Barb Wire | |
---|---|
Directed by | David Hogan |
Screenplay by | Chuck Pfarrer Ilene Chaiken |
Story by | Ilene Chaiken |
Based on | Barb Wire by Chris Warner |
Produced by | Todd Moyer Mike Richardson Brad Wyman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Rick Bota |
Edited by | Peter Schink |
Music by | Michel Colombier |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English French German |
Budget | $9 million |
Box office | $3.8 million |
Barb Wire is a 1996 American superhero film based on the Dark Horse Comics character of the same name. It was directed by David Hogan, produced by Brad Wyman, and written by Chuck Pfarrer and Ilene Chaiken. The film stars Pamela Anderson in the title role, alongside Temuera Morrison, Victoria Rowell, Xander Berkeley, Udo Kier, and Steve Railsback. Although Barb Wire was panned by critics, it has attracted a cult following.
In 2017, during the Second American Civil War, Barb Wire owns the Hammerhead, a nightclub in Steel Harbor, "the last free city" in a United States ravaged by the war. She earns cash as a mercenary and bounty hunter. Chief of Police Willis raids her club. Willis's target is fugitive Dr. Corrina 'Cora D' Devonshire, a former government scientist with information about a new bioweapon called Red Ribbon being developed by her former superiors in the Congressional Directorate. The Congressional Council has tasked Colonel Victor Pryzer with finding Dr. Devonshire so they can end the Second Civil War by releasing the virus on the United Front territories. Dr. Devonshire hopes to escape to Canada to make this information public.
Devonshire turns up at the Hammerhead. She is accompanied by Axel Hood, a "freedom fighter" Barb had loved at the outbreak of the war. The two were separated during the conflict. Axel tries to help Cora get to Canada. They try to find a contraband pair of contact lenses that would allow Cora to evade the retinal scan identification at the Steel Harbor airport. The lenses pass through the hands of several lowlifes before also ending up at Barb's nightclub.
Rather than give the lenses to Cora and Axel, Barb makes a deal with 'Big Fatso', the leader of a junkyard gang: Fatso wants the lenses, which are worth a fortune on the black market, and Barb wants a million dollars and an armed escort to the airport, where she plans to get on the plane to Canada. But Fatso double-crosses Barb; when Barb, Axel and Cora show up at the junkyard to make the swap, Colonel Pryzer and his storm troopers are also there, along with Chief of Police Willis. Willis makes a show of arresting Barb and Cora, but instead of putting handcuffs on Barb, he slips her a hand grenade. Barb uses the grenade to kill Fatso and cause enough confusion to allow Barb, Axel, Cora and Willis to pile into Barb's armored van and lead the Congressionals on a car chase, culminating in a hand-to-hand fight between Barb and Colonel Pryzer on a forklift suspended by crane above the harbor. Pryzer falls to his death while Barb escapes.
The party makes it to the airport, where Barb reveals she still has the contact lenses. She gives them to Cora, and Cora and Axel get on the plane to Canada while Willis and Barb remain on the rainswept tarmac.
Barb Wire was directed by David Hogan, the second-unit director on Alien 3 and Batman Forever . [1] The film had a production budget of $9 million. [2] Anderson did some of her own stunts, despite her fear of heights. The fact that she had to wear high heels and a corset that made her waist 17 inches made fight scenes challenging. [3]
The film provided great publicity for the then-new Triumph Thunderbird 900 motorcycle as it featured in publicity photographs with Pamela Anderson.
A soundtrack album, also titled Barb Wire , was released on April 23, 1996. [4]
Barb Wire was a box-office bomb, [5] grossing less than $3.8 million in the United States. [6]
Barb Wire was panned by critics. Roger Ebert pointed out that the film's plot was identical to that of Casablanca and derided the low-brow attempts at sensuality, but praised the cast and crew's approach to the material: "The filmmakers must have known they were not making a good movie, but they didn't use that as an excuse to be boring and lazy. Barb Wire has a high energy level, and a sense of deranged fun". He gave it two and a half stars. [7] Similarly to Ebert, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly commented on the film's aping of the Casablanca plot and its "teasing, hollow 'naughtiness'", but further said that the film is lacking in energy. He gave it a C. [8] Janet Maslin of The New York Times criticized Anderson's performance, comparing her to Barbie and Barbarella. [1]
Barb Wire holds a 28% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 36 reviews (10 positive, 27 negative), with the consensus stating that "Barb Wire could've been fun camp, but Pamela Anderson can't deliver her lines with any dramatic or comedic impact". [9] The film was ranked in the bottom 20 of the Stinkers' "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list, which noted the 100 worst movies of the 20th century, at #19. [10] [11] Since its release, Barb Wire has attracted a cult following. [2]
Year | Group | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Nominated |
Worst Actress (Pamela Anderson) | Nominated | ||
Worst Screen Couple (Pamela Anderson's "Impressive Enhancements") | Nominated | ||
Worst Screenplay (Chuck Pfarrer and Ilene Chaiken) | Nominated | ||
Worst New Star (Pamela Anderson) | Won | ||
Worst "Original" Song ("Welcome to Planet Boom!", by Tommy Lee) | Nominated | ||
1996 | Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Actress (Pamela Lee [Anderson]) [12] | Nominated |
1997 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Fight (Pamela Anderson/Steve Railsback) | Nominated |
GT Interactive announced that they would be publishing a video game based on the film for the PlayStation, Saturn, PC, and Macintosh in January 1997. [13] The developer was Cryo Interactive. [14] The gameplay was said to be similar to Resident Evil , with a single-player campaign and a two-player deathmatch mode. [15] It was never released.
A 48-page comic book adaptation was published by Dark Horse Comics on May 1, 1996. [16]
Barb Wire is a fictional character appearing in Comics Greatest World, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics. Created by Chris Warner and Team CGW, the character first appeared in Comics' Greatest World: Steel Harbor in 1993. The original Barb Wire series published nine issues between 1994 and 1995 and was followed by a four-issue miniseries in 1996. A reboot was published in 2015 and lasted eight issues. In 1996, the character was adapted into a film starring Pamela Anderson. Unlike the comics, the film takes place in a possible future rather than an alternate version of present-day Earth.
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model and media personality. She is best known for her modelling work in Playboy magazine and for her role as "C.J." Parker on the television series Baywatch (1992–1997).
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