The Ultimate Warrior (1975)

So, Yul Brynner. Let's say you were a movie producer back in the day that wanted a typecast mean-looking, mostly-silent tough to be in your film as an antihero, but couldn't pay Clint Eastwood's salary. Likely Brynner's name came up. Very few (Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin IMO) could match his screen presence. To me Yul Brynner looks like all of the Doc Savage covers. A guy I worked with at Fishers years ago said he looked like a less friendly version of Mr. Clean.

A SCARY looking dude, that Yul Brynner. He's best known for leading the charge against bandits alongside Steve McQueen in "The Magnificent Seven" and was also in Michael Crichton's "Westworld" as a killer android running amok. He's even referenced in "Easy Rider"; a character speaks of police capturing hippies and other undesirables and giving them the "Yul Brynner look". THAT'S how scary-looking this dude was back then.

And when Brynner is introduced in "The Ultimate Warrior", you know we're not screwing around here. A shot pans down on a lone standing figure from clean-shaven head to battle-scarred body to well-worn combat boots. Even before the heyday of 80's action films, and before there were names like Stallone and Schwarzenegger getting top billing, moviegoers recognized symbols of power too.

It's this symbol of power in Brynner's Carson character that The Baron (Max von Sydow) recruits to protect his communal village from marauders in post-apocalyptic New York City. Diseases that wipe out both humans and plant life have almost turned Earth into a slag heap. Thanks to Baron and help from his gardener, Cal, a few precious crops of germ-resistant veggies grow on a rooftop greenhouse.

But things are falling apart for the Baron's community quickly. Food is still scarce, and residents accuse each other of stealing. Mutiny is looming. Furthermore, Baron's grown daughter, Melinda, is expecting the birth of her child, only weeks away. It's at this point Baron reveals to Carson the real reason the latter was hired - Baron needs someone to sneak precious seeds, Melinda, and unborn child out of the compound to an island off the coast of North Carolina where all three can start a new life.

Carson, experienced brawler and knife-fighter, agrees. And the film's third act takes off and then gets kind of crazy. Things start to go a little awry, at this point. A lot of stuff happens. TOO MUCH SHIT HAPPENS, in my view. Carson battles more bandits and their leader, Carrot, in an abandoned subway tunnel. Then he must deliver Melinda's baby. Literally MERE SECONDS after handing off newborn to mother Carson kills MORE bandits. Then he gets seriously injured when he gets in a tight spot. Any average human would die, lose the seeds, or get the woman and baby killed at this point. It's highly unrealistic, almost laughably so.

The ending is also too abrupt, in my opinion. It's obvious they ran out of time and money when making "The Ultimate Warrior". But hey, it's Hollywood, and it makes for great viewing! The climactic fight between Carson and Carrot (who uses a bolo!) is a plus. The sets are really bleak, abandoned, and colorless. Bones and debris everywhere. Skeletons wearing gasmasks at one point. A good precursor to movies like "The Road Warrior" or just "The Road".

If you want an action movie or a post-apocalyptic romp that's polished and has a ton of production value, this may not be the movie for you. But if you want to watch something different, or if you're like me, a Yul Brynner fan that was fighting a little bit of boredom and insomnia last night, give "The Ultimate Warrior" a go.

A halfway decent B-movie adventure story. I got it years ago as part of a DVD combo with "Battle Beneath the Earth", the latter of which I have never seen.

Maybe some other time, people.