This movie is dire, sorry but it is. I'm not sure how Sharon Stone ever got another job, frankly, because she's ham and then some! The story of King Solomon's Mines was very exciting and a great read - this has so little to do with it that frankly it's an insult to give it that title. There is purpose to the book, there is no purpose whatever to this movie and oh dear, oh dear, just how insulting to other races can you get?No, I'm sorry, but if this is a sample of what 1985 movies were like, then thank goodness we've moved on - and one has to say of it's similarity to Indiana Jones, at least they were new stories ... this is supposed to bear some resemblance (one supposes) to a great book!Badly acted - by everybody, badly written and unbelievably crass!

Ever in search of adventure, Allan Quatermain agrees to join Jesse Huston on a mission to locate her archaeologist father, who has been abducted for his knowledge of the legendary mines of King Solomon. As the kidnappers, led by German military officer Bockner, journey into the wilds of Africa, Allan and Jesse track the party and must contend with fierce natives and dangerous creatures, among other perils.......The Cannon Group, arguably the finest makers of really cheesy movies that were churned out during the finest decade ever...........The wonderful Eighties.Here was their chance to try and emulate the success of one Indiana Jones, but without the budget, it was always going to be a hard sell, and the fact that it's adapted by such a wonderful piece of art, was going to make it all the more difficult, so they don't even begin to try, and this is why it's just so watchable for all the wrong reasons.The predominant problem with the film is the fact that Chamberlain isn't even trying with the character of Quartermain, he's obviously been told by the producers to do his best Harrison Ford impression, and while he's perfectly average in the film, that's all he is, a poor mans Harrison Ford, and he just doesn't put any effort into the actions sequences or the one liners, he just looks like Ford a bit, and moves like a constipated middle aged man with a hangover.Stone fares little better, but to be fair on her, she was at the beginning of her career, and she just plays the eye candy in peril.But the mind boggles as to why Herbert Lom decided to appear in this. Here is a man who is such a prolific actor in his own right, he didn't need to be in something so absurd. It's like imaging Charlton Heston appearing in a Van Damme movie..................oh wait a minute....But there is a lot of fun to be had. The special effects are so bad that the green screen should have been credited as a main character, and then there's the escape in the large cumbersome cooking pot, and the spider, one of the poorest special effects ever committed to the big screen.See it for all the wrong reasons, it's a film for lovers of bad movies, it's nothing seriously awful, because it's so stupid, but the sight of Chamberlain riding rail tracks like water skis does stay with you.......

When Richard Chamberlin signed on to portray adventurer Allan Quatermain in this (1985) version of H. R. Haggard's novel "King Solomon's Mines," he probably gave no thought to how his co-star, the young Sharon Stone, would look on screen.Bad move, Richard. But it's a great boon for us viewers. The then 27-year-old Stone wears short shorts almost all throughout the movie, and after about two reels it's a strong bet that the audience was fixated on Sharon's gorgeous legs, never mind Chamberlin and his quest for African gold.The picture did well enough that the following year, 1986, a sequel was mounted, "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold," again starring Richard Chamberlin and Sharon Stone. This time, however, Sharon wore long pants all the way through, and judging by the warm reception of Sharon's legs in the original film, there was absolutely NO reason to hide those perfect pins in the sequel. Maybe Chamberlin, the nominal star of the picture, objected to being upstaged... again?Dan Navarro [email protected]

Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) is on a mission to find her lost father, she enlists the help of legendary explorer Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) and both of them set off on their perilous journey.Bland, routine and deserving of its reputation as an illegitimate sprog cash in of Indiana Jones. Director J Lee Thompson and his writers adapt H. Rider Haggard's classic novel and effectively hope that writing set piece after set piece will make for an exhilarating adventure movie. It doesn't. Bad script, bad acting, poor special effects, roller-coaster pacing, cringe-worthy dialogue and the sets look to have been knocked up overnight. It's not as if Chamberlain & Stone can't act, because they can, it's just that they are reduced to cartoon fodder and both look very uncomfortable in doing so. John Rhys-Davies adds some fun as Dogati but poor Herbert Lom phones it in as an ultimate caricature German villain. There's some interest in the pre-fame Stone's attire for the red blooded male, watch as her shorts grow steadily shorter during the film. And for the girls who like beards, well Richie Chamberlain sports a candidate for the world's tidiest beard throughout the adventure mockery; tho not quite as tidy as the frothy one worn by a big old fake spider.Don't believe those who say it's in the "so bad it's good" category, it's just terrible and you are strongly advised to seek out either the 1937 or 1950 version instead. 2/10