Tweetienator If you like the first two Mad Max movies this one is meant for you - in a post-apocalyptic world the new gladiators called Jugger live like Nomads and play a tough and bloody game in small outposts, honor, women and provisions are the wages. A Jugger's greatest dream is to play in one of the great games in one of the last great cities - where honor and riches can be earned.This one is a fine B-trash movie - a good shot of violence and action, solid acting, and a good production value. Rutger Hauer plays Sallow, a leader of a team of Jugger. Like some of his early works e.g. Flesh + Blood, Ladyhawke and The Hitcher, The Blood of Heroes does not disappoint. A nice snack for the post-apocalyptic fanatic.

Harriet Deltubbo Don't buy the hype. This Mad Max-esque film is one of the bleakest films I have seen in a long time. All characters are unhappy souls, surviving in a grim world, unable to improve their lot, prone to an almost genetically determined urge to mess things up. They have egos and the big guns aren't used to working with other people or playing by the rules. The cinematography is stark and bare, with only the soundtrack adding some effect. It's an amazing work and everything I had hoped for. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them. Verdict: 7/10.

tyler_dotter This film is one of my all time favorite movies to watch. I have seen it about 3 times in the last year alone. The acting is absolutely top-notch. The feeling of a post-apocalyptic future is eminent, and every character adds their own piece to the overall feeling of desperation. The storyline creates a very believable notion of sports evolution, and although the sports battles are very violent, there is a very high level of camaraderie evident throughout the film. An excellent movie to watch on a dreary day, or rainy night. I guarantee that, although not all of you will love the film, you will be moved for the duration of it by the sincerity in each character's plight. One of the few post-apocalyptic films where characters seek, and have a real chance, to obtain a better life for themselves.

tenthousandtattoos What a brutal little film this is. We enter a desolate wasteland, the scorched remains of what once was the twentieth century, before "the cruel wars that followed", and track a band of "Juggers" - a sports team that roam the wastes, from filthy settlement to filthy settlement, challenging the population to raise a team of juggers and play 'the game!' I love that the rules of 'jugging' are never explained, we simply observe, and learn. There seems to be few rules - it's a primitive, extremely violent version of American football, except the quarterback is also the running back and the offensive linesmen swing big sticks. The defensive linesman is a big dude swinging what sort of resembles a cat o'nine tails whip made from chains. Basically, the ball is a dog's skull and the object is to ram it onto a stick on the opposing side of the field. As there are no time pieces in this new world order, the game is timed by throwing stones at a metal gong. If the challenger can last 100 stones without the home side dog-skulling them, they win. Got all that? Good. Let's move on.My favourite scene (although I do like that extreme violence) is when they enter the underground "Red City", and Hauer and Chen pass a man doing chalk art on the filthy pavement. I like how everyone just walks over his artwork, paying it no heed, and I also like that he doesn't object, he just keeps chalking. It's a great example of showing, rather than telling, the audience that in a world where survival is the priority, there is no room for art. No time to stop and admire beauty.I really dig other parts of this movie, like the fact they make the oldest guy in their troupe lug a wardrobe full of their sh*t on his back across endless miles of desert. Nice. And the guys in the weird tank that stop them in the middle of the desert and basically take a ransom from them. We're not really told who these weird guys are, or why Rutger and his team bow down to them and fork over their hard earned winnings without a fight, or even a harsh word. Well, one guy spits on the ground in protest. I also like that when a member of their team is crippled with a broken leg, they just leave him there and walk off. Darwin at his most brutal. But this opens the way for Joan Chen to join the team. I also like that it's never explained why she wants to hook up with this band of violent men and trek off into the desert looking for a fight. She just felt like a change, I guess. I also really like that there's neither a back story nor a bright future anywhere in sight. We know from a single title card at the start that these people don't remember how the world got f*cked up, and are so busy simply surviving they're not really thinking about a way to "fix" things. This is simply the world they exist in, and world where the game is everything and the epitome of social standing is to win "100 stones!" This brings me to one of my favourite bits of the movie, so typically Aussie, where Rutger helps the dude (big Australian guy) he's just pummelled to his feet, and the dude remarks, "Sh*t…I forgot you were better than me!" No hard feelings, mate. Love it.That reminds me of another favourite bit, and indeed one of the best bad guy/good guy moments I've ever seen. It's where Rutger is walking off, after the final confrontation, to return to a life of endless jugging across the desert, living from meal to meal and sleep to sleep. The big Australian dude who got pummelled by Rutger asks the villainous ruler of the "Red City" why he's letting Rutger go. The bad guy simply muses that there's nothing more he could do to make Rutger's life any worse than it already is. What I love more is that Rutger knows it, and it doesn't bother him. He's not only resigned himself to this life, he's gonna enjoy it as well, dammit.