Iron Warrior (1987) User Reviews

80's arthouse fantasy

[vampiremovies · 2/10 · 29 July 2003]

This is very different from the standard sword 'n sandal pics, and indeed the other two Ator films. It feels more like an art house film. Lots of swirling cloths, slomo-scenes, coloured filters, weird hair styles and make up and a WTF?! Ending. Our princess wears dresses made of swirling cloths in either scarlet or blue, she has pink lips and one pink eyebrow (weird) and her hair is kinda gathered into this crest like a Greek helmet which is just odd. Ator, has his hair done like a girl, beautifully braided and is too neat and styalised to be the 'warrior hero' he is supposed to be. The whole thing feels like a rock video, or an advert for something. The one great thing is that it isn't dubbed.

This is by the director of the awful 1973 'Beauty of the Barbarian' and had I known that I might not have bought it. This is a terrible film. Nothing much happens, its very very arty ie: pretty in a very 80's kind of way, but not much substance. The music is again poorly chosen, though its not as cringeworthy as the skippy the kangaroo stylee stuff from 'beauty of the barbarian'. The characters are underdeveloped, and although Miles O'Keeffe is undeniably lovely to look at, even he cannot save this film. The ending is sudden, weird and non sensical, if you can make it that far. The special effects like Phaedra's spinning hula hoop are tacky. There is no tension, no emotion, no real story and even the sword fights aren't particularly exciting. Still, it is quite pretty, the scenery (its filmed in Malta) is beautiful, and it does have a shirtless Miles O'Keeffe.

Lovely to look at but confusing as hell!

[HaemovoreRex · 2/10 · 13 June 2005]

I must admit to being quite a fan of the B-movie magic that the first two Ator movies possessed. Granted they were no masterworks for sure, but they held a curious fascination in their muddled execution that somehow made them innately enjoyable.

Sadly the same enjoyment is not heavily abundant in this the third film in the series, which also serves as the last to feature the always great value for money Miles O'Keeffe (there is a fourth film, 'Quest For The Mighty Sword' but it has a different actor in the role of Ator)

The very first problem with this movie becomes evident as soon as the films score begins to play.....it is merely a resequenced version of Gerry Goldsmith's theme to Star Trek: The Motion Picture! (and also the main theme to the series of Star Trek: The Next Generation) In fact, as the movie progresses we also hear that the 'composer' for this film has also ripped off some of John Barry's score to Bruce Lee's movie, 'Game Of Death', again slightly re-sequencing it in a pathetic attempt to cover his unscrupulous tracks.

It quickly becomes apparent that it isn't just the music that has been stolen however.....the whole film has been compiled from scenes from other (infinitely better) movies!

For instance, we find a scene in which the movies evil sorceress is imprisoned within some spinning hula hoops whilst being judged by an external council: Hmmmm Superman 2 anyone?

Still....one could argue that this IS after all a B-movie, which usually by their very nature are shall we say, HEAVILY inspired by bigger, better films, so we could perhaps overlook such blatant piracy - erm, I mean inspiration.

OK then, so what of the actual plot?

This had a plot? If there was one then I'll be damned if I could decipher it. It just seemed like a series of random, unconnected scenes that flowed briskly past my eyes rendering me into a gormless stupor.

Well OK, I've been a bit harsh, I'll attempt to relay what I THINK was happening......

At the start we see Ator and his twin brother as children (yes this film completely throws out of the window the events of the first two films) Ator's brother is subsequently kidnapped by an evil witch who's motive is to prevent a prophecy that together, the two brothers will overthrow her.

You can probably guess that the brother is then possessed by the witch's evil and that he and Ator years later will end up battling each other to the death.

There is more to the 'plot' than the above of course but the boredom this movie carried really proved a herculean obstacle in me paying particular attention to it.

I realise that I've painted a universally negative picture of this flick so far but in fact this movie does have a few things that actually work well for it.

Despite all it's plot/screenplay weaknesses, the movie does admittedly look fantastic. It was shot on location in the splendour of Malta and the locations used are truly stunning to behold.

Additionally, the film itself is rather interestingly shot, with virtually every cinematic trick in the book being used at one point or another. It has a very arty feel to it with lots of unusual lighting and fog for greater atmosphere in many of the scenes. In fact with the above combined with the extensive usage of slow motion, one could be forgiven for believing that one was watching an eighties conceptual rock music video!

Finally we have the welcome presence of Miles O'Keeffe who looks great in his role of Ator (although, the distinct lack of any continuity between his character in this film and the previous two would surely suggest that this is indeed a DIFFERENT warrior named Ator altogether)

Overall then, aside from the aforementioned positive aspects, this really is somewhat of a confused mess that I could not recommend to anyone.

However, I suppose one good thing came out of watching this film..... looking at the beautiful scenery where this was shot, I might just book myself a holiday in Malta this year.

The strangest...and the worst.

[gridoon · 2/10 · 4 September 2003]

"Iron Warrior" introduces a new style both for Ator (he has black hair now, in a ponytail, and barely utters more than fifty words in the entire movie) and for the series itself. Director Brescia drops the silliness and campiness of the two D'Amato-directed "Ator" flicks in favor of a pseudo-arty approach. He employs every trick in the book: slow-motion, fast-motion(!), wide-angle lenses, cheap editing tricks to make people "disappear", etc. But the result in nothing more than a ponderous, often incomprehensible film that you may have to struggle to get through. The Malta locations are admittedly very beautiful, though. (*)

Restrained mythology with a beautiful setting.

[pantagruella · 24 November 2003]

I can understand why fans of Sword and Sorcery films might be disappointed with this film. However it is a distinctive tale with some genuinely artistic direction. The Maltese locations are inspired especially when you consider the mystique surrounding those early cultures.

The action sequences don't stand up to modern scrutiny, but the hero certainly looks the part. Trogar isn't the worst unstoppable creature I've seen. The two leads are restrained - you might say 'wooden' but that works well if you accept the film's legendary feel.

The real liveliness of the film comes from the Witchy bad girl who is clearly having fun; and the Timelord-style goddesses who oppose her.

The film isn't exciting but neither is it predictable. The script isn't bad at all and seems to have some ambitions with regard to dualism and the need for balance in the universe.

I won't throw my copy away.

Unbearably bad.

[prpic · 1/10 · 1 September 2001]

When my friend and I walked into the theater to see this film, there were only four other people in the seats. All four of them walked out before the first 30 minutes had passed. That pretty much sums it up for this movie. It is a disjointed mess and almost un-watchable.

"I'll have you drawn and quartered for such insolence!"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 5/10 · 17 December 2022]

Our beefy hero Ator in his third movie comes to the aid of Princess Janna who wants to reclaim her country from an evil sorceress. Cue lots of fighting, chases, magic and scenes that unfortunately don't make much sense. Ator is played again by Miles O'Keefe who again can't act the part but certainly looks the part of a sword wielding warrior. Elisabeth Kaza plays the sorceress Phoedra entertainingly over the top while Savina Gersak as the princess is bland, though she has oddly colourful make-up and distractingly diaphanous clothes.

The main appeal of the film is visual, the costumes and sets and primarily the locations in Malta and Gozo, particularly the seaside village, an outdoor set at Anchor Bay in Malta left over from the 1980 film of 'Popeye'. When the film is on location it is watchable but the plot lets the movie down.

Cheapie sequel

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 9 April 2021]

IRON WARRIOR is the third in the low-budget Ator series of Italian sword and sorcery films. It's that cheap that it makes the first one look like a classic. Alfonso Brescia directs and shoots the picture in sunny Malta, but the story is negligible and merely sees Ator and a female associate battling both the usual gang of villains as well as an indestructible, Mountain-style warrior. Brescia's camerawork is appallingly cheap here - he has a habit of running it along on the ground behind our actors - and O'Keeffe's acting seems to be worse than it was in the first film. The fight scenes are just about okay, which is the only redemption. QUEST FOR THE MIGHTY SWORD, the fourth and final instalment of this series, followed.

There's bad, and there's BAD, and there's Iron Warrior.

[lttmoose · 2/10 · 3 April 2013]

I was flipping through the channels when I caught the very end of this, for lack of a better term, we'll call it a "movie". I saw an old lady dancing on a cliff. Then someone, I assumed he was the hero due to the cheekbones, shoves a torch in her face and she falls off the cliff.

It was so utterly surreal that I wasn't sure if the movie was insane, or if I was insane and had created a vision of it in my madness. I resolved to record the thing the next time it was on and test the limits of my sanity. Yes, like a professor in a Lovecraft story, I had found a mysterious object that could warp your very mind and was convinced I could handle it. How wrong I was.

There's not so much a plot as there are... several things that happen, none of which have any impact on the rest. Remember those cliffs I talked about? Well, get used to them, because almost every scene is shot on, in, or around them. Two kids play with something that looks like a tribble and one is kidnapped, inadvertently saving this poor kid from having to be in the rest of the movie. Three of Warrent's failed auditions for 'Cherry Pie' laugh on a video screen as a hula hoop prison twirls around what appears to be an older Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. A king is assassinated and the princess runs off to raise an army by not wearing a bra.

I would like to reiterate: none of this matters. Not. A. Single. Bit. Except the part about the bra-less princess. I have a feeling that was the entire reason for this film being made.

We then see the hero, he of the chiseled cheek, posing on a hill. His name is Ator, or Ugh-Toorrrrrr, or HrghTrgh, or whatever the actor is told to mimic, because English is clearly not their native language. Something happens with a woman burning his (or someone's, it's not entirely clear) house down with Ator inside. He survives by covering himself with a wet blanket and laughing at the concept of smoke inhalation.

The movie then does what it does best: ignore what just happened and moves on to the next scene. The princess is running from some thugs on horseback and ErrTerr has to save her. She's taken captive by, and I truly wish I was making this up, tying each of her limbs to a horse. The obvious mannequin is then carried over a couple of pre-set spears. No, they don't stab her. No, she doesn't resist and dodge them. Her captors are just passing her over the spears five or six times while HrTuor kills them one by one. Somehow, they manage to keep the mannequin suspended even when they're down to one mook. Movie magic at its finest.

I could go on like this. I really could. The movie never deviates from this pattern, one non-event following the next, each taking a bit of your soul away with it. The fights deserve mention for two reasons. One: there's no acting during them which is a nice break. Two: they provide a perfect example for how to do everything wrong. I showed the movie to two of my friends, both trained and certified stage combatants, and they punched me in the face for, quote "Ruining their careers by associating what they did with something like this," end quote. So there, this movie made two people hate what they do because it did it so bad. We're still friends, I deserved the face-punching.

Music, costuming, cinematography, they're all the products of the '80's. Imagine a post-apocalyptic society rebuilding itself based on Mad Max and VH1 Classic music videos. Then shoot all that by a ten-year-old who got hold of daddy's VHS recorder and just figured out he can make people "disappear" by alternating the pause and record buttons. Set the whole mess to the worst synthesizer demo music you've ever heard wafting from the keyboard aisle at Wal-Mart and you've got Iron Warrior in a nutshell.

In the ancient world, there were only twenty people on the entire planet.

[Boinky8 · 2/10 · 11 August 2011]

This is the third out of four Ator films, and the sequel to MST3K's Cave Dwellers. This is probably the best shot but least entertaining film in the series. It was directed by someone other than Joe D'Amato who tried to take the subject matter seriously and make a dark, brooding Ator film. However, Ator and seriousness do not get along well at all.

All Ator films are horrible. However, the other three are so horrible that they become funny because of their plagiarized plots, cliché characters, toy quality props, and outrageous dialogue. This movie has hardly any of these. It seems like there is nothing to this movie except for Ator and a Princess running around on a beach and getting into sword fights with the same group of extras over and over again.

There is almost no plot to this movie: Ator has to defeat an evil witch by finding the "Golden Chest of the Ages". The movie's ending is not satisfying and does not resolve any elements of the plot; it's more like the movie just stopped when they ran out of budget. There is also little dialog; although the lines that are present are among the worst in the entire Ator Series. The evil witch character gets more dialogue and screen time than Ator, and she really gets annoying after a while. Much of the movie's running time is taken up with scenes where the witch takes the form of almost every other character in the movie just to trick Ator and make him flabbergasted.

The best part about this movie is the filming locations and the cinematography. It was filmed on scrub deserts and ancient ruins on the islands of Malta and Gozo, including some of the oldest stone structures made by humans. In fact, the buildings in which Ator cavorts about are far more interesting than anything that happens to him in this movie. You might get some enjoyment out of the scenic backdrop if you turn off the sound to avoid the terrible music and witch cackling.

Iron Warrior is a mediocre addition to the fantasy genre that may only appeal to diehard fans

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 10 April 2024]

I recently watched the Italian fantasy film 🇮🇹 Iron Warrior (1987) on Tubi. The storyline follows a kingdom plagued by a witch who returns who they threw out before and is back for revenge. The princess of the kingdom escapes and seeks help from a man with a grudge against the witch. Can they overthrow her together?

Directed by Alfonso Brescia (The Conqueror of Atlantis), the film stars Miles O'Keeffe (The Blade Master), Elisabeth Kaza (Rosebud), Savina Gersak (The Lone Runner), and Iris Peynado (Warriors of the Wasteland).

Iron Warrior is undeniably low-budget, and it shows. The costumes, props, wigs, and sets all appear cheap, giving the film a made-for-television feel. It embodies the essence of the 80s with its characters and premise. The acting and dialogue leave much to be desired, and the random poses by characters come across as awkward. However, it's worth noting that the Italian damsels are gorgeous, and there is occasional splashes of nudity. The soundtrack, reminiscent of 80s arcade video game background music, and stands out as a positive aspect.

In conclusion, Iron Warrior is a mediocre addition to the fantasy genre that may only appeal to diehard fans. I would rate it 4/10.

An unconventional Ator and fantasy film

[Rautus · 8/10 · 6 April 2014]

Ator il guerriero di ferro (Iron Warrior) is a 1987 Italian sword and sorcery movie and third entry in the Ator series, the only one not directed by the legendary exploitation and erotica director Joe D'Amato (a man of many pseudonyms) but instead directed by Alfonso Brescia (credited as Al Bradley) Joe D'Amato, who denounced this sequel as a cash-in to "Ator l'invincibile", a film which was a direct copy and cash-in of the 1982 John Millus film "Conan the Barbarian", would later return in 1990 to direct the fourth and final entry "Quest for the Mighty Sword" (Ator III: The Hobgoblin) "Iron Warrior" is often considered the overlooked addition in the series and often criticized for taking itself more serious than Joe D'Amato's more unintentionally campier movies.

But for me, the change of tone is welcomed. Alfonso Brescia has a different style and a different vision making the movie a breath of fresh air and stands out in the series.

Miles O'Keefe returns as Ator in name only. This would mark his final appearance as the bare chested warrior before being replaced by Eric Allan Kramer.

The movie might not be as hilariously campy and entertainingly bad as the previous two entries or the forth film, but it's a unique film in its own right with some beautiful location shots of Malta that sets the mood for a mystical world perfectly, the most has clearly been used with the limited budget at the filmmakers disposal. The movie is an interesting blend of b-movie cheese and art-house creativity. The story is paper thin but is made up for it in the visuals.

One scene in particular features Ator standing in front of a mirror as he practices with a sword, flexing his muscles, a poignant moment that orchestrates the often narcissistic vanity of heroes. There's also a catch, the scene has a second layer, with Ator training in his symmetrical reflection and the ball promptly shattering it, it creates a foreboding sense of the hero being warned that his twin brother Trogar, seduced by the dark side to be become the titular Iron Warrior, has returned.

Despite it's more artistic tone, the movie contains many characteristics to Italian exploitation films, the dubbing, the over the top acting, in particular Elisabeth Kaza who is clearly having fun in the role of the villainess and gives an energetic flare to the film, and most of all, the blatant copying of more bigger known Hollywood movies. "2019: After the Fall of New York" borrowed from "John Carpenter's Escape from New York", "Hell of the Living Dead" borrowed from "Dawn of the Dead" in the case of "Iron Warrior", it's a mix of "Masters of the Universe" and for a complete genre change "Superman II".

A noteworthy mention is the soundtrack, to many sci-fi fans they will no doubt recognize it as Jerry Goldsmith's theme to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", later reused for the intro for "Star Trek: The Next Generation", once again following the movie's trend of being influenced by science fiction as opposed to traditional sword and sorcery.

So sit back, sharpen your swords and embark on a mythical journey to the realm of Dragor for the unconventional Ator and fantasy film, "Iron Warrior"

The Third (and Strangest) of the Ator Movies

[jrd_73 · 6/10 · 1 February 2023]

The first Ator film, Ator The Fighting Eagle, was, for undiscriminating sword and sorcery fans, an enjoyable enough low-budget Conan ripoff. It was about on par with the first Deathstalker movie. The second Ator film, The Blade Master, was incredibly cheap and cheesy with hang-gliding and possibly the fakest looking giant snake I have ever seen in a motion picture. The fourth film, Quest for the Mighty Sword, did not have Miles O'Keefe as Ator and thus was not the same. I have no idea why O'Keefe did not come back for the fourth film, maybe because he knew there was no way it would top the third, Iron Warrior, easily the weirdest entry in the series.

Weird, how, some may ask. Joe D'Amato is gone as director and new director and co-writer Alfonso Brescia (Al Bradley) brings an artificially arty look to the film and proceedings. Its low-fi existentialism suggests Monte Hellman making a fantasy, but the bright colored lighting is like mid-1980s Miami Vice. Iron Warrior does far more than suggest with some of its influences.

Remember that scene in the 1978 Superman movie when General Zod and his co-conspirators are tried and exiled? Well, prepare to see a variation on the scene early on in Iron Warrior. How about when the evil sorceress Phoedra crashes the princess's birthday party with a "gift," a scene that comes straight from Sleeping Beauty. Fantasy fans may remember how in Excalibur Morgana imprisoned Merlin, well, guess what, it is here as well. Oh, a boulder similar to The Raiders of the Lost Ark is also present. These blatant thefts, in a way, add to the film's unusual charm.

Charm? Is there anything to recommend Iron Warrior? Yes, Miles O'Keefe, who played Ator in the first three films, brings some much needed gravity to the role in this movie. The character has lost his swagger and is more weary. O'Keefe plays this well. Iron Warrior does have the best performance I have ever seen from O'Keefe. Second, the film is not boring. It is so odd that one keeps wondering what will happen next.

Iron Warrior's story is mostly typical of fantasy films - an evil sorceress, separated brothers, a princess, and a quest. There is disappointingly no monster however. The film does have an unusual, for the genre, female driven plotline. The beings controlling the mere mortals are all women, sorceresses. It is a change that makes Iron Warrior feel different than the other Ator movies. Although, to be honest, story continuity is pretty much ignored throughout the Ator series.

Some may wonder why I am defending what is clearly a low budget, genre-robbing movie.

Sometimes one will watch a "good" movie and like it but never watch it a second time, either deliberately or one just never gets in a mood to re-watch it. Then, there is the occasional "bad" film that one will watch multiple times. I have watched Iron Warrior twice now. I strongly suspect I will watch it at least a third time. I do still prefer Ator, the Fighting Eagle, but I have soft spot for Iron Warrior.

Rarely seen masterpiece

[Pro Jury · 10/10 · 16 April 2013]

*** This review contains many spoilers. ***

The best, most fun, movie experience I had in over 10 years.

IRON WARRIOR wipes away the silly cartoonish AVATAR, THE 300, LORD OF THE RINGS, and new-fangled non-classic STAR WARS, etc, and restores the dream that once was honest-to-goodness real life fantasy.

The only downside with IRON WARRIOR is the realization that this type of movie could _NEVER_ be made in today's fake digital CG world.

IRON WARRIOR is a fantasy movie filled to frame edge with crisp realism. Forget artificial studio reproductions of the great outdoors -- IRON WARRIOR is filmed in the real outdoors of Malta. Forget cartoon girls and cartoon boys -- IRON WARRIOR lets viewers enjoy the real flesh of nice looking actors.

The movie contains many wide-angle views of open skies and blue seas. It is a wonder how these shots are not filled with jet trails and pleasure boats. Still, the picturesque sky and ocean are just the beginning of what IRON WARRIOR has to offer.

IRON WARRIOR is very easy to watch. The good guys are young and beautiful. The bad guys are old and ugly. The lead male hero is a striking figure with a face that must have inspired decades of Japanese anime artists.

The young females are all running around in a time before bras. The female costumes outdo any I can recall. Even better than the ST: TOS female costumes.

Once the viewer comes to understand the implications presented by the female costumes, apt attention and an erect edge-of-seat position will follow right up until the ending credits.

The costumes help make IRON WARRIOR stacked with great adult visual appeal. Visually stunning to be sure.

IRON WARRIOR has Borg. It has swords. It has D-sized excitement.

Just when you might think it could not be any better, there is slow-motion bouncing and slow-motion hero running.

Then again, just when it could not be any better, IRON WARRIOR has swimming.

And then close to the very end of the film, just when surely it could not get any better, the actors start talking and BAM! -- we viewers discover that IRON WARRIOR actually has a plot! IRON WARRIOR is the coolest most fun movie to watch -- specially when compared to the fake cartoons of today's childish "epics." Make sure to catch the Director's Cut Extended Version of IRON WARRIOR. Highly recommended.

The best Ator movie,but you must not expect so much...

[nicopatrizi · 6/10 · 11 January 2006]

Brescia manages to improve the plot and technical background of Ator after the awful second installment directed by RIP Joe D'Amato and this movie pulls out from the muck of Blade Master. Better FX,some explosions and the hero using more weapons and sword techniques.And this time O'Keefe doesn't lost time with senseless phrases,like "Double Target" 's character he starred. Many clashes.Not one but two bad dudes,Phaedra is a little ridiculous (dangerous like...Madame Razz or Shadow Weaver, he he he), Trogar has more sense,his mask gives a little fright.But the good black witch that pops out in the middle of the flick could save his breath and not ruin the surprise informing us that Trogar was Ator's brother.There are some good chicks,the Yugoslavian actress Sabina Gersak, talent discovered by Brescia. looks good but her haircut is truly forgettable.Why Brescia did not equipped her with a normal fluent haircut and a sword or a dagger or a bow to kick enemies' crotch and ass? This movie can be saved and not at all ditched.But this doesn't say that is great.It's in "Deathstalker I" media. 6 out of 10

Ator the lousy

[lor_ · 18 April 2023]

My review was written in March 1987 after a screening at Manhattan's UA Twin.

"Iron Warrior" pretends to be a fantasy adventure, but it's really just an ad for the Malta tourist board, Beautiful locations filmed on the islands of Malta and Gozo provide the backdrop for incoherent filler, shot in 1985 under the title "Echoes of Wizardry" by producer Ovidio G. Assonitis, whose name is understandably missing from the credits crawl.

Miles O'Keeffe returns for the third time as Ator, mythical warrior given a new history here: his twin brother was kidnapped in childhood by evil witch Phoedra (Elizabeth Kaza in a red fright wig). Some 18 years later Ator is tapped by the nice sorceress Deeva (Iris Peynado) to protect Princess Janna (Savina Gersak) against evil, in the form of his brother who wears a silver skull mask, red bandana and breathes like Darth Vader.

Ator and Janna trek around the rugged Malta rock faces on various missions for Deeva with absolutely no continuity to the narrative and some of the worst editing ever used in a feature film. Every couple of minutes Ator gets involved in boring swordplay with baddies and, to pad the running time, footage of another actor (who doesn't resemble O'Keeffe at all) wearing a babushka over his mouth is inserted fighting men on horseback with his sword. A dragon-style monster is shown on the poster and ads but fails to show up during the film.

Italian potboiler director Alfonso Brescia ("you can call me Al Bradley") imitates numerous George Lucas films here, lifting equal amounts from both the "Star Wars" sagas and "Indiana Jones" films. Out-theme is a poor imitation of "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" music.

O'Keeffe is embarrassing, posing instead of acting and, like the rest of the cast, stuck with a funny-looking punk-influenced hairdo. Deborah Raffin-lookalike heroine Savina Gersak at least wears see-through gowns throughout the picture, but the editor nastily deletes her several wet T-shirt scenes. Best thing in the pic is the exotic, blue-eyed black actress Iris Peynado, previously seen in Lamberto Bava's "Monster Shark".

Pic was obviously made for home video and undemanding foreign markets, but it's another insult from distrib TWE to Stateside theatrical B-picture fans. Oh for the days when Lippert and other second-feature labels gave us engrossing little films starring Dane Clark or Cesar Romero, with interesting storylines and talented supporting casts.

Don't let your parents catching you watch this PG-13 flick

[moviebuff72-223-265524 · 8/10 · 10 March 2024]

Quite a bit of breasts and a bush shot for a kids movie. I'm recommending it for those that can see why the MPAA is a travesty. PG-13 exists because you can't rate everything R. Nudity should be allowed in PG-13. Especially topless nudity. PG-13 movies today ate too watered down. Iron warrior, although a rip off of every sword and sorcery movie is getting recommended by me. I'm sick of PG-13 movies today. They can't be Beast Master, Sheena, Iron Warrior because they all had breasts or bush. They were not rated R. Children survived seeing this material. Children today have far more problems with violence than seeing nipples or public hair. I think seeing nudity is far less of a concern than seeing people getting hacked or shot to death. Long live the 80s! Long live the old PG and PG-13 films!

Ambitious but hopelessly flawed

[amesmonde · 19 September 2018]

Ator must battle with Phaedra, an evil sorceress and her unstoppable warrior, who has a secret connection to our heroes past.

Director Alfonso Brescia ambitious Iron Warrior is a low budget mix of Excalibur, Clash of the Titans, with a touch of Alejandro Jodorowsky wackiness and Duran Duran music video prowess to name a few. Opening with Carlo Maria Cordio's endless credit title music (oddly reminiscent of Star Trek The Next Generation), we're then sold the aesthetically pleasing locations of the Mediterranean's Malta and Gozo. However, the sunny visuals take away from Iron Warrior some much needed atmosphere. Nevertheless, Brescia's Italian production doesn't shy away from brief nudity, some Lucio Fulci inspired make up and shock moments.

Brescia while disregarding Ator's established character origins (in Ator Flight of the Eagle (1982) and Ator 2 - L'invincibile Orion, released in America as The Blade Master 1984)) at best offers stylised 80's bold geometric shape makeup, and fan blown hair with vibrant costumes, reds, greens and flowing material passing the camera. There's a handful of beautiful women thrown including Iris Peynado, notable is the stunning Princess Jana, actress Sabina Gersak. Offering a poor mans Conan swordplay. There's Superman (1978) Krypton-like prison rings trapping a witch, with Ator played again by Miles OKeeffe, a chiseled lean He-Man, along with nemesis Trogar (Franco Daddi) a Skeletor meets with Action Force's Destro type sword wielding nemesis. He employs slow-motion, sped up film, wide shots and old Bewitched/Randall and Hopkirk vanishing editing tricks. The avant-garde mix of student-like experimental film elements is endless.

If theatrical, over the top, choppy Italian sorcery fantasy salami is your thing, Iron Warrior is a must see.

Ergh...

[Ivan Ravenous · 14 August 2000]

I saw another Ator movie on MST3K under the title "Cave Dwellers". It was one of the worst-made movies I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I saw Iron Warrior without the benefit of the MST3K crew, and it was very hard to endure. The film concerns the quest of Ator to stop a witch, but most of the time he just wanders around with no apparent agenda. He occasionally fights his brother, now the silver skull-masked "Master of the Sword", and is featured in many, many slow-motion scenes which seem to exist solely to make the movie last longer. Painfully boring, but it's a little better than Cave Dwellers in that it has some blood and nudity.