In the science fiction clunker of David Hogan in 1996 “Barb Wire”, Pamela Anderson (who was freshly released on stars on “Baywatch” when she made the film) plays Barb Kopetski, a stripper and a bar-owner who tries to survive in a civil war then civil. Meanwhile, Barb directs the Hammerhead, a nightclub and a place of performance for adults in the only free city in the countryside. Barb dances on stage but does not tolerate any lasciviousness; She murdered a patron with her tip heels shoe for the temerity of calling her “baby”. Barb is carefree, carefree with war and only turns on itself. Oh, yes, and on the side, she earns money as a premium hunter and independent vigilante.
Her romance is interrupted by the reappearance of Axel (Temuera Morrison), an old boyfriend whom she loved deeply but who abandoned her years earlier. Axel arrived at the Hammerhead with his new girlfriend, Dr. is Leadhire (Victoria Rowell), who disclosed the information she hoped to arrive at the press. She and Axel will have to escape in Canada to make information public, then Axel hopes to excite Barb to help them. Will Barb will occur above his sorrow and will he help them? Or repel in indifference?
If history seems familiar, it is because it is a deliberate riff on “Casablanca”. Barb Wire is Rick, Axel is Isla and Dr. Devonshire is Victor Laszlo. Likewise, the coveted output visas of “Casablanca” are transformed into high -tech contact lenses that would allow DR to be simulating a retinal scan. “Barb Wire”, to cement the parallels, also presents bad soldiers in Nazi uniforms.
Hogan’s film was widely shot in its initial theatrical release, criticism citing its narrative stiffness and criticizing Anderson’s wide performance. It took years to a cult audience to start training around “Barb Wire”, with fans praising the style of the clumsy 90s of the film and the campinous wide open. And, no, Anderson does not give bad performance; Just a big one.
Barb Wire is fun, damn
“Barb Wire” started his life in 1993 as a comic strip created by Chris Warner & Team CGW and published by Dark Horse. The latter is, to remind readers, the price editor with hard edges like “300”, “Sin City”, “Hellboy”, “Umbrella Academy” and “Usagi Yojimbo”. He also gained a lot of influence for license film characters and giving them any new comic strip. Dark Horse released comics with Indiana Jones, Robocop, The Terminator and the characters of “Planet of the Apes”. It was even the first to publish the comics “Alien vs. Predator” which would finally be adapted to the film in 2004.
The “Barb Wire” comics were even wilder than the film, taking place in a parallel universe where an extraterrestrial monster called the vortex arrived on earth in 1931. He remained on earth for many years, carrying out experiments on human inhabitants, before he – like Godzilla – be transferred by nuclear tests from the 1940s. The bombs also opened a strange extraterrestrial portal which Released mutative influence through the planet, granting superpowers to large segments of the human population. Regarding history, the comics catch up by Barb to the Hammerhead at a time when she still has the place and always the bonai of the bonuses as a bonus hunter (with a second civil war preparing in the background).
The 1996 film adaptation, to reiterate, takes place in the future then, not an alternative version of the present, and does not contain super fed people. The premise of science fiction, it seems, was sufficient for the filmmakers. Unfortunately, it was not enough to help the reputation of the film. “Barb Wire” was laughed at theaters, having only $ 3.8 million at the box office against a modest budget of $ 9 million.
However, as my personal axiom, trash + time = culture. “Barb Wire” was finally adopted by science fiction lovers of the 90s Campy, with certain criticisms having recently compared the film to “Showgirls” by Paul Verhoeven, but in a positive sense. After 15 consecutive years of super-series superhero films, it is striking to come back to what the wacky and dangerous “barb wire” feels. It is not currently available in streaming, but there are cheap blu-rays.
