wes-connors After most of civilization destroyed by a futuristic World War III, well-built warrior Patrick Swayze (as Nomad) wanders through the desert. He meditates while doing handstands (guess this helps make him a better warrior, and you will be proved correct), then shows excellent swordsmanship by annihilating some "half-people" who appear to live in the sand. As "Tremors" (1990) later confirmed, sand creatures are nasty; besides, they threaten the life of our handsome hero. Looking like a romance novel cover model, Mr. Swayze must find sneering vigilante Christopher Neame (as Sho), the man killed his martial arts mentor...Cooling his heels, Swayze stays at a farm with beautiful blonde widow Lisa Niemi-Swayze (as Kasha) and her cute son Brett Hool (as Jux), who just may be related to director Lance Hool. They live with brave Brion James (as Tark). Proving hairstylists will survive a nuclear holocaust, the Swayzes must protect her irrigation development from wicked Anthony Zerbe (as Damnil). His wells are running dry and she has all the water. This is highly derivative, but with good enough action. Swayze body watchers will be in more than pleased with his appearance. The soundtrack by Mad Max" (1979) composer Brian May is adept.****** Steel Dawn (11/6/87) Lance Hool ~ Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Christopher Neame, Brion James

aeo I give it 6 out of 10 because it has one of better sword fights I have seen made by Hollywood. As I was watching the movie, it sort of reminded me of the great western movie "Shane" starring Alan Ladd. It had many of the same elements like a lone stranger comes to town and battles the evil doers who would harm the innocent farmers. Patrick Swayze plays his part well as the protagonist in this movie. Interesting enough though, there is no weapon used save non projectile weapons. What I mean by this is that there are no pistols, rifles, or bombs. In some ways, not having those type of weapons in this movie makes it more refreshing. It kind of makes it like a samurai movie of sorts. All in all, a pretty good movie.The story takes place in some future where the land seems more desert than anything else; and therefore, water is an important commodity.In a small valley, a group of farmers try to make a living but is harassed by an individual whose aim is to take over the whole valley. In comes Patrick Swayze who plays a former soldier who comes to the valley to exact revenge on those who killed his former comrade.During this pursuit, however, he meets a woman and her child who make him see what is really important in life.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits In a futeristic, post-apocalyptic world, a lone warrior (Patrick Swayze) roams the desert wilderness, literally living by the sword and fending off attacks from mysterious assailants. He finds himself briefly reunited with an old mentor from his past, before he is killed by a mysterious thug named Sho (Christopher Neame.) Without any more guidance in his life, the warrior resumes his quest through the sand, until he stumbles across a group of people who have formed a peaceful community for themselves. With them, he re-discovers friendship, love and his humanity, before a final showdown with the forces of evil and a final battle for revenge.In 1987, Swayze made arguably one of his most memorable movies ever, Dirty Dancing, but he also made this corny slice of post Mad Max sci-fi action. It's hard to believe that Lance Hool, the man behind one of Chuck Norris's most under-rated films, Missing in Action 2, could be at the helm of something as bland and unsatisfying as this.Why do I feel this?, you may wonder. Well, really you should lose the will to live with the plot summary. It's just such an obvious and corny rip-off of Mad Max, with all the most grinding, grating clichés present (the strong, silent lead star, the revenge motif, the community he's at first at odds with, then bonds with, the attacks from outsiders etc. etc.) There's not much in the way of action going on either, to be honest, with only one or two juicy action scenes (mainly towards the end) and some syrupy late 80s special effects. That, Swayze's hammy lead presence (not hard to see why his star fizzled so rapidly in the 90s!), a ridiculous central villain, and worthless supporting turns from genre favourites Brian James and Arnold Vosloo combine to make this a regrettable experience. Worth it for nostalgia value perhaps, but hardly anything else. **

Mikael Johansson After reading the story i know what to expect from the movie (not much) so with that in mind it was quite alright. Some laughs over the stereotyped action-movie scenes. Most of the story wasn't so hard to figure out.