El guerrero del amanecer

Just caught up with it after 25 years and while this is not a classic, this is not a bad movie. I saw this when it first came on video and remember enjoying it and feeling it was a solid action flick for Patrick Swayze. I am very surprised all these years later after seeing it today on TV, that it still is, though I would only recommend it to people who like old movies and/or post-apocalyptic stories.

First of all, it was nice to see Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa Niemi paired together on screen. They had a tremendous relationship in real life; one of the only Hollywood couples to whom "till death do us part" really meant something. They clearly have an easy demeanor around one another that makes their scenes memorable. Most of all what's good about this movie and similar old flicks made on clearly-low-budgets is the lack of pretense. It's not trying to be flashy, it's not trying to be epic, nor is it trying to be something it's not. This is just a simple tale of a wanderer (Swayze) who comes upon a tiny village and learns to help the people in exchange for food, water and a bed and comes to defend them from marauders. Nothing more. His character, called "The Stranger" in the film, becomes a man of example, whose actions speak louder than words and who shows us how we can trust someone based on how they act and not what they say. Swayze has charisma and that's what makes it better than average for this type of old film. He was such a good dancer we forget he had some action chops as well. NEXT OF KIN, and ROAD HOUSE were made after this, along with POINT BREAK, and are better known. This is a quiet flick, a good one to watch on a lazy weekend afternoon.

The direction and music score are a little dated, as is Niemi's hairstyle (very popular in the '86-'87 years). The acting is okay overall, though Anthony Zerbe always makes a good villain. Mostly the excellent fight scenes keep the film moving forward. The choreography of the action is very good and Swayze truly has the grace of a dancer in his hand-to-hand combat. STEEL DAWN holds up as a nice reminder of simple, unpretentious 1980s storytelling.

I give it 6 out of 10 because it has one of better sword fights I have seen made by Hollywood. As I was watching the movie, it sort of reminded me of the great western movie "Shane" starring Alan Ladd. It had many of the same elements like a lone stranger comes to town and battles the evil doers who would harm the innocent farmers. Patrick Swayze plays his part well as the protagonist in this movie. Interesting enough though, there is no weapon used save non projectile weapons. What I mean by this is that there are no pistols, rifles, or bombs. In some ways, not having those type of weapons in this movie makes it more refreshing. It kind of makes it like a samurai movie of sorts. All in all, a pretty good movie.

The story takes place in some future where the land seems more desert than anything else; and therefore, water is an important commodity.

In a small valley, a group of farmers try to make a living but is harassed by an individual whose aim is to take over the whole valley. In comes Patrick Swayze who plays a former soldier who comes to the valley to exact revenge on those who killed his former comrade.

During this pursuit, however, he meets a woman and her child who make him see what is really important in life.

Of all the post-apocalypse movies spawned in the 1980s after the success of the likes of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and the MAD MAX trilogy, STEEL DAWN has to be one of the cheesiest - and that's a surprise when you consider all the silly nonsense that the Italians were churning out during the same decade.

Despite the sci-fi trappings of the scenery and scenario, STEEL DAWN is a western through and through. Patrick Swayze plays a nameless drifter who wanders into an idyllic small town and soon finds himself required to defend the townsfolk from an evil overlord, played by Anthony Zerbe. What follows will surprise nobody, but it is mildly entertaining thanks to its nostalgic appeal - in the form of dated costumes and hairstyles - and a pretty good pacing.

The narrative is heavily indebted to the likes of MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR, with a few things changed around (for instance, water is the scarce and valuable commodity here, rather than petrol). Fans of Swayze will get to see him do his martial arts stuff on some rather defunct bad guys (including the sand people from STAR WARS, it seems) as well as some zen-inspired meditation techniques.

Fans of B-movies may spot the likes of Arnold Vosloo (HARD TARGET) in an exceptionally early role, while British star Christopher Neame (DRACULA AD 1972) dons a fright wig as a tough. Veteran Anthony Zerbe embarrasses himself as the chief villain, but best of the lot is Brion James in an oddly touching performance as a bodyguard with a heart. I'm so used to seeing James typecast as a bad guy that it's a refreshing change to see him as a goodie for once, and he's the best thing about this movie by far.

Steel dawn, had no dawn and very little steel to speak of. However, it did contain large quantities of Swayze. The hero, played by Patrick Swayze, is a nomad traveling post-apocalyptic wastelands in search a swayz-tacular adventure. He meets up with Tark, a hulk-hogan-like individual who eventually befriends swayze. Their advisary, played by a rejected member of Bon Jovi, spends the majority of the film trying to kill swayze because he is jealous of his hair style. There are many whimsical happenings along the way, such as a swayze finding a dog, and swayze climbing a sand dune. Overall i give this movie a 4/10 due to its poor method of conveying the modern struggles of the inner self in an existential environment.

Underneath the thin post-apocalyptic setting, "Steel Dawn" is a standard "drifter fights the bandits" western. It has plenty of western cliches (e.g. a widowed pioneer woman whose farm is at risk) and plenty of action. I don't recommend renting this movie, but if it comes on TV you might consider watching it. It's better than any apocalyptic film that Kevin Costner was involved in (or will be). But the only characters with a glimmer of originality (such as Swayze's old mentor) get very little screen time. This places "Steel Dawn" a few notches below the gold standard of apocalyptic films, "The Road Warrior."