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Jack Hunter & The Quest For Akhenaten's Tomb

Starring Ivan Sergei, Joanne Kelly, Alaina Kalanj and Thure Riefenstein.

Directed by Terry Cunningham.

Action Adventure

USA (Filmed in Turkey) 2008


Part 2 of 3 - IMO better than part 1, mostly because they introduce a new character, a spunky and saucy female archeologist who joins Jack and Nadja on a new quest for an ancient artifact - however, all is not what it seems.

Unexpectedly, they're getting closer to the M&J archetypes here, with Nadja being tall, dark haired and easily offended, and Lena, the new character, being short, with short blonde hair, and as I said above, a very spunky personality.

Unfortunately they don't know how to properly exploit these characters, as they're given next to nothing to do - whenever there's an action sequence, it's the Great Hero Jack who gets to be in the middle of all the fun, while Nadja's hiding under a table (yes, really).

At least Lena gets to throw a few punches


Michael

Jack Hunter & The Star Of Heaven

Starring Ivan Sergei, Joanne Kelly, Thure Riefenstein and Susan Ward.

Directed by Terry Cunnningham.

Action adventure

USA (Made in Turkey) 2008/2009


Part 3 of 3. Well, this was the last part, and unfortunately, I found it to be the weakest of the three. Perhaps it just seemed that way because part 2 was so great, but part 3 didn't have much energy, despite a couple of wild shootouts and a car chase. The 'guest character' of this episode was very pale compared to the wonderfully saucy Lena in part 2, and he wasn't able to add much to the story, IMO.

One of the classic problems faced by any action adventure show is how to make the lead villain interesting enough to be a threat, but at the same time keep the heroes at the center of the narrative, and they didn't really achieve that balance here, IMO. Thure Riefenstein's Albert Littman completely stole the show from the somewhat pale heroes and their horrendously over-acting sidekick.

Once again Joanne Kelly had absolutely zip to do, apart from having her character getting thrown into jail more than once. She's fine in the role of Nadja, but it must be frustrating for an experienced actress to be hardly more than window-dressing.

The ending turns out as it should in these things (taking a cue from Star Wars Episode 3), but... ... it was almost, but not quite, there. The villain had to go, but in the end, I almost found myself cheering for the wrong side

All in all the Jack Hunter miniseries was good, but not exceptional.


Michael

Hercules & The Lost Kingdom

Starring Kevin Sorbo, Renée O'Connor, Robert Trebor and Anthony Quinn as Zeus.

Directed by Harley Cokliss.

Fantasy/Action Adventure

USA (Made in NZ) 1994


I've watched Lost Kingdom a dozen times, and it never fails to entertain me. Renée's spunky, young pre-Gab is sooo cute, and Robert Trebor is already making the groundwork for Salmoneus.

Even apart from the (soon-to-be) familiar faces, it's actually quite good Fantasy, IMO. Old-school, yes, but enjoyable. It feels like it could've been made in the '60s, which is actually a good thing for us Sword & Sandal enthusiasts - the sets, the costumes and the story are all exactly as they should be for this type of story.

"More of the same, please"


Michael