Disappointment for a huge fan!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Other watchers of Archer: Fugitive from the Empire comment harshly about its dated special effects, not being really focused overall, average acting, etc. I believe they're lost to the Content and the Context of the movie's premise, target audience, and production values which made it a forerunner for later TV shows.1. It's a Sword & Sorcery Fantasy movie - our young hero is a rebel to his father, he uses a super-powered bow, his sidekick is a thief, he has semi-sexual tension going on with a rival sorceress.2. In the 1980's - the special effects, costumes, and makeup were very advanced. The armor & weapons were sturdier than a lot of the other films at the time. The snake-men makeup and their ability to rise suddenly from the ground was similar to the Terrians found in the later short-lived TV science fiction series, Earth 2.3. Like other movies and TV shows, the quest is the main theme. The hero, sidekick, and love-interest always have their quirks. If it's too obvious, the watcher loses interest - if too vague, we become lost to the plot line. This movie gave us several subplots: hero coming of age, prevent an invasion, rescue persecuted villagers & citizens, fight off the bad guy (who's so much like Darth Vader), and of course - search for your Mentor (who's like Obi-Wan Kenobi).4. Archer intrigues the viewer not by today's measurements of story-arc, pilot episode allure, best computer/explosion/gore effects. It makes the viewer wonder what amazing twist is going to happen in a subtle way apart from the obvious Fantasy movie stereotypes (just like Heroes did every week). The target audience in the 1980's were mostly teenagers and college guys who were into Star Wars, Conan, etc. Every critic I've read of seems to want a straight-forward action/adventure movie to play out like a Shakespeare drama with intensity. I think Archer did its job of making me wish I could be the Hero as I sat in my seat enjoying my popcorn and soda!!5. I have this movie in VHS video format - wish I could get it as a DVD. Even after all these years, I watch it late at night and weekends just to see enjoy the adventure as a teenager in a grown-man's body!

I was a 10 year old boy when I saw this on TV. Odd how certain things stick in your mind.I still remember something about the evil guy--I believe he had a black beard?--and his magic item, as a sort of contrast to the Heartbow, was, if I recall, a sort of metal gauntlet thing with a blue gemstone in it. I don't recall what its power was, but if he put it on, he had some sort of energy power. I think the screen would turn blue and dark/light inverted, as when the Heartbow arrows "exploded". A modern film reference to the blue gauntlet would be a good obscure reference.The great thing about the internet is you can ramble like this about things that don't matter in the slightest little bit...and it's okay.

When this movie appeared in 1981, I was a young boy filled with dreams of one day becoming a great warrior. Silly as these dreams may seem now, at the time they helped fill what were otherwise boring afternoons in a time when we were all waiting for the 80's to fully materialize. Looking back on this film now after twenty-five years, I still feel young and strong and full of magical powers every time I see it as it gave us the feel of otherworldly power and secrets that may have existed long ago, before movies like THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy put that idea into the minds of young and old alike. The acting was weak and character development was pushed aside in favor of time constraints but all-in-all I liked the way the film made me feel. And, after all, isn't that why we give up two hours of our precious time anyway?

As with certain films of the filmed noir genre, there are unheralded fantasy films that also fall in to the category of "sleepers" i.e., very entertaining but not widely reviewed/seen. To name a few: Forbidden Planet, The Forbidden Street, I'll Never Forget You (Berkely Square), The Sword & the Sorcerer, Sinbad the Sailor, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Sinbad & the Eye of the Tiger, Demon Seed, Five Million Years to Earth, Omar Khayyam, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (now a classic), as well as The Dam Busters, (if you are not offended by the name of the dog) and the exceptional, Curse of the Demon.These are but a few examples of some lesser credited "sleepers", yet they are thoroughly entertaining films. I would handily rate it **** out of ***** stars.