee to American audiences when he directed "Enter the Dragon," fills the film with plenty of hand-to-hand combat, but nothing close to Lee's amazing moves.

A fellow Hong Kong martial artist, the great Gordon Liu, was originally set to star in "The Ultimate Warrior," but that sadly fell through, although a 55-year old Brynner does an credible job, even if he doesn't have the acrobatic skill of Liu.

The film co-stars many familiar faces with Joanna Miles, Stephen McHattie, Richard Kelton, and Darrell Zwerling, and also features an interesting eerie score by Gil Melle. Post-apocalyptic films have been around for a long time, but it wasn't until films like "A Boy and His Dog," "The Omega Man," and "Damnation Alley" where we started to see truly destroyed worlds that hinted at the wastelands we'd later get with the endlessly imitated Max Max films.

Of all the post-apocalyptic films prior to "The Road Warrior," I believe this one was closest to presenting a similar warriors-of-the-wasteland type of setting, although 1979's "Ravagers" is pretty close as well.

Also of note on this film, without revealing any spoilers, the final showdown between Brynner and Smith has a quite memorable and intense climax. Overall, this is an underrated bit of 1970s sci-fi that well worth watching for fans of this era's downbeat science fiction.