For sure, the camera pays as loving attention to the impressive slow-motion explosions as it does to Claudia Jennings' nude form. More so, in fact, and more's the pity. The explosives credit is given to Roger George, who took advantage of every possible excuse to send fireballs roaring into the sky, so if that was you, Roger, we salute you! Otherwise, well, you know you're in trouble when the movie opens with David Carradine riding on horseback in a fur cape and a loincloth, a scene which left me asking myself, "If I had a hand blaster that would vaporize people, would I really bother carrying around a heavy-ass sword?" The answer is, probably, because Range Guides think swords are awesome cool just like everybody else.For most of its brief running time the movie is an unexceptional assemblage of awkward action scenes...for example, when the good guys battle the bad guys on motorcycles, it's rarely clear which stunt guy getting blasted is supposed to represent which actor...and cheesy dialog, although the late great Richard Lynch must have thought it ironic to mutter the lines "A man is a candle...He must set himself afire to create a life." That the movie credits two directors might explain why the final duel, which is set up with a sweeping 360-degree tracking shot, has a sense of style and grandeur which the rest of the movie is sorely lacking, clearly inspired by someone watching a lot of samurai and Wuxia films. Suddenly we realize that wow, this really IS what we were waiting for the whole time, just as David Carradine was waiting for a chance to finally show his stuff.

This film has an abysmal 2.8 rating on IMDb, but I didn't think it was anywhere near that bad. In my opinion, a movie can only really be bad if it's boring, and this movie isn't that. It is cheap and poorly made, but it's moderately fun and you can laugh at it. So it's not any kind of horrid failure. It's kind of an unofficial follow-up to one of Roger Corman's more popular productions, Death Race 2000, in that it's about a motor sport created to distract the unwashed masses and stars David Carradine. It also takes place in the future. This future is post-apocalyptic, and David Carrdine, along with hottie Claudia Jennings, are warriors who live in the wastelands. They are captured by "civilization" (which includes crazy ruler David McLean and his minion Richard Lynch) and, along with a doctor who diagnosed McLean's sanity and his rebel son (William Smithers and Will Walker, respectively), they're forced to participate in deathsport, where they basically try to survive while menacing soldiers on deathcycles try to waste them. The titular deathsport really only lasts for a few minutes in the film, and then the rest of the movie has the four heroes escaping on the deathcycles while pursued by Lynch and his thugs. The movie ends with a hilarious duel between Carradine and Lynch, using "whistlers", which are clear plastic swords that whistle when you swing them.

"Deathsport" is one of those films that have been lying on my DVD-shelf unwatched since years already because, quite frankly, it always looked like a really stupid movie and I have to be in a rare and specific mood to enjoy really stupid movies. But right now I was in urgent need of a movie starring David Carradine and this was the only one within reach. Come to think of it, I ought to have selected a much better movie for my tribute to this terrific cult/action cinema legend that sadly passed away this week (3rd of June 2009). "Deathsport" is a prototypic Roger Corman product from the late 70's. Obviously cheap and rapidly put together in order to further cash in on the unexpected but giant success of the previous "Death Race 2000"; also starring Carradine and also set in a crazed futuristic setting. But apart from this handful of superficial elements (also including the similar title), there's actually no real connection between "Death Race" and "Deathsport". This is merely an attempt to imitate "Star Wars", with a lot of cheesy light-and-laser weaponry, and an unintentional predecessor to post-apocalyptic gladiator movies that became particularly popular during the 80's. In a very distant future, practically the entire world has been destroyed due to nuclear warfare. Only a few big cities are left, surrounded by endless wastelands where cannibalistic mutants are continuously on the prowl. Life inside the big city isn't that much better, though, as Lord Zirpola is slowly going bonkers through brain disease and becomes increasingly obsessed with "Deathsport". This is a Roman-type of arena battle and Zirpola ordered his right hand – the malignant Ankar Moor – to capture the mystically empowered Range Guides Kaz Oshay and Deneer to fight till the death. The Guides are good hearted nomads, however, and rather than to obey and fight, they flee into the wastelands. Okay, admittedly this sounds like a rather complex and ambitious plot, but I can assure you that "Deathsport" is actually a pretty brainless and rudimentary Sci-Fi vehicle. Everybody always complains about the low quality level of early 80's Italian apocalypse movies, but honestly flicks like "The New Gladiators", "The Atlantis Interceptors", "Endgame" and "The New Barbarians" are a whole lot better than this dud. "Deathsport" is boring and repetitive, with really laughable special effects (the vaporizing weapon looks like a vacuum cleaner) and pitiable scenery (the so-called Death Machines are ordinary bikes with a metal plant on the front). The only highlights in the film occur whenever Richard Lynch appears on screen, as he gives away a deliciously over-the-top cheesy performance as the evil and crazy-eyed Ankar Moor. Well okay, other highlights include Claudia Jennings' multiple nude sequences and the scene where a dude drives off of a tremendously high cliff in slow-motion. David Carradine is sadly mundane and uninspired in this lame production and this definitely isn't one of the movies he'll get remembered for. I can list at least two dozen of movies that I rather watched instead. Rest in peace, grasshopper. You were the total definition of cool and handsome.

Deathsport, was the sequel to Deathrace 2000. It stars David Carradine, and the late Claudia Jennings. Science fiction films were enjoying a resurgence in the late 70s, after virtually disappearing from the silver-screen, earlier in the decade. This was no doubt, due to the phenomenal box-office success of Star Wars. This film has lots of flashy special effects, noble heroes (Jennings and Carradine), sinister villains, high-tech weaponry, fast futuristic vehicles, etc., etc., etc. Only Deathsport is a film that takes place right here on Earth, rather than in outer space. So, that's mainly what differentiates it from the traditional science fiction movie.The dialog in Deathsport is excessively lofty, and winds-up being laughable as a result. You just can't take it seriously. It's a pity that both Carradine and Jennings, are stuck having to recite such hokey lines. The two of them, are what really holds this otherwise mediocre film together. Both Jennings and Carradine have a good chemistry between them, and are well-matched in their acting abilities.The performances of Claudia Jennings and David Carradine, are the only reason to see Deathsport. Otherwise it's a humorless, boring movie, and not worth your time.