The Avenger (1962)

People are voting emotionally.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Wow! This is the only word i could describe. This is definitely one of the best peplum movies i've ever watch (only for Steve Reeves movies) so far. I've watched all Steve Reeves movies except 3; Sandokan The Great, The Slave @ Son Of Spartacus, and A Long Ride From Hell. So, from here so far The Avenger remains as the second best movie of Steve Reeves while the Trojan Horse remains the best. Oh wait! I've seen most of the comments in Steve Reeves movies are saying that The first Hercules movie in 1958 is the best Steve Reeves movie among all...is that true?? I don't think it is, because to me, i think it is only OK to watch, not very good indeed. Hercules Unchained is better than the first, but if you wanna watch something better in Steve Reeves movies, then check out The Avenger and the Trojan Horse. Others which is also good is Morgan The Pirate, Thief Of Baghdad, Last Day Of Pompeii, Duel Of Titans and Sandokan The Pirate Of Malaysia..try to avoid Goliath And Barbarians and Giant Of Marathon(not very good indeed,huhuhu).As for this movie; sure it's not a perfect movie, but still i'm giving it a chance, so i'm giving it a 9.5/10 stars... :)

This is an unnecessary and very much inferior sequel to THE Trojan HORSE (1961), evidently made on a reduced budget (though the murky, pan-and-scan print I watched certainly did no favors to it or the scenes from the original which were interspersed into the narrative as flashbacks!); Steve Reeves reprises his role of Enea - whose lineage, we are told, eventually led to Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome (incidentally, the actor appeared in a peplum about that very event called DUEL OF THE TITANS [1961]!) - but his performance here is somewhat mechanical and less convincing...though that may be due to the English dubbing, whereas I had watched the earlier film in Italian!! As a whole, THE AVENGER (the print I watched bore the title THE LAST GLORY OF TROY, given to it when sold to TV) is only marginally better than the ordinary peplum: the plot is rather dreary this time around, in comparison to the fascinating events depicted in the original; the cast - despite the presence of Euro-Cult regulars like Gianni Garko (essaying the role of the villain) and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart (effectively dispatched by a hail of arrows in the style of Akira Kurosawa's THRONE OF BLOOD [1957]!) - is less interesting; and the battle sequences are only memorable for the ridiculously-shaped helmets with which the warriors on both fronts are saddled!!

Famous muscle man Reeves appears here in a sequel of sorts to "The Trojan Horse". Having been displaced, along with a large contingent of his people, after The Trojan War, Reeves attempts to settle in a patch of land along the Tiber River. The King who governs the area is fairly agreeable to this, but most of the surrounding territories are against it. The Queen is especially repelled by the idea and wants her daughter to inherit everything through her own contributions and an arranged marriage. Reeves and his people are betrayed and reviled until finally a large battle erupts with several different contingents fighting it out. Reeves is as handsome as ever, but perhaps less animated than he was in other, more lively films such as this. He flashes back occasionally (and briefly) to the previous film, which, by comparison, seems like a more grand one. There are still things to enjoy here, though, such as Reeves competing in an archery contest in order to thwart the cocky Prince who thinks he's unbeatable. There's also an interesting assault on Reeves' compound in which arrows fly while the inhabitants try to collect them for their own use in resistance. Camp arrives in the form of Orfei, as a curvy, but strong warrior princess. She rides with the men and fights with them while wearing a teeny mini-dress and a gold band around her impossibly bouffant hair (which she does manage to smash under a helmet for the big skirmish!) She's startlingly similar to Stefanie Powers, which adds an almost surreal element to her scenes. Then there's another ruler (on Reeves' side) who, while riding horseback during the archery contest, lifts up in his saddle to reveal a wedgie and two gleaming butt cheeks! While this is certainly not the greatest sword and sandal flick out there, it remains watchable and reasonably engrossing. Reeves is always easy on the eyes, in any case and should be admired for his commitment to healthy, steroid-free body-building.

I discovered the sword and sandal films of Steve Reeves about 12 years ago, and this is easily the most wooden and boring one of all. Most of Reeves' muscleman acting efforts are compelling enough and have a couple of good supporting actresses and veteran Italian actors. The VHS tape I have was of poor film quality, I believe it was even B&W. This one fails to keep your attention either on Reeves himself or a decent storyline. Better efforts are obviously Hercules, Giant of Marathon, Duel of Titans (massive hero role), Morgan the Pirate, and Thief of Baghdad (good costume roles w/solid story lines). This one will put you to sleep - it was a rushed afterthought of this genre.