The Overlook Theatre Reviews: Steel Dawn

5 of 7 viewers "Liked" "Steel Dawn" (2018, USA)
Creature reviews have been minimally altered in an attempt to maintain their voice:

Lord Battle - "I saw Steel Dawn for the first time 10 years ago during a post-apocalyptic binge and remembered it as one of the better ones. I think a combination of costumes, set pieces, non-epic storyline, and mutants bursting out of the desert left me with fond memories. This time around (with my heightened expectations) I was left feeling a little bored. Don't get me wrong, this was amazing to watch in a group, and I would have never made the Star Wars Episode I connections had it not been for the Wandering Panda yelling about it every 5 minutes... I just can't imagine watching this film alone like I did a decade ago. Oh, and Patrick Swayze fights a mercenary that looks like he played guitar for Ratt!" - 3.5 Stars

Math Mage - "Patrick Swayze battles mutants in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland*. It's as awesome as it sounds, though still is not super important and there isn't much of a new beginning (as would be implied by "Dawn")." - 4 Stars *It is implied that there was a time "before the sandstorms came" but it is not specified that it happens after our world is destroyed so it could be a different fantasy world.

Huntress - "Steel Dawn was filled with, questionable fashion choices, lots of memorable supporting characters, and Patrick Swayze who stole the show. It was set in an awesome fantasy-desert world but much like its surroundings felt a bit dry at times. Still, this is a film that deserves to be uncovered." - 3.5 Stars

Dabbles - "Post-apocalyptic Patrick Swayze. Enough said. It is definitely something to see." - 5 Stars

Wandering Panda - "Patrick Swayze. That's all... the reason I voted for this movie out of 5 others mainly because of (PS) however this movie is way more than that. And by its self a really good watch. I liked the desert wasteland setting and fantasy aspect of this movie. If you like D&D or seen the original Star Wars you'll get a kick out of this. Thank god for random movies that are old and somewhat forgotten. Because this movie is an eye-opener for me to not judge a movie by the year it's made because that's how a hidden gem gets discovered." - 4 Stars

Harvey Spectre - "A beefy hodgepodge... more like STEEL YAWN!" - 1 Star

Eddie the Gamer Ghoul - *Fell Asleep* - Default 2 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

(Below is for after you've seen the film)


This past Thursday marks the return of an old Overlook tradition where the creatures pass around a stack of movies (in various formats) and select two they'd like to see. Math Mage then totals the votes and announces (usually with a grumble) which film we'd be watching. Steel Dawn won the vote this time and, after looking at the creature reviews, only because Patrick Swayze was on the cover! Honestly, there isn't too much to say about our screening other than it was fun, so below I'm going to share some of our favorite Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace stills from Steel Dawn.

Here we see Swayze brave the barren sands of Tatooine. The body in the foreground is a mutant he beat up.
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Patrick soon stumbles upon a moister farm. This farm is particularly effective as there is a secret door leading to a hidden natural water supply underground. I should mention that I love the inclusion of hidden passages and such in films, and Steel Dawn aka Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace really caught me off guard with this one. I loved it.
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Meet young Anakin. He's stopped working on his pod-racer to alert his mom of a wandering stranger approaching.
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Many a director has talked about the way hair can date a film...
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We skip to the third act of the film and find Anakin's pod-racer is more of a crappy wind-cart..? Note the blades on the wheels and two spears ready to be grabbed and thrown.
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Lastly, we see Mad Max square up with a crappy wind-cart rider who is totally equipped with nunchucks. Oh yeah, there was a dog I forgot to mention.
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- Lord Battle

The Overlook Theatre materialized in a residence for a special screening on 3/1/2018
*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not affect the rating.