Arena

No, this is not a great movie, and yes it has it's share of problems. I'm not really even sure why I like this film, but I do. I admit that it can be pretty bad at times and extremely cheesy at others, but it still kept me entertained for an hour and half.

The story is actually a fairly interesting one, nothing terribly original, but nonetheless interesting. This film is basically just "Rocky" and "Star Wars" thrown together.

The acting was nothing to get excited about in the film, but it wasn't all that bad either. There were a few times that were pretty badly done, but overall the acting was just fine. I've got to say something though, Paul Satterfield has an uncanny resemblance to Christopher Reeve and sounds like him too. The entire cast are virtually unknown to me, but there were some familiar faces in the film (still couldn't name them or place where I'd seen them though).

The special effects were relatively decent given that I'm sure the budget was REALLY low. The make-up effects were sometimes really good and other times just horrible. Some of the aliens were actually quite well done and pretty cool looking. The outfits and wardrobe of the film was pretty good for the most part, except that stupid fighting uniform thing that Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield) wore when in the arena, that needed to go.

All in all, I thought this was an ok film. Far from great, but I've seen worse. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I would only recommend this film to people that like cheesy sci-fi films. If the words "cheesy" and "sci-fi" don't spark your interest, then go watch something else. In the event that you do see the film, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Yes, one could argue it looks a bit cheesy today, but hey, I like the 80s atmosphere, & one neat thing about this movie is the cast.

If you are a Sci-Fi buff you'll find yourself going "No way!" a lot as you meet the actors playing these characters. A lot of the main cast ended up on other space stations a couple of years after they made this movie, namely Babylon Five and Deep Space Nine. In that way it has a bit of a neat "When Worlds Collide" vibe for the TV Speculative Fiction buff. Claudia Christian eventually became a regular on B5, and Shari Shattuck made a stopover there too. Both Armin Shimmerman and Marc Alaimo ended up doing yeoman service on DS9, Shimmerman as a regular and Alaimo as a recurring guest. It is neat to see them all together in this one a couple of years before they hit those series roles, and they and the rest of the cast seem to be having fun with it too.

Overall, a highly enjoyable and truly wonderful film. Yes, the effects are shabby, the acting stilted, the story disjointed, but this film does something quite rare, it transports you into a world where these things don't matter. It's a world that is truly believable in the way that modern sci-fi flicks simply are not (I use the recent Star Wars outing as my authority). In the same way that the cantina scene from the original star wars film caught the imagination, this movie does the same. You get a glimpse into a strange and weird world where men in leotards wrestle with giant slugs with a dwarf with four arms as your best friend. Truly unique and amazing fun.

Hey, flailing writers of movies, know how to make a good Sci-Fi movie. Just take a genre, and re-write it as a space movie.

This is a better film that it deserves to be in that it stole a bunch of Clichés from fight movies, and it was made in Italy (almost never a good sign when everyone in the closing credits has a name that ends in the letter "i". )

So what are its good points? Well, it has three actors known for their roles in good Science FIction. Claudia Christian from Babylon 5, and Marc Alaimo and Armin Shimmerman from Star Trek:Deep Space Nine. They take what could be cardboard characters and breathe some life into them.

The special effects are vintage pre-CGI, and some of the creature effects look good, others look kind of hokey.

So not Shakespeare or even Star Wars, but frankly, I found more sympathy for these characters than any of the people standing in front of Green Screens in the Phantom Menace wondering what their motivation was...

Held in a space station is an intergalactic fighting competition that pits all kind of species in the arena of endurance, ability and strength. There hasn't been a human victor in over 50 years and Steve Armstrong decides to take up the challenge, after his friend finds himself in trouble. However to take that crown of champion he must defeat the hideously cocky Horn and overcome attempts by a devious promoter Rogor. Who's trying to stop Steve's advancement through the competition.

I really wanted to relish in "Arena", because for an extremely low budget production (it simply tells), it illustrated a colourful universe and a magnificent range of distinguishable species (think of Star Wars). Sure it doesn't have state of the art visuals, but those limitations didn't worry it and the overall junky and tackiness of it play into its own hands. Who produced this low-end Sci-fi romp? Well, no other than full moon's Charles Brand. So the campy richness and b-grade fixtures were assured from the get-go.

Though, I guess I better get to the point to why I found it to be lacking poise. From very beginning we know how the standard storyline will play out. An underdog theme trumps in as we watch our protagonist start small with obstacles standing in his way and then eventually end a big high note. This predictable pattern is made more foreseeable with the good guys vs. bad guys context. It's pretty old-hat stuff, but one gets used to after a while even if there's a change of scenery to the mix. But this was lesser of its worries. Its main showpiece was the arena and fighting competition itself. Too bad the fight scenes were too few and goofily staged. I was disappointed on this aspect. They lacked any real sort of adrenaline, force and at times completely drag with the same repetitive activity. The only real fight that stood out for me took place outside the arena, when Steve shows us what his made of. I wouldn't blame someone who thinks this is more so a costume show, as Steve is in one fancy looking nappy outfit.

Peter Manoogian's direction is workably sub-par, but lacks flair in his vision. The photography is quite stuffy and trumping in is Richard Brand's cornball music score. Those filming techniques might not blow you away, but they are acceptably achieved. John Carl Buechler's make-up is detailed (though not always perfect) and adds the to the film's spirit. The cold script is flooded with ineptness, but thankfully it's laced with agreeably witty banter. The performances aren't anything special, but solid enough. Paul Strathfield makes a likable working class heroine, if not much else. There's the familiar face of the succulent and biting Claudia Christian. Eye candy is in the shape of Shari Shattuck. Marco Alaimo goes out of his way to look and act real sinister as Rogor. Hamilton Camp and Armin Shimerman play the supporting roles in mostly a comical tone.

Dreams can come true, but that wasn't entirely the case here. Rather than be exciting, it's diverting at best.