All bets are off at a corrupt intergalactic fighting competition where a system removes the fighter's advantage, no matter what species and puts them on an even standing. Made and released in the UK in 1989, like Robot Jox, Crash & Burn, Oblivion and other Charles Band productions the lack of money is obvious but this B-film captures the imagination which many larger budgeted films fail to do. Arena taps into a time when fighting films had peaked and Rocky was deep rooted in the conciseness along with WWF specials. Director Peter Manoogian offers plenty of showdowns. His direction is fine and many of the makeup and special effects still hold up. In a cast of outlandish aliens Claudia Christian features as Quinn and the Christopher Reeve-a-like Paul Satterfield's Steve Armstrong works as the stereotype hero.Despite its clichés and the fact it was never going to win any Oscars its many references to other science fictions and fresh concept makes it an enjoyable low budget science fiction.

Filmed in Italy by Charles Bands' Empire Pictures company, the likably cheese ball movie "Arena" is good fun for an undemanding viewer, comfortably predictable and with the usual assortment of good guys and bad guys. It's your basic tournament-based action flick, but with a twist: it takes place in a sci-fi setting, and most of the fighters are alien monsters. The champion among them is an egomaniac named Horn (Michael Deak, "Abominable"). Our hero is nice guy Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield, "Creepshow 2"), who only really wants to return to Earth. But when he needs to come up with some money in a hurry to pay off a smooth criminal, Rogor (Marc Alaimo, "Tango & Cash"), he agrees to participate in the tournament.One gets no prizes for guessing what ultimately develops in this script, written by Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo, the guys who concocted "Trancers" among other comedies and genre pictures. But there's still a reasonable amount of fun to be had in watching this stuff. You sure don't have to spend any time exercising your brain. You just enjoy the comedy, the sets, the basically decent acting, and the impressive display of masks and makeup effects created by John Carl Buechler and company. There's a lot of variety in their work. Also lending his abilities is unsung talent Screaming Mad George. The fighting is never exactly that great, but it is good for some laughs here and there.Supporting Satterfield are a group of familiar faces. Hamilton Camp ("Evilspeak") is four armed Shorty, Steves' loyal sidekick. The stunning Claudia Christian ('Babylon 5', "The Hidden") and Shari Shattuck ("The Naked Cage", 'The Young and the Restless') as irresistible eye candy, Armin Shimerman as Weezil (buried under heavy makeup a couple of years before assuming his signature role of Quark in 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'), William Butler ("Night of the Living Dead" '90) as Skull, and legendary comedian Jack Carter as an enthusiastic announcer. Shattuck also gets to perform two songs.Overall, an amusing 94 minute long diversion.Six out of 10.

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.

Arena is set on a huge space station where an intergalactic sports event known as Arena takes place, all shapes & sizes of alien creatures gather to go head-to-head in the arena where the aim is to simply beat your opponent in a test of strength, skill & stamina. There hasn't been a human champion for 50 years but professional fighter Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield) feels he has what it takes, when he beats up one of sexy fight promoter Quinn's (Claudia Christian) prize fighters he gets his opportunity in the arena. Coached by his buddy Shorty (Hamilton Camp) & guided by Quinn Armstrong is a revelation & quickly become the No. 1 contender for the title of champion which a nasty alien creature named Horn (Michael Deak) currently retains. However evil promoter Rogor (Marc Alaimo) fears that his man may lose & decides to use dishonest methods to fix the fight, but will Armstrong's spirit & determination see him through...This Italian American co-production was directed by Peter Manoogian & was better than I had expected. The script by Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo which takes itself pretty seriously is basically an underdog tale, someone overcoming the odds & succeeding & in that respect it's all too obvious what's going to happen & how things are going to turn out. I suppose you could describe Arena as an intergalactic version of Rocky (1976) & in that sense it is quite successful. The character's are decent & the comic relief isn't too annoying & the dialogue is OK. The film moves along at a nice pace & is never that dull although I thought it could have done with a few more fights because as it stands there is only three which isn't really enough. Arena provides fair entertainment, it plays quite well & overall I liked it.Director Manoogian does an OK job, there isn't much style to it but it looks alright. I was impressed by the aliens, there are loads of them & while some of the make-up/masks look a bit rubbery/spray-painted they show imagination & effort, I especially liked the huge Sloth creature who looks like a cross between a lizard, a slug & grasshopper if you can even begin to imagine that! Horn looked quite good as well especially his facial movements. The violence is very tame & the fights aren't that great which is the biggest disappointment about Arena really.Produced by Empire pictures (maybe better know for it's horror output) & shot in Italy Arena is quite well made although I doubt it had a massive budget. The special effects vary, none are outstanding but you feel the filmmakers did the best with what they had. The acting was OK although Satterfield makes for a somewhat dull hero, Christian looked pretty sexy.Arena was a decent film in my opinion & better than I was expecting, it certainly isn't a masterpiece but provides simple & undemanding entertainment. Could have been better but could have been worse, just about worth a watch if you can find a copy going (very) cheap.