Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Wizard-8
This comic take on space films (and swashbuckler films) did have potential - it had a significant budget, as well as a capable cast. However, I have to confess that I found the end results to be somewhat disappointing. Oh, there is some good production design here and there, and there are a few chuckles generated, the most coming from the wacky space warp climax. But for the most part, the movie is a mess. It seems to be making things up as it goes along instead of having a clear vision (comic or otherwise) from the start. And for the most part, it is acted and directed in a way that seems to be screaming, "Ha ha, aren't we clever?" - which gets tiresome really fast. Because of this, I didn't really care for the characters despite the cast giving gung ho performances. Evidence for how this movie should have been done can be seen with the Mel Brooks movie "Spaceballs". Yes, that movie was very goofy, but it was made with a clear vision throughout and had likable characters.
mdenvee
Anyone who does not rate this movie 8 or higher is not being objective. I give it a 10 for what the movie was designed to be- a dark sci-fi satire, emphasis on the dark. No, it doesn't compare to Gone with the Wind or Schindlers List, and it's not supposed to. It is a unique, rarely produced seriously dark edgy comic-drama. People who compare it to Spaceballs and others of that ilk are misguided- Ice Pirates is NOT a spoof movie or juvenile comedy. Yes, there are some clearly adolescent moments, but this movie is of that uncommonly found genre of dark satire like "Mystery Men". What sets this movie apart from silly comedies like Spaceballs and others is the variety of serious emotional moments, love scenes, death scenes and a generally elevated plot- finding a new source of water in the galaxy. Basically it is like making a movie based on Han Solo and Chewbacca and their adventures- serious but replete with comic, witty, edgy, and romantic moments. Star Wars would have been a completely serious film like 2001 if not for Han Solo, and would have suffered for it. When you watch Ice Pirates, you need a bit more of "suspension of disbelief". Unlike most other movies of ANY genre, Ice Pirates has a fast pace, endlessly interesting backdrops, and surprisingly few ridiculous aliens- compared to the numerous silly creatures in Stars Wars/Return of the Jedi. The movie is underrated, I think, primarily due to the campy nature of the comic moments- but then again that is Han Solo from top to bottom. And never a boring moment.
JoeB131
And this really wasn't. I think they tried to find jokes that reminded you of Star Wars and Alien, but they just didn't work. Most of the jokes fell flat, like the "Space Herpe". (Remember in the 1980's when were were all afraid of Herpes?) The plot is that water is a rare commodity in the future. (Again, if you want to write GOOD science fiction, you have to understand science!) So this Evil Empire called the Templars controls all the water, except for Ice Pirates who steal it, (probably inspired by some hack California screenwriter who was told he couldn't turn on his sprinkler during a drought.) You had a bunch of actors essentially committing career suicide here. Mary Crosby, fresh off her stint on "Dallas", was never heard from again. Neither were most of the cast, except for Ron Perlman and Robert Urich, who got new chances to crash their careers...The special effects were cheesy looking, which is probably the movie's main problem.
zetes
Awful Star Wars knock-off with a slightly more comic tinge. Robert Urich stars as the leader of a group of ice pirates, who steal ice because water is the most valuable substance in the universe now (how all the poor people stay alive is a mystery). He hooks up with Mary Crosby (Bing's daughter, around 25 and a total cutie), a princess looking for her missing father. Also in the cast are an embarrassed-looking Anjelica Huston in some hilarious sci-fi get-ups and a pudgy, short-ish Ron Perlman (whom I thought was seven feet tall from his other roles!). And John Carradine, who looks days from death and Hollywood Squares funnyman (relative term) Bruce Vilanch. If you ever wanted to see Bruce Vilanch get decapitated, here's your film. But, then again, even that's not worth seeing, as it doesn't shut him up at all (think he might have been a robot, but I nodded off a couple of times).
