Warlords of the 21st Century (1982)

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"Warlords of the 21st Century", a.k.a. "Battletruck", is fun stuff, if overly reminiscent of the more famous "Mad Max" series (although, truth be told, this was actually filmed *before* "The Road Warrior"). It's competently directed (by Harley Cokeliss), nicely shot (by Oscar winning Chris Menges), and has enough action and futuristic stylings to make it enjoyable viewing. The characters are never fleshed out all that much, but at least in this simplistic script (co- written by Cokeliss), you're never in doubt as to who the good guys and the bad guys are. The acting is solid from most everybody involved. And there are a substantial amount of truly impressive explosions and one hell of an awesome vehicle - the "Battletruck" of the alternate title - to capture ones' attention.Michael Beck of "The Warriors" stars in this post-apocalypse tale in which oil is a rare and valuable commodity. He comes to the aid of the forlorn Corlie (Annie McEnroe, "The Hand"), who's run away from domineering villain Straker (an effectively one-note James Wainwright). He brings Corlie to a peaceful community known as Clearwater. Unfortunately for the citizens of Clearwater, Straker fully intends to get Corlie back, and so he proceeds to terrorize these people.The supporting cast features a likable John Ratzenberger (Cliff from 'Cheers') as Clearwater resident Rusty and a very amusing pair of performances from New Zealand native Bruno Lawrence ("Smash Palace", "The Quiet Earth") and Welshman John Bach (the "Lord of the Rings" franchise) as Willie and Bone, Strakers' primary two henchmen. Randy Powell is good as Judd, the kind of guy you "love to hate". Beck is an under-stated hero; McEnroe isn't bad but her character is kind of whiny.Kevin Peek does the rousing music in this engaging escapist fare, which builds to a pretty good action finale on board the Battletruck. This was filmed in New Zealand and there's lots of amazing scenery along the way.Most fans of the post-nuke genre will likely have a good time with this.Seven out of 10.

Another post-apocalyptic sci-fi, recently released on a DVD alongside Deathsport. Likewise, this one is very lowly rated (4.1 at the moment). I can understand that about Deathsport, but I think Battletruck (aka Warlords of the 21st Century) is downright good. I think the problem is that it's very similar to George Miller's The Road Warrior. Some IMDb reviewers even refer to it as a rip-off, but it was being made before The Road Warrior was ever even released, and, at least in most places, it was released almost at the exact same time (in the U.S. both were released in April of 1982). Compared to The Road Warrior, okay, Battletruck isn't nearly as good. But I won't hold that against it. The Road Warrior is all kinds of awesome. Battletruck is merely good, with a less ambitious story, though still probably too ambitious to completely succeed with the small budget it had. But still, it's pretty good. Michael Beck of The Warriors stars (though he doesn't appear for a good while into the film, which is a cool touch) as a lone wolf in this post-apocalyptic wasteland. He rescues Annie McEnroe (a character actress whom you might recognize from Beetlejuice and many other films), who has escaped her villain father (James Wainwright), but is left stranded in the middle of nowhere. Wainwright drives around in the titular truck raiding whatever settlements he can find and stealing all the oil and gasoline he can find. Beck takes McEnroe to a democratic settlement called Clearwater (among whose citizens is John Ratzenberger, who probably has more lines in this movie than any other before he started working with Pixar). They aren't all too trusting of Beck, who does some business with Clearwater but lives out on his own somewhere, and some of the citizens fear McEnroe's presence. That proves insightful when Wainwright comes along looking for her (and fuel). The action sequences in the film are well done, and the scenery is nice (it was filmed in New Zealand). Too bad it was shot in Academy ratio (or perhaps only still exists in that format).

Man, this was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. Must have watched it countless times. I hadn't watched it in many years, so I decided to pop it in again. With having watched quite a few 80's post-nuke films more by now, I was kind of afraid that BATTLETRUCK wouldn't hold together very well anymore. But surprisingly, it very much does! Of course BATTLETRUCK holds references to MAD MAX (but that's what we expect from any post-apo flick, right?). At least it's not one of those laughter-inducing Snake Plissken rip-offs this 80's sub-genre was flooded with.This is one of those very few 80's post-apocalyptic/wastelands themed movies that I can actually agree on being a very serious genre-effort (as in: It doesn't go shamelessly over-the-top) and even a good movie in general. I don't really understand why this movie was released under the title WARLORDS OF THE 21st CENTURY… For one thing, it makes you suspect that you're dealing with a very cheesy, incompetent and blatant 80's Italian genre-effort. And second, BATTLETRUCK is a much cooler and more appropriate title. The black truck featured in this movie, really is the main attraction and it looks frickin' great! Mounting the camera on the front of the truck (but turning it around so we actually see the truck) while it's driving, makes this black beast on wheels a truly menacing entity. And then there's also great shots of the evil truck approaching in the distance, while on the foreground you can see unsuspecting (soon to be) victims.Truck itself, isn't really a demonic entity of course - like the car in THE CAR (1977), for instance – but it's owned by Colonel Straker, the villainous leader of a band of thugs roaming the wastelands (basically pillaging everything in sight, torturing and killing random people and always searching for precious gasoline). When a girl (named Corlie) fleas from Straker's camp, that's when the trouble begins. Loner Hunter (Michael Beck), rescues her and he had better not done that. Because now, not only his and Corlie's life is in danger, but also the whole peace-loving, democracy-upholding community of Clearwater might be wiped out by Straker's vengeance. The only thing I can comment about on the plot, is that it sometimes seems a bit to run around in circles. But that even seemed to be done on purpose: It gives you the time to really get to know (and care about) all the characters, and see how they tie in all together (because some of them have secrets…).The whole cast is doing a pretty swell job for a movie of this type. Michael Beck pulls it of nicely as the loner-hero with his nifty-looking bike (thankfully not featuring any goofy gadgets), not really intending to fight, but taking action and making a stand when doing what is right is called for. Especially James Wainwright, as the sadistic Straker, is delicious to behold. He gives a dead-serious performance, and the nasty, meaningless killings he performs and orders are just so mean-spirited. I mean, he's not just an idiot like, for example Gearge Eastman portrayed in WARRIORS OF THE WASTELAND (aka I NUOVI BARBARI). Colonel Straker really is a cunning, vengeful, bad mo-fo. And you can bet your sweet behind, that whenever he puts his arm around your shoulder and smiles, your minutes are numbered.Brings us to the violent outbursts (that every self-respecting post-nuke film simply must have). BATTLETRUCK isn't a non-stop portrayal of action and violence (and that really uplifts this movie above the general sludge that was being released in this genre). But I assure you, every killing in this movie is handled with such care. Every death-scene looks real. The blood-splatters look real and so do the flesh-wounds and other make-up effects. My favorite scene involving on-screen violence shows us a nasty blow-to-the-head by a fire-extinguisher. Man, that's gotta hurt! Great timing with the good-looking blood-squirts in that scene too. But just don't expect gory sights in BATTLETRUCK; director Harley Cokeliss kept it realistic and didn't over-do it.The cinematography is also a lot better-looking than many of those notable Italian post-nuke efforts. The landscapes from Otago, New Zealand are astonishing (as if we didn't know that already), without going astray too much from that "dusty wasteland" feeling every post-apo flick needs. And there are a couple of cool helicopter-shots, filming Hunter ripping through the landscapes on his bike and showing the battle truck roaming the wastelands. Particularly the final chase (bike vs. battle truck) is filmed in a very capable fashion. Aside that, the few stunts (with vehicles) in the movie even look real and convincing. A final mention goes to composer Kevin Peek. His eerie electronic 'soundscapes' provide very appropriate atmospheric wrappings every time our menacing truck is on the move. But during some action-sequences, when his score becomes more up-tempo rocking (and some guitars even come on), it gets reduced to being not much more than just amusing (oh well, after all: This is a movie from the 80's). The set-design and vehicles look convincing enough too and there's even a nice roll for a 'modified' Volkswagen Beetle. So, BATTLETRUCK has a tight, not too complicated plot and decent character-drawings. The action is there. The violence is there. The drama is there. The performances and dialogues are good. The blood and injuries look real. And all the characters that die, you even get to know (on some level) first. And the climax is also satisfying. I've never seen all those elements dosed in such a well-balanced manner in any post-apocalyptic movie. And to be able to make this statement, I had to see numerous post-apo crap-fests first in recent years. In the end, BATTLETRUCK rightfully remains a favorite of mine, and if you like this sub-genre and can appreciate a more serious entry in it, then I can recommend tracking this baby down.

Loved Battletruck. Awesome movie.. very watchable again and again. Its got a really gritty post apocalyptic feel to it and i think its just as good as Mad Max 1 and 2 and BETTER than Thunderdome. The opening sequence with the radio announcer and the smoke in the picture is great.. so simple.. but very effective.What i will say in the way of criticism is that there is no need for the filmmakers to pretend this is shot in the states... The American accents from the NZ actors are awful for starters ("Gaaad Daayyum") and then there's the fact that the film obviously does not take place in the US (right hand drive, the NZ mountain ranges) NZ is great.. show it off !