gwquinn
I just watched it, having picked up a used copy from Amazon and I was shocked at how good it was! I expected the worst, based upon all the horrible fan reviews. Is it as good as Indiana? No, probably not, but there were no scenes as absurdly preposterous as those we've seen with Indy either. (Refrigerators and A-bombs?) I wish it were 30 minutes longer, to tie up some loose ends and allow for a more satisfying climax. Still, a solid 7-8 stars in my book. I enjoyed the hero and his plucky girl a lot and found them more believable than the typical Hollywood stars. I just like Aussies I guess. The soundtrack reminded me very much of Sky Captain.
misbegotten
The success of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) lead to the inevitable copycat movies and rip-offs, the best known being High Road to China (1983) with Tom Selleck (ironically the original choice to play Indiana Jones) as a WWI veteran pilot escorting heiress Bess Armstrong through the Middle East and Asia on a quest to find her explorer father; the TV series Tales of the Gold Monkey in which freelance flier Stephen Collins indulged in assorted hi-jinks on a chain of Pacific islands in the 1930s; and two awfully tacky movies, shot back-to-back, with Richard Chamberlain as Allan Quartermain - King Solomon's Mines (1985) and Allan Quartermain and the City of Gold (1986).My favourite of these Raider wannabes is Sky Pirates (1986), an Australian movie that bravely tries to match the thrills and spills of it's Hollywood counterparts on a fraction of their budget. You can't accuse the producers of lacking ambition.The plot makes use of various New Age conspiracy theories concerning the Bermuda Triangle, the Philadelphia Experiment, and aliens visiting Earth in ancient times and assisting mankind's development. Aussie ace pilot Flight Lieutenant Harris (John Hargreaves) is transporting a top secret cargo in August 1945. However, when a crew member tries to sneak a look at what they're carrying, all hell breaks loose, as - in the film's best sequence - the plane plunges into another dimension, where past, present and future all intersect (a fact cleverly illustrated by having the radio operator pick up wireless traffic about the assassination of JFK, the first moon landing, and a Mayday call from the Titanic, plus Harris having a near miss with a modern-day jet fighter). The plane ditches in a sea full of half-sunken ships from various time periods, and the survivors catch a glimpse of Easter Island before being instantly transported back to their original location and rescued.Back in Oz, Hargreaves finds his superior officer, Squadron Leader Savage, refuses to back his version of events, and is court-marshaled. Discovering that Savage is intent on recovering the cargo - part of a stone tablet left on Earth eons ago by alien visitors - and uniting it with the other pieces to gain godlike power, Hargreaves escapes from army custody and tries to foil Savage's scheme.Compared to the average Hollywood studio picture, Sky Pirates was made on the cheap, but that's not say that money hasn't been spent: good use is made of vintage aircraft, there's some splendid location filming on the real Easter Island, and several large scale action set pieces. The best of these has Harris climbing out onto the wing of an airborne DC3 to repair an engine while under fire from a pursuing Mustang fighter, and a truck chase that is copied wholesale from Raiders while using some nice Mad Max visual flourishes.Sky Pirates wears it's references with pride. The aforementioned truck chase may not be as spectacular as the one in Raiders, but it's just as enjoyable. There's also a fight in a sleazy tavern, but at Ayers Rock as opposed to Raiders' Tibet. And if you don't spot the Jaws homage, then shame on you. But before we start to accuse this film of being totally unoriginal, don't forget that every aspect of the Indiana Jones movies was openly taken from the cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 40s, and Sky Pirates succeeds in capturing that same pulp feel.There are some problems: the personal animosity displayed between Harris and Savage at the beginning of the film is never explained, and Savage's motives for suddenly trying to seize the tablet fragments - and his plans once he has them - are also not revealed. However, the most disappointing aspect of the movie is the way it peters out with a rushed and anti-climatic non-ending, which strongly suggests that the production ran out of time and/or money. A great pity.As for the cast, Hargreaves's performance seesaws between being wooden and extremely engaging, but ultimately he succeeds in making Harris a likable hero. Essentially, he is the movie, as the other characters are all functionary and underwritten. That said, Meredith Phillips has her moments as feisty sidekick Mitch, exactly the kind of girl you'd want to tag along while trying to save the world.
Gubby-Allen
The first half hour of this film wasn't bad at all & I thought it was another ridiculous IMDB rating. Unfortunately it degenerated into a farce and the 3.5 rating ended pretty justified. I don't want to waste much time on this but two scenes were particularly poor & deserve comment. The Russian roulette & Bomber climbing out on the side of the plane, were both laughable (in the wrong ways) in the extreme. The ending was pretty atrotious too. I had trouble also working out how plan of the 'Evil Savage' linked in with the Bermuda Triangle type section, and what control (if any Savage had over that). Also the deaths of the other original survivors & the kidnapping of the girls' father seemed to be glaized over so quick they went unnoticed.An ok start but awful last hour.3/10
wayner
I actually saw this at the theatre 14 years ago. Then I decided it was the worse movie ever, man did watching it on video not disappoint. What can I say, terrible story, mediocre acting, and dialog as bad as something that I would write. Probably the least suspenseful ending I have ever seen. I would not recommend wasting the 90 minutes on it.
