Ator: The Fighting Eagle is nothing more than a laughably lame, second-rate, knock-off of Conan the Barbarian, one of several from that era and somehow this accidental comedy of a movie would spawn at least two sequels.
The film stars Miles O'Keefe in the title-role of Ator (i.e. discount Conan), who is marked from birth with a sign, which falls in line with the movies illogical and nonsensical story-line, which entails him (once he's grown into manhood) as it is predestined, to become the conqueror of "the ancient one" and as prophesied if Ator were to slay this ancient dude and end his 1,000 year reign, a new era of peace and happiness would befall the realm. Described that way the movies plot sounds fairly straight forward, however if you try to follow this movies plot, which I would not recommend doing, as it just seems to lessen the fun of this schlocky-ham-handed-B-rate-barbarian-spectacle. In other words when watching this mindless tromp through ancient times, just sit back and turn off your brain and enjoy the ridiculousness of it all. Because as you'll no doubt see Ator: The Fighting Eagle (even it's title doesn't even seem to correlate to anything relevant to it's plot) is a movie that's rife with plot-holes and loaded with illogical situations, not to mention the movies corny special effects and numerous, tepidly-staged, action sequences.
Let me briefly go into description of Ator - our mighty hero in the movie. Miles O'Keefe is a guy who evidently had some bodybuilding in his background and thus has a ripped, though not heavily muscled physique (he's no Arnold) and looks to be well over six-feet tall. So far he sounds like he fits the role, but then there's the fact that he's more of a metro-sexual, sissy-pants, than a believable screen hero. Then we have his costume (the wardrobe department has to take some of the blame for this one), when Ator makes his first appearance he's wearing this ridiculous looking, fur-lined, get-up that also has lots of frilly fringe. Cringe. He also has white flowers weaved through his hair, which throughout the movie qualifies as an anachronism, our hero's hair; because where in a medieval world did Ator get his Aqua Net.
The villains of this schlocky mess of a movie are just as lame as the hero, especially the bald black guy whose decked out in studded, black leather armor (standard issue among medieval villains), who has an infatuation with Tarantula's and who is also in the habit of wearing heavy amounts of golden eye-shadow....... sound cringe-worthy? You'd be right. Then there's yet another villain, whose grand plan further undermines the movies already flawed logic and cliché-ridden plot, but seeing as how Ator is a poorly made fantasy film / barbarian-adventure-romp it doesn't really seem to matter whether it's story makes sense or not. It's my suggestion that you suspend any inkling of disbelief (which you'll undoubtedly have) and simply relish all the unintentional humor Ator brings to your screen. Because, Yes, this movie is a bad as looks.
Which brings me to another point that doesn't bode well for Lord Ator, which is the fact that the image quality of this movie (or lack of it), no matter what copy you're watching, always looks flat-out terrible. It's image is beset with several significant problems, which range from it's faded, washed-out, color, to it's weak contrast levels; which looks especially bad whenever there's a scene involving a low-light setting and seeing as how nearly half the movie takes place inside a series of caves, you can expect to see lots of washed-out blacks and an overall heavily marred and hazy image quality - which proves to be so bad in certain places that it's to the point of distraction. Though I doubt it, Ator: The Fighting Eagle looks as if it were a movie that was shot directly to VHS tape - because that's just how bad it looks.
The films production values are another mark against it, what a joke, with it's lame small-scale sets, goofy-looking costumes, deplorable FX, etc and when you add everything up it all makes for a very cheap and amateurish looking movie. But if there's one category where Ator doesn't come up on the short-side of, it's tail; for Ator's a real cocksman in this movie, starting with a young women who he thinks is his sister and yet wants to marry her anyway (so pitch in a hint of incest). Then there's a blonde-headed amazon on horseback not far in, which eventually leads to a whole tribe of amazonian warriors (they fight over him in order to earn the privilege of mating with him), then further on there's a wizardly seductress whose aching for some action with Ator.... and well I've lost count, but I think there's one more romantic interlude near the end.
If there's one scene that's a stand out, not because it's actually good, but because it's a showcase of terrible FX. Near the end through the black magic of "the ancient one" there's shape-shifting in the air, so beware! What you can expect to see is a big phony-looking spider, but in reality it's just a badly made puppet, that looks about as realistic as drugstore-brand Halloween decor (or maybe some crap bought at Spencer Gifts after the holidays when their trying to off-load their seasonal merchandise at a discount). Which is no surprise really, because "big scary spiders" always look phony in old movies, always.
So in the end, if you want to see a pathetic Conan The Barbarian rip-off settle down and put on Ator: The Fighting Eagle and afterwards if you still somehow find yourself craving for more Ator movies, Miles O'Keefe starred in at least two sequels - and in one those movies Ator, our dear, sword-swinging, barbarian friend goes hand-gliding!
The film stars Miles O'Keefe in the title-role of Ator (i.e. discount Conan), who is marked from birth with a sign, which falls in line with the movies illogical and nonsensical story-line, which entails him (once he's grown into manhood) as it is predestined, to become the conqueror of "the ancient one" and as prophesied if Ator were to slay this ancient dude and end his 1,000 year reign, a new era of peace and happiness would befall the realm. Described that way the movies plot sounds fairly straight forward, however if you try to follow this movies plot, which I would not recommend doing, as it just seems to lessen the fun of this schlocky-ham-handed-B-rate-barbarian-spectacle. In other words when watching this mindless tromp through ancient times, just sit back and turn off your brain and enjoy the ridiculousness of it all. Because as you'll no doubt see Ator: The Fighting Eagle (even it's title doesn't even seem to correlate to anything relevant to it's plot) is a movie that's rife with plot-holes and loaded with illogical situations, not to mention the movies corny special effects and numerous, tepidly-staged, action sequences.
Let me briefly go into description of Ator - our mighty hero in the movie. Miles O'Keefe is a guy who evidently had some bodybuilding in his background and thus has a ripped, though not heavily muscled physique (he's no Arnold) and looks to be well over six-feet tall. So far he sounds like he fits the role, but then there's the fact that he's more of a metro-sexual, sissy-pants, than a believable screen hero. Then we have his costume (the wardrobe department has to take some of the blame for this one), when Ator makes his first appearance he's wearing this ridiculous looking, fur-lined, get-up that also has lots of frilly fringe. Cringe. He also has white flowers weaved through his hair, which throughout the movie qualifies as an anachronism, our hero's hair; because where in a medieval world did Ator get his Aqua Net.
The villains of this schlocky mess of a movie are just as lame as the hero, especially the bald black guy whose decked out in studded, black leather armor (standard issue among medieval villains), who has an infatuation with Tarantula's and who is also in the habit of wearing heavy amounts of golden eye-shadow....... sound cringe-worthy? You'd be right. Then there's yet another villain, whose grand plan further undermines the movies already flawed logic and cliché-ridden plot, but seeing as how Ator is a poorly made fantasy film / barbarian-adventure-romp it doesn't really seem to matter whether it's story makes sense or not. It's my suggestion that you suspend any inkling of disbelief (which you'll undoubtedly have) and simply relish all the unintentional humor Ator brings to your screen. Because, Yes, this movie is a bad as looks.
Which brings me to another point that doesn't bode well for Lord Ator, which is the fact that the image quality of this movie (or lack of it), no matter what copy you're watching, always looks flat-out terrible. It's image is beset with several significant problems, which range from it's faded, washed-out, color, to it's weak contrast levels; which looks especially bad whenever there's a scene involving a low-light setting and seeing as how nearly half the movie takes place inside a series of caves, you can expect to see lots of washed-out blacks and an overall heavily marred and hazy image quality - which proves to be so bad in certain places that it's to the point of distraction. Though I doubt it, Ator: The Fighting Eagle looks as if it were a movie that was shot directly to VHS tape - because that's just how bad it looks.
The films production values are another mark against it, what a joke, with it's lame small-scale sets, goofy-looking costumes, deplorable FX, etc and when you add everything up it all makes for a very cheap and amateurish looking movie. But if there's one category where Ator doesn't come up on the short-side of, it's tail; for Ator's a real cocksman in this movie, starting with a young women who he thinks is his sister and yet wants to marry her anyway (so pitch in a hint of incest). Then there's a blonde-headed amazon on horseback not far in, which eventually leads to a whole tribe of amazonian warriors (they fight over him in order to earn the privilege of mating with him), then further on there's a wizardly seductress whose aching for some action with Ator.... and well I've lost count, but I think there's one more romantic interlude near the end.
If there's one scene that's a stand out, not because it's actually good, but because it's a showcase of terrible FX. Near the end through the black magic of "the ancient one" there's shape-shifting in the air, so beware! What you can expect to see is a big phony-looking spider, but in reality it's just a badly made puppet, that looks about as realistic as drugstore-brand Halloween decor (or maybe some crap bought at Spencer Gifts after the holidays when their trying to off-load their seasonal merchandise at a discount). Which is no surprise really, because "big scary spiders" always look phony in old movies, always.
So in the end, if you want to see a pathetic Conan The Barbarian rip-off settle down and put on Ator: The Fighting Eagle and afterwards if you still somehow find yourself craving for more Ator movies, Miles O'Keefe starred in at least two sequels - and in one those movies Ator, our dear, sword-swinging, barbarian friend goes hand-gliding!