Dream Warrior

What if Magneto was a Good Guy? What if Xavier was a bad guy? What if the powers changed but the characters remained the same? What if things worked out between Rogue and Wolverine? The similarities to the X- Men are...are you ready for it...uncanny. Parrish has telepathic ability like Xavier, but like Magneto is striving for a pure genetic society, albeit without mutation. Though Sterling is a healer, the whole experience is very much like Rogue, including a streak in her hair and she really likes Rage. Rage is the Wolverine character. If nothing more than the name, which Wolverine is an embodiment of. Combine Rage with Sterling and you get Wolverine. Zo has telekinetic ability. Although not the manipulation of metal through magnetism, in many ways it has the same pragmatic story effect. Although he is like Magneto in that he is all about the mutants, he is the good guy in that he has the original "Xavieresque" wish for peace. One might think of this as the "beginnings" reboot, as there is an orphanage of freaks nearby and they are thinking about building a mutant community at the river. Hence your "Zo" School for the Gifted. Danica is something of a Storm playing the Wolverine-enamoured Rogue role. And there is a character who fills the spot of Cyclops. He is the gentle, leader apparent. Once again, a brewing fight over Sterling, who though is Rogue-esque, fills that role of Jean Grey, in the sense of the-girl-whose- heart-is-being-fought-for. Two other minor characters bring the Jean Grey-esque fledgling telekinetic and but also her slightly premonitionistic ability. And lastly, the new mutant baby has the Pyro character, who in this movie is a brother to Rage. Which is not unlike Wolverine and Pyro. In X-men, these two characters in particular struggle with deep rage and a reluctance to loyalty, and though ultimately choose a side, initially, they have a great deal in common. Anyway, obvious this movie, is a story by someone who likes the X- men. However, the movie is all story driven and has a negligible amount of mutant powers being used.

Yes, this movie has a low budget. Yes, it has Sherry Lynn Fenn (chek speling) in a damp fur coat. Yes, it looks a lot like the segment where our "hero's" from Eurotrip end up in the former Eastern Bloc (before they pool their financial resources) A lot of this movie will be familiar and derivative. You shouldn't be surprised. For whatever reason, the meteor that destroys most of civilization has left both "regular" people and "mutants" with special powers alive. You'd think that people would need special powers to live through an apocalypse, and the "regulars" wouldn't survive, but survive, they do, and their king, Lance Henriksson, (chek speling) needs to eradicate the mutants--even though one of them can heal people. I must say, that there wasn't much behind the hero (for most of the movie), and I'd like to know what he planned after the rescue of "the healer." But I think, on the whole that the actors took their parts seriously enough, and the director used his budget wisely (real stunt work and good enough editing). One segment of the movie is confusing, but the scenes, themselves are all well made. I enjoyed the movie, because it knew what it had to work with and I could see a real effort. Enjoy it. P.S. (chek speling) is a little joke--I know there's a silent "J" ;)

Lance Henriksen was the only real reason to pick up this movie. Later on, I read the box to find Isaac Hayes is in here as well. It turns out that this film is basically the X-men movie with more humanity involved. Henriksen's character, Parish, is the leader of a post-meteor collision with Earth, leaving a handful of people at his control (roughly 300 max). He uses his hypnotic control over them (a power he gained during the meteor strike) and has a complete reign of control over others like him who were affected by the crash giving them random super powers as well. Rage, the main character being followed, has the real story in this picture, being Parish's son (a twist which no one should have to wait through this movie for) and having hope that he can escape this new colony with his newfound, similarly-affected friends he has made. Isaac Hayes plays a wise sage who is there to tell Rage and his friends what's really going on throughout the entire film, and he also shows off his cheap "Star Wars-esquire" force push technique on villains. I felt the movie was a ripoff of like-minded films, which is easy to do being that its such an abstract story but very comic book-like. The special effects went back and forth between weird and stupid (hardly mind-blowing except for the child in the film having crazy evil eyes in a scene). The raining sequence was particularly fake-looking. There was a humorous chant and celebration during the naming of the child, which cannot be missed. Also, like Magneto talking about his feelings in the X-men movies, Parish discusses his actions whilst in the midst of some "rage art" (like splattering paint on canvas-art) which is different and should've been looked into character-wise. The set design echoed like-minded films which feature a wasteland-looking scenery, but it didn't reflect the DVD's cover art at all (a downer). The hunters (like in true 80's action films) had very leather and stud motifs in their wardrobe, but the main character good guy team didn't have any special suits or anything (one of the only differences between it and X-men). I liked the one girl, Paloma (I think her name was) was a direct ripoff of Jubilee from X-men and acted more like a human Tesla coil than anyone with superpowers. And the main girl (who could heal people) was just like Jean Grey, Isaac Hayes might as well have been Professor X (but with Hayes' Black Moses wardrobe), and the others had power like heroes on Captain Planet. The music was nothing special except in the first scene when the meteor was going down; it was more-or-less rehashed electronic music with the edge of 80's action movies (again). And the direction was like a television direction, which makes sense as it seems like a straight to video release anyways, yet it was still average with hardly any thought going on. All in all, I gave the film a 5. I check the running time about 4 times in the movie (meaning: it got boring at times), but it was a different take on these hero movies out. This seems more like a vehicle for up and coming actors who are tired of not being in films, so they made this. And it wasn't all that horrible...just average as hell.

Highlights: 1. Movie/TV vets like Sherilyn Fenn and Lance Henrickson deliver as usual. 2. Film newcomer Daniel Goddard is not only an incredibly natural dramatic actor (with lots of range potential), but he also encompasses physical strength and grace of movement. Goddard is a handsome hero, but not so good-looking as to blindside your ability to follow his dialog. I have to admit to being rather smitten with Goddard at this point in his career and look forward to his future projects with great enthusiasm. 3. The secondary cast is also worth mentioning. Although I have never seen any of them before they were also very natural actors. By natural I mean as a complete cast, neither of them seemed to stick out as being amateurs. Lowlights: 1. Gratuitous female T & A shots (and not enough male ones-LOL) 2. In the opening "lets explain how the apocalypse happened" scene, graphics and sound mixing are really bad. Really bad. But post-production budgetary restraints may be to blame for this. 3. Goddard and Isaac Hayes (It's Salisbury Steak day children!-South Park) are captured by a Gothic tribe. While I understand this was the vehicle for bringing Rage and the Dream Warrior together to save the infant 'chosen one', not to mention an extremely sexy sleeper headlock executed by Goddard on a Gothic fighter, it was just kinda cheesy. 4. The infant in more than a few scenes was obviously a doll. In particular, the scene in which Rage is saving the infant and the infants mother by leading them down a ladder to a sun-level, Goddard (and this is my only criticism to this man) does not seem aware of the fact that he is holding an infant. Not that I'm implying they should have used a real infant but at least had Goddard hold something a little more precious than a doll in order to pull the right actions out of him. Neutral: 1. The script must have been quite convincing in order to attract the actors involved but does loose its momentum and clarity a few times as a film. Overall, the cast/crew does an incredible job. By the end of the movie everything seems wrapped up and nicely packed with the exception of Goddard's character Rage who is last scene walking back to the place of contention so "the people" can know the truth about Parish's (Henriksen) fanatical pursuit for perfection.

Throughout the late 1950's and early 1960's, motion picture studios capitalized on the popularity of film by churning out hundreds of B movies. Most of these are forgettable, but, every so often, a picture managed to capture the imagination of an audience and, consequently, turned a tidy profit. As digital film-making technology in the 21st century continues to become available to the booming population, any cinemaphile armed with a camcorder believes he's the next Spielberg, Scorsese, or – could it be – George Lucas. The resulting explosion of horror, thriller, or low-grade science fiction titles available at your corner Blockbuster Video continues to grow. In an era of modern film-making when any Tom, Dick, or Harry possesses affordable technology to make a motion picture, it only stands to reason that there will eventually be more folks making motion pictures than those who should truly be allowed to make motion pictures, and rarely has there been better evidence than that of the direct-to-DVD schlock, "Dream Warrior, " also known as "A Man Called Rage." Rage (played by an unshaven Daniel Goddard) is no ordinary man. Though he's blessed with 'Men's Health' spokesmodel good looks, he's little more than a mutant with superhuman abilities … abilities that start and stop with the gift of grunting and flexing and throwing a grenade on cue. That, and he packs a mean air pistol. He's on the run from Parish (played by ever-reliable and, apparently, always affordable Lance Henricksen), the future's 'man of God' who wants to wipe the impure mutants – like Rage – off the face of the planet … if he could just find then all hiding outside his single building. But when Rage is rescued by a beautiful mutant (the lovely Sherilyn Fenn of 'Twin Peaks' fame), he throws caution to the wind in favor of saving Parish's infant son from the evil leader's nefarious plan … which never quite gets fully explained. Made in a derelict warehouse with wooded exteriors shot a stone's throw away, "Dream Warrior" presents the story of an uninteresting apocalyptic tomorrow not unlike the world seen in the 'Mad Max' films only with much less desert: shabbily-dressed survivors – normal in every sense of the word save their psychic abilities to hurl lightning, heal the injured, and sense water (woohoo!) if they're not dressing 'Goth' and watching men fight to the death on top of a truck bed – march through the woods in search of 'The River,' a place of legend where mankind's last hope for survival can be realized. Of course – with a plot this thin – you know it's only a matter of time before all of these characters are thrown together. Blacksploitation legend Isaac Hayes even makes an appearance as a shadowy religious loner sent to explain it all to the mutants because they apparently don't have enough sense to figure it out for themselves. At best, the film is a guilty pleasure. At worst, the film takes pleasure at being just plain guilty. "Dream Warrior" boasts no real dreams nor any real warriors, and it takes just over 91 minutes for Rage to discover that he's Parish's firstborn, to help kill his maniacal father, and to march off into the woods intent on saving the world. From what? We're never told. Written and directed by Zachary Weintraub, "Warrior" proves definitively that there is one too many Weintraub's working in the film industry.

In a cast of pros, Lance Henriksen and Richard Norton as villain and henchman respectively portray a complex chemistry between their characters that elevates "Dream Warrior" aka "Man Called Rage" above standard action movie fare. The chemistry between these two excellent actors is also obvious, and their scenes together give this movie its best moments of tension and drama. An opening stunt featuring Norton, also the film's stunt coordinator, sets the swift pace for the science fiction epic which will please the "Beastmaster" fans of Daniel Goddard, playing the hero. It's always a thrill to watch actors who excel at their craft, especially when they work together. Norton and Henriksen more than qualify!

I was attracted by the cover art on the box - the photos of armored medieval warriors in post apocalyptic world. Well, the movie has no such characters. But that is not the major problem with it. The first half of the movie makes a good thriller, but the second half is pure disappointment. The acting is good, I have no complaints, but the plot is so weak, the characters and dialogs are so primitive, so no acting can save the movie. This movie is about a life after some major disaster caused by the asteroid. In some local village, I guess, some part of New Jersey ;), one guy became the tyrant and rules the population of a few hundred people. Some people develop an unexplained super powers (healing, light throwing, mind reading) and this tyrant executes them if his bike police (10 people) can catch them. Those guys (called freaks) also develop an opposition. There are some prophecies about the child that will be born and lead them. But the movie does not cover what happens after the child is born - it only covers a fight of several people against the tyrant and his miniature police forces. There are also some punk communities around and the legends of some river with a pure water that runs in a two day drive from the village. The storyline of the movie is really bleak. It does not have good action shots (except for the very beginning), and some episodes look really stupid, like this scene with a hand break at the very end of the movie. All fights are primitive and amateurish. What also makes me laugh is that all actors wear clean and nice clothes but live in wrecks. At least their blue jeans are supposed to be dirty after a few days out in the field, don't you think? In other words, there is nothing really worth mentioning in the movie. It was supposed to be something like Mad Max or Waterworld, but it is not even close. You can spend some time watching this movie, if you do not have anything else to watch. I gave it 3 only for the good acting.

no.sorry.my mistake.i thought for a minute i may have found the plot to this movie.but i don't think think a search party could have any success finding the plot to this movie.there are a few good actors in this movie,but they can't do anything to make it better.i think the movie dragged their performances down with it.as a a result,you won't find much in the way of acting here.and the dialogue.wow.awful,truly awful.i suspect they were going for something profound here,but they fell short by a long shot.this thing is really tedious.i think this is a case where they should have scrapped this thing before it was done,or at least not released it.i don't want to say it's bad,but it sure is the opposite of good.this is how i feel about the movie,and others may feel differently.all i know is,it sure didn't do it for me. for me,Dream Warrior is a 1*/10 movie.

This movie wasn't at all what we expected? We got the impression from the box that it was set in the ancient ages? IE. Attila, or Braveheart because the case showed a guy dressed in armor almost like something from a movie set in the mid-evil era. I was disappointed in the movie overall I found the fight scenes far to rehearsed looking and slow the acting was poor at best minus Danica's (parish's wife, the few's scene's she was in were okay and her acting was slightly better than her co-actor's). It is a (2004) movie but it appeared to be done as a low budget 80's flick which may be due to a low budget I am not sure? It left far to many unanswered question's and overall I cannot even think of a movie to compare it to and unfortunately we feel as though this is one movie that we should not have rented. And I guess it proves the saying, Never judge a movie by the case it comes in :)!!

I basically watch anything with Lance Henriksen in it; even if the movie is bad he's always gives a high-grade performance. This movie had a really cool idea with a very poor execution. If it only had a decent script backing it up, any kind of budget, a director with some kind vision, or even half-way capable actors (Henriksen excluded of course) it would have been much more enjoyable than what we have here. It's like a low-rate X-Men with a post-apocalyptic backdrop. A everything settles man named Parish (Lance Henriksen) becomes the leader (really more like a king) of the new world. Under his rule anything he deems unholy is banned, the main atrocity being people with supernatural, or mutant, powers. Then a mutant named Rage (horribly play by Daniel Goddard) decides to stand up a bring Parish and reign crumbling down. Too bad a cool concept, even if it's not that original, doesn't make a good movie.