Here's a disappointingly routine peplum yarn made to cash in on the hulking presence of Steve Reeves, who became an international hot property after the success of the two HERCULES films. It's not that this is a bad film, for it's well made and lavish-looking in places, but the depressingly familiar plot contains few interesting characters and even less story. The pacing seems slow and is hampered by a subplot involving the romance between Reeves and Lidia, the daughter of a barbarian general. GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS is worth watching for Steve Reeves fans or for those just starting out in the genre, but to peplum fans it just looks the same as a hundred others and offers nothing new.
Steve Reeves stars at the peak of his physical perfection, enjoying every moment of his on screen attention as the camera gazes at his bulging biceps and rippling muscles. The best scenes in the film come when Reeves is forced to take part in two "impossible" tasks - the first is a deadly tug-o-war game, the second the much-remembered "horse pulling" incident in which two wild horses are tied to Reeves' arms and then whipped to go in opposite directions, threatening to pop his limbs from his very sockets. With every muscle straining, Reeves finally manages to reign in the wild beasts and win both the approval of the crowd and his freedom.
The supporting cast are an unmemorable bunch even for Italian movies, with nary a sympathetic character in sight. They're just plain boring and its difficult to care about their fate. Giulia Rubini is not the prettiest of Italian leading ladies but her feisty character is worthwhile. Chief menace comes from Livio Lorenzon who plays the imposing Igor, a bald-headed brute who goes around brutalising and raping those in his path. The satisfying conclusion watches as his body is repeatedly broken by Reeves in his quest for revenge.
There aren't many battle sequences in the film, aside from the finale which unforgivably takes place in the dark thus lessening the impact. Scenes of a disguised Reeves, dressed in animal furs and known as "the Goliath" (so that's where the name came from) as he goes around slaughtering his foe are undoubtedly enjoyable though. The depiction of the barbarians massacring their enemy is a strong one and often brutally violent, as their victims are repeatedly speared or stabbed to death by the enemy. Despite having good production values and a strong leading man, GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS is finally just a routine escapade in which a drop of imagination could have worked wonders.
Steve Reeves stars at the peak of his physical perfection, enjoying every moment of his on screen attention as the camera gazes at his bulging biceps and rippling muscles. The best scenes in the film come when Reeves is forced to take part in two "impossible" tasks - the first is a deadly tug-o-war game, the second the much-remembered "horse pulling" incident in which two wild horses are tied to Reeves' arms and then whipped to go in opposite directions, threatening to pop his limbs from his very sockets. With every muscle straining, Reeves finally manages to reign in the wild beasts and win both the approval of the crowd and his freedom.
The supporting cast are an unmemorable bunch even for Italian movies, with nary a sympathetic character in sight. They're just plain boring and its difficult to care about their fate. Giulia Rubini is not the prettiest of Italian leading ladies but her feisty character is worthwhile. Chief menace comes from Livio Lorenzon who plays the imposing Igor, a bald-headed brute who goes around brutalising and raping those in his path. The satisfying conclusion watches as his body is repeatedly broken by Reeves in his quest for revenge.
There aren't many battle sequences in the film, aside from the finale which unforgivably takes place in the dark thus lessening the impact. Scenes of a disguised Reeves, dressed in animal furs and known as "the Goliath" (so that's where the name came from) as he goes around slaughtering his foe are undoubtedly enjoyable though. The depiction of the barbarians massacring their enemy is a strong one and often brutally violent, as their victims are repeatedly speared or stabbed to death by the enemy. Despite having good production values and a strong leading man, GOLIATH AND THE BARBARIANS is finally just a routine escapade in which a drop of imagination could have worked wonders.