Barb Wire (1996)

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

David Hogan

Writers (WGA):

Chris Warner (characters in comic)
Ilene Chaiken (story)

Release Date:

3 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Don't call me babe!

Plot:

Post-Apocalyptic remake of "Casablanca" set in a strip club.

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Bar | Topless | Cult Favorite | Action Heroine

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Amir Aboulela	...	Patron
Adriana Alexander	...	Redhead
David Andriole	...	Goon #2
Vanessa Lee Asher	...	Emily
Ron Balicki	...	Customs Agent #1
Jennifer Banko	...	Spike
Candace Kita	...	Dancer (as Candace Camille Bender)
Xander Berkeley	...	Alexander Willis
Tony Bill	...	Foster
Alex Bookston	...	Man in White Suit
Gil Borgos	...	Old Man
Andre Rosey Brown	...	Big Fatso
Mark Collver	...	Manny (as Marc Collver)
Tina Cote	...	Woman in Bar #1 (as Tina Coté)
Vinnie Curto	...	Aide to Pryzer

Also Known As:

Barb·Wire (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and nudity/sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:98 min | USA:100 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1996) | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A (unrated version) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (certificate #34430) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Dark Horse Entertainment

Trivia:

The opening "Wet Strip" in which Barb dances in a strip club with her breasts hanging out of her rubber dress whilst being sprayed with water was suggested by Pamela Anderson after she was inspired by a nightmare she had in which she was being sprayed with champagne whilst performing a "Nasty dance". David Hogan, who was under pressure to include more nudity, liked the idea and threw out the movie's original opening to include it.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Barb throws the grenade it lands on Big Fatso's stomach but if you look carefully just before it explodes you'll notice that the grenade has disappeared.

Quotes:

Coloney Pryzer: I'm warning you Willis, if Corina Devonshire escapes, I will personally stick my arm up you ass, rip out your heart, and stuff it back down your throat!
Alexander Willis: Well, that wouldn't be very sanitary would it?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Montage

Fortunately, it is not this easy...

Wow. Now this is not good. However, the movie sets its level right away, by having a stripping, dancing wet Barb (Anderson) already in the introduction of the movie. So, there you have what this movie is all about. Sure you get some violence, explosions and bad costumes as a bonus. Clearly, there is no relevant story in the movie, all revolves around (Barb) to show her off in different ways. The mentioned costumes are almost offending to the audience. Whoever responsible for them clearly did not work very hard. Barb competes with herself to wear some leather-thing that shows off as much as possible, but actually must be considered well dressed as compared to other ladies. The villains wear something that bear a striking resemblance to nazi-uniforms. Well sure, we know who's the bad guys, thank you. And some other people wear broken calculators and other piece of machinery that you'll find in a scrap-heap as hats, and are automatically dressed up like guys from the future. If it was this easy to make a good movie, I could have made it myself. Fortunately it is not, and Barb Wire is not a good movie.

But, and this is a mysterious but, I actually didn't get bored out of my mind and switched off. The movie actually, in some way, had some small piece of entertainment value throughout that made me stay. And that something, whatever it was, is what ultimately saves the movie from being complete junk.

So, if you have absolutely nothing else to do, you may want to watch this one, once. You may get some ideas how to (or not to) dress for the next masquerade.

3/10