Remembering having seen the 1985 movie "Barbarian Queen", though not being overly impressed with it, I opted to sit down and watch the 1989 sequel titled "Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back", as I happened to find it by random chance here in 2023.
Now, the good news here is that if you enjoyed the 1985 first movie then you will definitely also enjoy this 1989 sequel. Why? Well, because it has the same amount of dubious swordfighting, scantily clad women, questionable storyline and all the cheese of the 1985 movie.
I found "Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back" to be on the same level as the 1985 movie, so I wasn't particularly impressed with Joe Finley's sequel. Sure, it was watchable for the cheesy adventure fantasy that it was, and that cheese is thick 1980s cheese with an appeal to the adolescent audience. Writers Howard R. Cohen and Lance Smith just didn't bring anything magical to the screen here.
And while I did manage to sit through all 80 minutes of it, this is hardly a movie that I will return to watch a second time. Truth be told, then "Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back" just didn't do much to appeal to my life-long admiration for all things fantasy.
The acting performances in "Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back" were as you would expect for a movie such as this. It wasn't exactly bad acting performances, I will say that much. But nor were there any particularly outstanding or memorable acting performances on the screen.
The swordfights in the movie were rigid and poorly executed on the screen. It looked campy and cheesy, all in that glorious 1980s feel.
My rating of "Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back" lands on a four out of ten stars.
