Rating: **
Review Date: 8/26/18
Cast: David Carradine, Maria Socas, Anthony De Longis
A wandering warrior named Kain (David Carradine) comes across a village whose water supply is contested by two opposing tyrants. Looking to make some quick cash, he sells his talents to the highest bidder and ends up escalating the conflict between the two factions. But it's just a diversion to help him rescue the sorceress Naja (Maria Socas), who has the ability to forge an enchanted sword.
It's essentially another retelling of Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo", but in a sword-and-sorcery setting. David Carradine is a laughably terrible actor, but he has an undeniable swagger and his air of disdain is tangible. He tries hard to come across as a tough and mean warrior, but he's really just a giant doofus. Anthony De Longis, on the other hand, makes an excellent warrior and is the only one in the cast who looks the part. The action scenes are embarrassingly awful, and although Carradine's movements look graceful, his execution is slow and soft. The one exception is his final sword fight with De Longis, which features more complex choreography and better timing. Unfortunately, it was shot too tight, so you can't really see what's going on.
Overall, the film looks good and makes excellent use of its barren desert location. The music score is bold and has a definite James Horner feel, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was lifted from another film, as Roger Corman had a tendency to do that. The story isn't particularly good or memorable, but I give the filmmakers credit for keeping the tone and presentation straight and serious. Since it was the 80's, there's also a fair amount of skin on display and Argentinean beauty Maria Socas is inexplicably topless for the entire film. But I'm not complaining. She has beautiful breasts and carries herself with such confidence and authority that you never really question her nudity. The most outrageous scene in the film (and arguably the film's best moment) features an exotic dancer with four breasts (???) and a poisonous appendage that strikes out of her crotch like a snake. I have no idea what was going on there, but it was certainly a surprise. "The Warrior And The Sorceress" isn't a good movie by any stretch, but if you have a fondness for trashy sword-and-sorcery films, there are far worse that you could choose from.