mightymothra A vastly over-ambitious amalgamation of Escape from New York, Planet of the Apes, Robocop, and Conan the Barbarian, that is somehow nothing like any of those. It rolls in ridiculous and unexpected directions, flipping from one subplot to the next at rapid-fire pace.It is a mess, to be sure, but my god is it entertaining.The characters are very lovable, and the production of the war-ravaged New York are really quite good. The earnest attempts at horror and action are charming and fun, if constantly goofy.I loved that this flick took itself as seriously as it did. A very fun watch.

Leofwine_draca Undemanding, ultimately just plain fun post-apocalypse addition to the Italian cycle of sci-fi films, and another feather in the cap of director Sergio Martino (ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN) – so far I haven't seen an unenjoyable film directed by this underrated man. The menu for this particular outing is cheese, cheese and more cheese, with action thriving on an incredible low budget (although not a zero budget) and the plot being pretty much ripped off from ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK: a man is sent into a futuristic New York, has to acquire the last fertile woman on earth, and escape again.It's as simple as that, although there are lots of companions along the way, a couple of twists, conspiracies and supposed shocks which aren't really too surprising after all. Martino is one of my favourite of the Italian trash directors and here he shows a firm hand regards the pacing, which throws in plenty of action throughout to make the film fly by. As a result it far surpasses the Carpenter film which it ripped of in the first place.Just about every Italian post-apocalypse film cliché is thrown into this blender of a film at some point or another : we have the masked bad guys riding around on horseback (see also SHE); the cyborgs or androids (any post-1980 sci-fi film, although they predate THE TERMINATOR by a year here); the attractive female companion; the souped-up vehicles and chase scenes a la MAD MAX 2 (relegated to a single pointless car battle at the film's opening); cheap and cheesy laser beam shots (popular in any post-STAR WARS sci-fi film), weird sound effects, dwarfs and even a few gore effects which are fleeting but fun (the eye gouging and head explosion are notables).The emphasis is on action, with a ton of surprisingly efficient chase scenes, shoot-outs, fist-fights and plenty more shenanigans of this variety. Okay, so its not gonna equal the scope of TERMINATOR 2, but at least it is enjoyable in a cheap kind of way. Martino fills his movie with miniature effects work which is surprisingly decent and while many of the film's props are cheap-looking, I always appreciate the effort that goes into their creation – far better than just throwing in a CGI effect shot created on the computer as with today's cinema.Trash fans will have fun spotting the various familiar cast members. That's Haruhiko Yamanouchi (ENDGAME) as a rat-eating gang leader; lean elder Romano Puppo (GUN LAW) as the tough ally; overacting wannabe-thesp Edmund Purdom (PIECES) as the dying President; handsome, Bruce Campbell-lookalike Michael Sopkiw (BLASTFIGHTER) as the long-haired leading man; plus big George Eastman (ANTHROPOPHAGUS THE BEAST) as the hilariously – and simply – titled 'Big Ape'. It's all good and undemanding fun for fans of this particular sub-genre, and you could do a lot, lot worse.

Comeuppance Reviews Classic Sopkiw.Michael Sopkiw plays Parsifal, a guy who loves racing cars around the Arizona desert and basking in the love of his fans for beating his opponents on the post-apocalyptic racing circuit. But his world is interrupted when he's summoned to a secret base by The President of the Pan-American Confederacy (Purdom). He's informed that he must break into New York City - which is controlled by deadly gangs called the Euraks - to rescue a woman from their clutches who can perhaps help to replenish the depleted population of earth. He also gets assigned two helpers: Ratchet (Puppo), who's supposed to be one of the strongest men left on the planet, and Bronx (Scalondro), a man who has memorized the map of New York. During their mission, the three men meet tons of trials and tribulations, not the least of which is New York's serious rat problem. They meet many wacky characters along the way, such as Big Ape (Eastman). Will they get out of NYC alive and save the world? Find out today! Despite being the pride of our home state, Connecticut, Sopkiw starred almost exclusively in Italian productions. Between 1983-1985 he appeared in 2019, then did two movies for Lamberto Bava: Blastfighter (1984) and Devil Fish (also 1984), then one more for Michele Massimo Tarantini, Massacre In Dinosaur Valley (1985) then all but disappeared. Just more evidence that the 80's was awesome - Italian productions were flourishing, and stars like Sopkiw had venues to flower and we got to know them all through our local video stores. Sadly, that time is over, but gems like 2019 provide much-appreciated artifacts from that golden time period.2019 appears to be the result of Sergio Martino throwing his hat into the then-hot post-apocalyptic genre. The movie has all the insane outfits, wonderfully decorated sets, innovative weapons and vehicles with crazy crap glued to them that any Italian post-nuke movie would have, and that fans have grown to love and have become accustomed to. Of course that includes flamethrowers and "Pew Pew" lasers. These movies were primarily meant to entertain, and 2019 completely succeeds. It has the ultimate coolguy for a hero, plenty of wild situations intermixed with brutal violence, and the time-honored innovations we often talk about, ensuring an 80's Video Store Classic.Speaking of video stores (though when aren't we?), when 2019 was released on VHS by Vestron, they dropped the 2019 and just went with After the Fall of New York. Could this be because they wanted to bring the similarities to Escape From New York (1981) front and center? Nah. Can't be. But then Joe D'Amato's 2020 Texas Gladiators (1984) presumably picked up where this movie left off? Regardless, the Guido and Maurizio DeAngelis music (using their pseudonym Oliver Onions) is typically solid and appropriately synthy and futuristic. Their soundtrack to Street Law (1974) is hard to beat, but this one is a winner as well.The Media Blasters DVD is a must-own if you're into the Italian post-apocalyptic genre. It looks great in widescreen and even has an intro from Michael Sopkiw. We recommend it.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

bob_hamer2004 I can only assume they gave 2 10 yr old school kids 20 bucks and a dodgey camera to make this movie. Its so bad its hilarious. Get 2 retarded 10 year olds and tell them to make a film thats a rip off of mad max, planet of the apes and escape from new york. Lol it looks like they have used a bowl of water and a 2 inch plastic model of the statue of liberty. I forced myself to watch half of this movie, then collapsed laughing its so bad. Its beyond belief bad. I just cant accept any movie producer or director can be so totally brain dead they get financed to make such appalling trash. I've given it 1 out of 10. Worst movie of all time lol.