MovieChat Forums > Warlords of Atlantis Discussion > Unjustly maligned with 5.1 rating

Unjustly maligned with 5.1 rating

posted 15 years ago by ccr1633
11 replies | jump to latest

What's up with that low rating? Given the genre, Warlords is an 8 or 9 in my book, and maybe 6.5-7 all things considered. Unlike the wretched People That Time Forgot and At The Earth's Core, this film wisely paid more mind to character development, and actually managed to establish a unique personality to every major player in the film. A rare feat for the monster genre, to be sure. Yeah, some of the back-projection special effects are a joke, but I thought the octopus was done quite well, and the platypus emergence actually gave me a jolt upon first viewing. The underwater plungings in the diving bell gave the film a creepy undersea tension that was much needed, and unseen in the Kevin Connor films since The Land That Time Forgot. On top of that, Warlords had a fairly catchy score too. I'll also add that it was a good move to give the superb character actor Shane Rimmer a prominent role as the brave but treacherous captain.

To all intrepid travelers of IMDB who haven't seen this film, don't be turned off by the poor reviews. I would agree that 2 of the 4 Kevin Connor & Doug McClure pairings are downright terrible, but this is a good one, distinguished primarily by the fact that it had a pretty decent story and a screenplay that only makes you wince once or twice (most notably when Cliff Clavin laments, "I sure will miss that little Jacko." Bwah ha ha). Give it a try on your kids if nothing else (it's hard to imagine that a 10 year old boy wouldn't be captivated like I was when I saw it at the theater). Don't worry, there is a hot chick but no nudity (unfortunately for us adults). Speaking of that, how f'in hot was Sarah Douglas in The People That Time Forgot? Whew!

[–] henny042001 15 years ago

I agree with you totally. The 5.1 rating is far too low. This movie is a true classic!

[–] crmfghtr 15 years ago

It is a very fun movie indeed.
The musical score is one of the best of all time and should have at least been nominated for an award. Why this film is not released on dvd in US or been banished to obscurity is beyond me.

[–] dannydavies 15 years ago

I agree remember seeing this movie time and time again as a kid, Doug McClure was a hero for me as a 9 year old. I wanted to roam prehistoric worlds on some mad adventure. WOA is a classic in my eyes, ATEC, TLTTF and TPTTF. The Movies that time forgot should not be forgotten.

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[–] ccr1633 14 years ago

Yeah, maybe a 7 is about right. I think the film falters in the middle when the scene actually shifts to Atlantis. We also see the worst of the old-time back projection effects here. Too bad they couldn't make the baddies of Atlantis a little more interesting.

[–] dannydavies 15 years ago

You summed everything up there, I honestly think this film is also worth at least an 8 is also worth a remake but by someone decent. IF CS Howell gets his hands on this and ruins it like he did with the land that time forgot i'd ring his neck. I actually liked at the earths core, thought it was great, of all the efforts made by the connor mcclure partnership i think people that time forgot was the worst. Warlords was my favourite but followed by at the earths core.

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[–] winonaforever2 9 years ago

I don't know, I think 8 is way too high. I remember watching this as a kid and liking it.I just saw it for the first time in maybe 25 years and it's really bad. I gave it a 5. The main monster with those gills that look like short arms was badly done. I think one of the worst bits was to see those obvious paintings as backgrounds. I know that paintings have been used in film many times, but in this one they were just too obvious and very badly done. Is it too expensive to make paintings that are realistic? Then the premise of the film, first I thought they were going to 'conquer' Atlantis. In reality they do not. There are way too many untied knots. What happens to the city and its inhabitants? What happens to the slave girl? Is she just going to go back and say 'Hey I just helped release some prisoners, I'm hungry, can I eat something?'. What about that officer that was told to bring the prisoners back? What about the professor? He's seen all those things when he was wearing the hemet, will he tell anyone about it? It's a B film I know, but it could have been better done.

[–] ccr1633 9 years ago

winonaforever2 wrote:

I don't know, I think 8 is way too high.

I can't disagree too strenuously. However, I prefer to rate films within their genre, up to a certain point. I would never give Warlords of Atlantis a 10 and put it on the same mantle as The Thing '82, but neither would I give it a 5 or 6 even though that's probably what it deserves on a purely objective level measured against all other films. I gave it an 8/10 to reflect my opinion that within this genre - low budget monster movies - it's at that high a level. A solid B+. Definitely the best among the Kevin Connor films, a slight notch above The Land That Time Forgot. I'm in the minority opinion around here on The People That Time Forgot and At The Earth's Core, which I think are both dull 4/10 fare with exceedingly bad special effects. WOA benefits tremendously from the mysterious of the ocean deep, so much of which remains unexplored even today.

[–] greenbudgie 9 years ago

The octopus was a star monster. As well as the creepy underwater seascapes, I thought the scenes within the cavern were well set. Very atmospheric in those parts.