Plot: Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) is about to embark on perhaps his most dangerous adventure ever…marriage. He is due to head to America with the beautiful Jesse (Sharon Stone) to walk down the aisle, but of course things rarely go as planned when Quatermain is involved. He learns that is brother has disappeared while on the hunt for the lost city of gold, prompting Quatermain to take action. Much to Jesse’s dismay, he starts to assemble a troupe to track down his brother. She resists at first, but soon catches up with him and the duo is once again on the road to adventure. This time around, the group faces booby trapped ruins, dangerous natives, and more, including greed, as the promise of gold can corrupt some. Can Quatermain find his brother and will the lost city of gold be all that the legend promised?
Entertainment Value: King Solomon’s Mines was B movie bliss, a wild and over the top experience that was immense fun. This sequel reunited Chamberlain and Stone, but doesn’t really capture that same Cannon style B movie magic. This movie has some fun sequences, but the stunts and set pieces don’t live up to the original. The pace is slower and the flow of action is much more inconsistent as well. I just wanted another B movie roller coaster of madness, but that’s not the case. Chamberlain is fine in the lead, but Stone seems disinterested and lacks the charm she had in the original. But one shining highlight in this one is Henry Silva, who is outlandish here. Silva’s insane look and behavior is topped only by his hair, which is simply epic. He is a madman here as usual and for me, the best part of the movie. You can also see Elvira in a small role, as well as good old James Earl Jones wielding a massive axe. As much fun as the first one was, this one can only muster some nostalgia and Henry Silva.
No one gets naked, although we do see Richard Chamberlain in a green pantsuit that makes him look like a gardener. On the blood side, there is a pretty cool scene where the face slides off a corpse. Otherwise, not much blood to be seen and instead, numerous folks are dipped in gold. Its faster and cheaper than sculpting, at least that is what Henry Silva would like us to believe. Even the dialogue has been scaled back, with fewer one liners from Chamberlain and less pouting from Stone. But seeing Henry Silva shout gibberish with that outrageous hair is simply cinema gold. Sadly, the madcap pace of the original is absent and we are left with a much less crazy experience. But the performance of Henry Silva adds to the insanity meter, for sure.
Nudity: 0/10
Blood: 1/10
Dialogue: 1/10
Overall Insanity: 2/10
Marc Fusion 