Metalstorm: The Destruction Of Jared-Syn

In the summer of 1983, 3-D movies made a big, albeit short lived comeback. Friday The 13th, Jaws, and The Amityville Horror all had the 3-D treatment, not to mention a lot of science fiction and adventure films did as well. One of those was Metalstorm: The Destruction Of Jared-Syn.

Metalstorm comes from writer/director Charles Band. If you're not familiar with him, he's kind of a poor man's Roger Corman. He's the man behind cult classics like Trancers and Puppet Master. Metalstorm was one of the few times Band worked with a major studio, Universal. But his B movie sensibilities are still intact.

This mash up of Star Wars, The Road Warrior, sword and sorcery, and western involves a space ranger, Jeffrey Byron, who's on a mission to take down an evil warlord, Michael Preston, before he can use magical crystals to take over the universe. There's also a damsel in distress, Kelly Preston, that he must rescue.

So here's the problem with Metalstorm. The villain is kind of boring. Jared-Syn's sidekick/son, a warrior who is mostly metal, is a lot more interesting. But even he becomes more chump like near the end. Even more boring than the villain is our hero. Byron makes for a very bland lead. He seems to try to be channeling Mel Gibson, but it's a drowsy Gibson at that. The film however does pick up about halfway thru when the great character actor Tim Thomerson enters the picture and adds some much needed comic relief as a tracker and our hero's reluctant sidekick. Thomerson has been Band's go to actor in a lot of his pictures. A smart move on Band's part. Richard Moll, Bull from tv's Night Court, also pops up in a fun and memorable role as a warrior who joins our hero's fight.

This is a very hit or miss sci fi yarn. If you are able to make it to the halfway point however, you will most likely enjoy the rest of the proceedings.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.