Warlords of Atlantis (1978) starring Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer, Lea Brodie, Michael Gothard, Hal Galili, John Ratzenberger directed by Kevin Connor Movie Review

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Doug McClure in Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

Doug McClure and the Kingdom of the Rubber Suited Monsters

British archaeologist Professor Aitken (Donald Bisset) and his son Charles (Peter Gilmore) plan to dive deep beneath the sea's surface in a diving bell designed by Greg Collinson (Doug McClure) to search for Atlantis. But it is a dangerous mission especially when after discovering some treasure the crew of the ship try to kill them in order to steal the treasure. It leads to Charles and Greg along with 4 of the mutinous crew finding them selves in a vast air filled cavern beneath the sea where they are confronted by aliens who plan to take over the Earth and have been making lost sailors their slaves. Greg must somehow find a way to defeat the aliens, save the world and get back to the planet's surface.

I've always enjoyed those adventure movies which take us on journeys into the unknown, be it down a volcano to the center of the Earth or to an encounter with a legendary Sea captain aboard his submarine. But I will admit that when it comes to these movies I prefer the big production movies of the 1950s rather than those which arrived in the 70s. As such "Warlords of Atlantis" just didn't impress me as much as it does some as it has that element of being cheesy which was common amongst these 70s adventure movies especially those connected to director Kevin Connor.

John Ratzenberger and Hal Galili in Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

The thing is that the actual storyline itself isn't bad with not only the attempt to discover the lost world of Atlantis but the whole alien thing working well together as the basis for an adventure which of course features battling with monsters and battling to survive. Maybe it is a little too far fetched for some but it is a good vehicle for those expected elements. And in fairness director Kevin Connor does a good job of building all the expected drama and action into the movie and manages to make you jump a couple of times in the process.

But the trouble with "Warlords of Atlantis" as with many of these 70s adventure movies is that it is a little cheesy. From Doug McClure's full on hero to the special effects it makes you laugh for being corny. When Charles and Greg encounter a monster whilst in the diving bell it may shock you to start with but then it will make you laugh at the rubbery fakeness of it and that is the trouble as there are few decent special effects in the entire movie. Because of those cheesy aspects it also lacks the atmosphere which is desperately needed to make it an edge of your seat adventure.

What this all boils down to is that "Warlords of Atlantis" is a typical Kevin Connor adventure movie from the 1970's and if you enjoy the cheesiness of these 70s movies it will entertain. But for those who prefer the impressiveness of those adventure movies from the 50s it is a cheesy experience.


LATEST REVIEWS