Rating: Summary: "Is that your first name or your last name?" Review: Deathstalker II RULES!!!! It's the best low-budget, comedy, fantasy T&A filled epic EVER. But enough about the film, we all know that's great, onto the DVD. The picture quality is fine, although it's best to turn the brightness up on your tv as it's quite dark(this isn't the DVD's fault I have a brighter VHS version but it just seems faded). This is not cropped so you get to see the full picture, cars and spare tires too. Audio, addiquate, gotta love that deathstalker II theme. Extras:The audio commentary is informative and funny, you really think this movie was fun to make, it has a trailer to. Bad Points: It would have been nice if this had had a multistream option like the T2 disc. So you could choose between the normal version and the Director's Cut. What this would mean is that the disc would skip the clips of DS1 and Barbarian Queen and the extra long fight footage to make it a more concise viewing experience. Although not having this option isn't worth dropping a star as you still get to see everything but have to skip the bits yourself. More out-takes would have been nice, but I guess you'll have to live with the ones in the credits.
Rating: Summary: The greatest movie EVER Review: Due to some for of nostalgia, I have been on a recent kick of searching for all the 80's Sword and Sorcery movies as of late. My favorite rediscovery so far (Excluding the Conan films because their budgets were too high) was Deathstalker II. This movie has absolutely EVERYTHING you could ever want in a movie: Violence and Bloodshed, Amazons, T&A, cheesy one liners, and is excessively degrading to women. In the sequel, Deathstalker isn't some muscle-man, just some guy with a sword. He's not ripped, in fact he's got a bit of a gut (just a bit) which adds to the realism of the movie, except when it is all ripped away by the extras such as Ivan the terrible's henchmen expelled for excessive brutality sitting alongside one of Atilla the hun's former soldiers. The Pig-headed warrior also makes a return cameo, and a cheesy score that Manowar would be proud of. infuriate your girlfriend by getting this movie! Now its on DVD. I have died and gone to Valhalla....
Rating: Summary: One of my all time favourite movies! Review: From the moment, in the opening sequence, when Sultana's (the delicious Toni Naples) vow "I'll have my revenge - and Deathstalker too", heralds the title - "Deathstalker 2" on screen, accompanied by Chuck Cirino's amazing score, I fell totally in love with this movie! No sad Conan clone this!
Cult director Jim Wynorski has quite simply given us one of the most entertaining movies of all time.
The masterful casting of John Terleskey as our wisecracking hero and the gorgeous, scantily-clad Monique Gabrielle in her inspired double-role, ensures a whole laboratory of sexual chemistry between the highly picturesque duo. They also look like they're enjoying this bawdy romp no end!
The unprecedented amount of inspired one-liners, corny puns and cheeky verbal and visual references to other movies (most notably Spaghetti Westerns, Hammer Horror and Star Wars) demand repeat viewing to extract every delicious drop of Wynorsky's waggery.
The plot is a simple one - our eponymous hero (but is Deathstalker his first name or his last name?), promised a great reward, teams up with Evie the seer (Gabrielle), whose rightful position of princess has been taken by an evil clone of herself (evil Evie of course). Battling their way past zombies, pirates, and Amazon tribeswomen, Terleskey and Gabrielle never miss an opportunity to extract every potential bit of humour from each scenario. The other players join in the fun too - John La Zar, as evil wizard (is there any other kind?) Jerak warns Deathstalker that grave-robbing carries a stiff penalty in these parts, Sultana pokes fun at Evie's wardrobe (the Wilma Flintstone look) and pirate Chin (a tribute to Hawaii 5-O) and his hapless team are to bounty-hunting what the Archbishop of Canterbury is to bungee-jumping.
Scene follows glorious scene, my personal favourites being the initial punch-up in the tavern, evil Evie tiring of her musical dwarf playing nothing but the Deathstalker theme, Deathstalker's hilarious fight against the Amazon's champion and , of course, the final scene - when told that his heroic exploits will be reenacted for centuries to come, Deathstalker grins and says "Well, I sure hope they get a good looking guy to play me". What a parting shot!
There's no mistaking the miniscule budget here, and there's even some footage recycled from the (inferior) Deathstalker 1 and a couple of amusing inadvertent anachronisms and continuity errors. With a movie as refreshingly entertaining as this, who cares though?
The DVD contains the outtakes (the same as were also present during the end titles on the VHS version), the theatrical trailer and, delightfully, optional full-length commentary by Wynorsky, Terleskey and Naples. This is very very funny, and adds yet another dimension to the whole package, as Wynorsky flirts with Naples and points out anachronisms, such as a tyre visible as our heroes ride past.
For potential UK purchasers, make sure your DVD player is multi-region, as this is only available as Region 1 (NTSC). My copy took around 10 days to arrive from the States. At this price, Deathstalker 2 has to be the DVD bargain of the century!
You will either think it is brilliant or complete garbage! I am convinced that most viewers with a sense of fun, will decide it is the former.
Rating: Summary: It's so bad it must be seen. Review: I have seen some bad movies in my time but this takes the cake as the worst. The one-liners in this movie are so corny you bust out laughing. You have to see the sets , cardboard walls and backgrounds that have visble camera lights.... This is horrible...but in a funny way
Rating: Summary: 80's sword&socery Review: Looks can be deceiving. Be warned. Despite the serious look of the cover poster this is a comedy! And right after the very serious 1st movie. They want you to recognize the scenes as ripoffs from other movies. The jokes are bad. It gets better I put the DVD on commentary and the director and John(Deathstalker)make fun of the whole thing. The director says "OK see that cystal ball, thats realy a broken doorknob someone found." "And if you look to the top left of your screen you can see a parked car." Even if fans didn't ever see the car wouldn't you want to keep that under wraps. The director even admits to changing the oringinal script to a comedy. However the swordfight at the end of the movie is very good. It brings back the real charachter of DS and he doesn't crack one joke during it. They have to do the movie some justice.
Rating: Summary: "I will get my revenge, and Deathstalker too!" Review: OMG. This is a sequel to a Conan rip off. I mean, this movie has greatness written all over it. The first one was made to be semi serious, but it didn't exactly come out smelling like roses. So the creators saw what they had to do to redeem themselves. Make a tongue in cheek sequel. So they made this abomination. This movie had some one liners that were pretty funny, and then it had others that came out as ridiculous as a man wearing clown shoes in a mine field. This movie is good for watching with friends so that you can laugh and have a good time. But otherwise, don't bother.
What I learned from Deathstalker 2: Huts do not have doors, and barbarians carry ninja stars as weapons.
If you liked this movie, I recomend: Better taste in movies.
Caution! Conan fans will be offended.
Rating: Summary: Sword and Sorcery Camp and More Camp Review: One can only think that Sam Raimi is a fan of this movie as he seems to have copied much of the camp from this film. Once the camp has been removed, Deathstalker II is mostly a collection of clips lifted from the first movie. Deathstalker is out plying his thieving trade when he happens on a seer who seems to be more trouble than she is worth. You know the tone of the film when the seer asks him if Deathstalker is his first or last name. What plot there is consists of Deathstalker being convinced to help the seer return to her throne, one occupied by a sorcerous double. Along the way we get profession wrestling with a giant Amazon, the attack of the shuffling zombies, plenty of scenes from the first movie, lots of bad jokes, anachronisms galore, heaps of nudity, and a few truckloads of camp. As this was not the serious film that the first was, it is more successful in its goal. Just imagine a Bruce Campbell King of Thieves movie (except most of the wisecracks come from the seer) and you will get an idea of what to expect. It's fun. Really.
Rating: Summary: Sword and Sorcery Camp and More Camp Review: One can only think that Sam Raimi is a fan of this movie as he seems to have copied much of the camp from this film. Once the camp has been removed, Deathstalker II is mostly a collection of clips lifted from the first movie. Deathstalker is out plying his thieving trade when he happens on a seer who seems to be more trouble than she is worth. You know the tone of the film when the seer asks him if Deathstalker is his first or last name. What plot there is consists of Deathstalker being convinced to help the seer return to her throne, one occupied by a sorcerous double. Along the way we get profession wrestling with a giant Amazon, the attack of the shuffling zombies, plenty of scenes from the first movie, lots of bad jokes, anachronisms galore, heaps of nudity, and a few truckloads of camp. As this was not the serious film that the first was, it is more successful in its goal. Just imagine a Bruce Campbell King of Thieves movie (except most of the wisecracks come from the seer) and you will get an idea of what to expect. It's fun. Really.
Rating: Summary: The Lord of the B-Movies Review: One of the best of the 80's sword and scorcery movies, Deathstalker 2 still rules. It has everything: swordfights, an evil sorceror (is there any other kind?), swashbuckling action, semi-clad beauties and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that ties it all together. For DS2 fans who have the VHS version and are wondering if the DVD version is worth buying: Yes! This version includes a feature-length audio commentary by director Jim Wynorski, Toni Naples (Sultana), and John Terlesky (Deathstalker himself) for behind-the-scenes information you didn't even know you wanted to know.... S&S B-movie fans in general and Deathstalker 2 fans in particular will want this movie.
Rating: Summary: The Lord of the B-Movies Review: One of the best of the 80's sword and scorcery movies, Deathstalker 2 still rules. It has everything: swordfights, an evil sorceror (is there any other kind?), swashbuckling action, semi-clad beauties and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that ties it all together. For DS2 fans who have the VHS version and are wondering if the DVD version is worth buying: Yes! This version includes a feature-length audio commentary by director Jim Wynorski, Toni Naples (Sultana), and John Terlesky (Deathstalker himself) for behind-the-scenes information you didn't even know you wanted to know.... S&S B-movie fans in general and Deathstalker 2 fans in particular will want this movie.
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