Review of The Ultimate Warrior (1975) by Carlos B — 11 Jan 2010

It seems that we are once again obsessed with dark dystopian futures (THE ROAD, THE BOOK OF ELI, etc.) so I return once again to the post-Hippie Watergate era 1970s when science-fiction films were obsessed with dystopias.

Police states ala 1984 (THX 1138), Malthusian over-population (SOYLENT GREEN), ecological collapse (SILENT RUNNING), and an LA overrun by albino biological warfare victilms that only Chuck Heston can stop (THE OMEGA MAN).

THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR is one of those pre-STAR WARS dystopian science-fiction films. It is often described as the first "Kung-fu Sci-fi" films as it was directed by martial arts maven Robert Clouse.

Yul Brynner was in his fifites by this point but still looks convincing as the "ultimate warrior" of the title. He is hired by the Baron (Max Von Sydow) who leads one of the largest groups of survivors in post-holocaust NYC.

The film is set in 2012 after civilization has collapsed for unknown reasons (ecological collapse, social collapse, biological warfare or a combination of all three-given the merely abandoned state of "Fun City" I suspect that an all-out nuclear conflict is unlikely the cause).

With just a knife and his superior fighting skills, Bryner takes on all comers. Luckily his opposition are using bows, crossbows, and thrown rocks and spears (and are all lousy shots). I guess they ran out of ammunition for all the guns, no one seems to have even a single .

38 S&W.