Warlords of the 21st Century

Plot synopsis:
All remaining reserves of petroleum have finally run out; forcing people to ration the few remaining containers of gasoline left on the earth against mercenaries and warlords. Straker and his men (accompanied by his daughter Corlie - played by Annie McEnroe) find a vast supply of diesel fuel in a compound once thought to be radioactive. When Corlie refuses to execute the previous owners, she runs away from base camp. Hunter (Michael Beck), on his amazing (possibly ex-future-military) motorcycle, rescues the girl and takes her to his farm. After keeping her on the farm on a temporary basis, Hunter sends her off to live in a walled city (known in-film as Clearwater Farm) governed by a strict old-fashioned democracy (similar to the Quakers) where she is quickly accepted by the community. However, she is soon discovered by the mercenaries commanded by her father, Colonel Straker (James Wainwright), who moves to attack the Clearwater community. In the chaos that ensues, Corlie manages to escape back to Hunter's remote hideout.
Straker terrorises the residents of Clearwater, taking their weapons, medicines, and other supplies and handing the women over to his men. Within a short time, one of the residents of Clearwater betrays the Clearwater mechanic/fabricator, Rusty, who knows the secret location of Hunter's hideout. Straker & Co. use torture to get the information out of Rusty, then move in to attack Hunter's base and recapture Corlie. Hunter and Corlie escape on his bike, Straker, in a minor rage, plows through Hunter's place with the truck. Hunter takes Corlie back to the Clearwater people and asks Rusty to build him an armored car to attack Straker's "battle truck". While Rusty and Hunter and a few others are thus occupied, the traitor who betrayed Corlie before knocks her out, puts her in a wagon and heads out to deliver her back to Straker. Hunter tries to stop him, but the traitor sets an ambush for him and wounds him with a crossbow. Believing that he has killed Hunter, he appears at Straker's HQ with Corlie in the wagon and very pleased with himself.
Meanwhile, Hunter regains consciousness and manages to limp back to Clearwater on his bike. While getting patched up there, Rusty finishes the armored car and shortly Hunter takes off in it, despite the fact that he is wounded. He attacks Straker's HQ, plowing through buildings and tents and eventually dropping a grenade into Straker's 50,000 litre diesel supply. He then runs and Straker, now in a towering rage, takes off after him. In the process, he forces the driver to overdo it in the truck, overheating the turbines. This stresses out the driver, (who loves the truck), and leads to dissension between him and Straker. Hunter meanwhile gets some distance ahead, jumps out of the car and climbs to a high place overlooking the road and it is now revealed that the whole attack on Straker's HQ was a ruse to lure the truck into an ambush. The Clearwater people are at the high place waiting for Hunter with his motorcycle and a rocket launcher which Hunter had given them earlier in the movie. Hunter fires a couple of rockets at the truck, one causes slight damage and a small fire, which causes more stress between Straker and the truck driver. The driver attempts to kill Straker, who he feels is uselessly destroying the truck, Straker kills the driver, who slumps over the wheel and now the truck, throttles set to full, is more or less out of control.
Back on the bike again, Hunter manages to jump onto the truck through a hole in the top that one of his rockets had made. A gun battle/slugfest ensues, the truck still careening wildly back and forth while Corlie tries to control it with the body of the driver slumped over the wheel and Straker furiously shouting commands to everybody. Eventually, Hunter fights his way to the front, temporarily stuns and maybe blinds Straker, grabs Corlie, and jumps with her from the back of the still wildly out of control "battle truck" (leaving his bike on the truck). Now Straker is the last one alive on the truck, still screaming, making threats, and bumbling about in the smoking ruins of the interior. Finally, the truck, which has long since left the road and has been roaming wildly across the open desert, goes over a cliff and rolls over and over and over in a dramatic, slow-motion crash scene. The truck explodes and is well and truly destroyed, (shedding axles and other heavy bits all the way down), and part of it ends up in a lake at the bottom.
Hunter and Corlie end up back at Clearwater, where Corlie apparently settles for good as part of the community. Ever the loner, Hunter rides off into the sunset on a horse, promising Corlie that he'll be back "sometime".

Tags: violence

Review:
"Warlords of the 21st Century" aka "Battletruck" (as it is known to me) was a movie that I saw once when I was about eleven years old.
This low budget "Mad Max"-like action flick is no blockbuster, nor is it surprising since the storyline is very straightforward..
But the battletruck itself looks scary, the music is a little creepy and the acting performances are good enough..
Reading the comments about this movie, for one, their not trying to sound like Americans, they are speaking New Zealand, thats the way we sound except for the odd over acted lines.
i remember this being made and even seeing the land rover series one come to our school.knew the truck driver who drove the Mack, and even where most of the scenes where filmed.
New Zealand's take on the 80's Post-Nuke Future hoopla and as they see it: Napalm has won over lipstick and chicken excrement is the way to drive!.
With having watched quite a few 80's post-nuke films more by now, I was kind of afraid that BATTLETRUCK wouldn't hold together very well anymore.
Of course BATTLETRUCK holds references to MAD MAX (but that's what we expect from any post-apo flick, right?).
At least it's not one of those laughter-inducing Snake Plissken rip-offs this 80's sub-genre was flooded with.This is one of those very few 80's post-apocalyptic/wastelands themed movies that I can actually agree on being a very serious genre-effort (as in: It doesn't go shamelessly over-the-top) and even a good movie in general.
I don't really understand why this movie was released under the title WARLORDS OF THE 21st CENTURY For one thing, it makes you suspect that you're dealing with a very cheesy, incompetent and blatant 80's Italian genre-effort.
The black truck featured in this movie, really is the main attraction and it looks frickin' great!
And then there's also great shots of the evil truck approaching in the distance, while on the foreground you can see unsuspecting (soon to be) victims.Truck itself, isn't really a demonic entity of course - like the car in THE CAR (1977), for instance – but it's owned by Colonel Straker, the villainous leader of a band of thugs roaming the wastelands (basically pillaging everything in sight, torturing and killing random people and always searching for precious gasoline).
But that even seemed to be done on purpose: It gives you the time to really get to know (and care about) all the characters, and see how they tie in all together (because some of them have secrets).The whole cast is doing a pretty swell job for a movie of this type.
Michael Beck pulls it of nicely as the loner-hero with his nifty-looking bike (thankfully not featuring any goofy gadgets), not really intending to fight, but taking action and making a stand when doing what is right is called for.
And you can bet your sweet behind, that whenever he puts his arm around your shoulder and smiles, your minutes are numbered.Brings us to the violent outbursts (that every self-respecting post-nuke film simply must have).
BATTLETRUCK isn't a non-stop portrayal of action and violence (and that really uplifts this movie above the general sludge that was being released in this genre).
Great timing with the good-looking blood-squirts in that scene too.
But just don't expect gory sights in BATTLETRUCK; director Harley Cokeliss kept it realistic and didn't over-do it.The cinematography is also a lot better-looking than many of those notable Italian post-nuke efforts.
The landscapes from Otago, New Zealand are astonishing (as if we didn't know that already), without going astray too much from that "dusty wasteland" feeling every post-apo flick needs.
And there are a couple of cool helicopter-shots, filming Hunter ripping through the landscapes on his bike and showing the battle truck roaming the wastelands.
Aside that, the few stunts (with vehicles) in the movie even look real and convincing.
But during some action-sequences, when his score becomes more up-tempo rocking (and some guitars even come on), it gets reduced to being not much more than just amusing (oh well, after all: This is a movie from the 80's).
So, BATTLETRUCK has a tight, not too complicated plot and decent character-drawings.
I've never seen all those elements dosed in such a well-balanced manner in any post-apocalyptic movie.
It's ONLY similarity to MAD MAX is the post apocalyptic oil-less future!
Pretty much known as BATTLETRUCK everywhere (smewhat understandable - who wants to refer to a flick as WARLORDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY?) the film rips along quite nicely.
Definitely, the way to go in gridlock!Hero Hunter (Beck) rides his own mean "Street Hawkmobile" and despite being shot pretty much through the heart with an arrow, is able to get straight back on to his dirt-bike extraordinaire and take it up to warlord Straker who looks suspiciously like a reject from a STEVEN SEAGAL movie!The DUELesque ending is superbly done - shot from the almost identical angles that Spielberg used.
Its got a really gritty post apocalyptic feel to it and i think its just as good as Mad Max 1 and 2 and BETTER than Thunderdome.
The American accents from the NZ actors are awful for starters ("Gaaad Daayyum") and then there's the fact that the film obviously does not take place in the US (right hand drive, the NZ mountain ranges) NZ is great..
Now i remember seeing this film on late night television for the first time when i was around ten years old.
I remember loving it then, mainly for the action and thinking the main character of Hunter was cool (he rode a kick-a** motorcycle).
I honestly don't know what else they would want or expect from a low budget action/sci-fi film.
Its a highly entertaining good versus evil film, and it was just as magical and great as i remembered from my childhood.
All i can say is that if you too like me are a sap for low budget independent cinema you cannot go wrong with "Warlords of the 21st Century (aka Battletruck)".
It's very lucky that this film has such a cool 'Battletruck' or else it wouldn't be worth much at all.
As it is, it's not a good movie, and yet it's not bad enough to moan and groan over - moan and groan in either a laughable or a bored way.Within the first few minutes 'Warlords of the 21st Century' (isn't Battletruck the better choice?) it's unavoidable to make comparisons to one of the greatest films ever 'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.' After all, both films take place in a post apocalyptic future where gasoline is a precious commodity; both have a giant Semi truck hauling around the Land Down Under; and both have a quiet, mysterious hero to fight for the people in danger!
Battletruck isn't enough of a Mad Max clone to draw comparisons throughout the whole movie but the film doesn't have enough ingenuity to stand on it's own.
I was hoping for some good action; the back of the VHS box states that there is a 'terrifying chase' at the climax.
And while the film does end on a high note with a little bloodshed and an impressive slow-mo explosive of the Battletruck, there is little else to cheer about.
In the first hour of the 91 minutes, a few people get shot, there's a few explosions, a weak chase scene and, you bet, some Battletruck destruction!
Mostly though, we get a bunch of aerial shots of bikes/cars/Battletruck driving through the wasteland.
Hooray.My pleasure stems from watching the hero, Hunter (played by Michael Beck of 'The Warriors' deliver the monotone one-liners while still having the physical charisma to run, dive, punch, kick, and shoot.
'The Warriors' is one of my favorite films, so for me shouting out "no Swan!" to the screen gives me some giddy joy - most other viewers may not get the same joy.James Wainwright, as the villain Stryker out to rule the world and collect fuel, is good although he could do this role in his sleep.
So it's a bit of a relief/surprise that the acting is as good as it is for such a ho-hum film.But the real star is of course Battletruck..
I think "Battletruck" is a better title..
This film I think he did pretty well in.
So the story is pretty simple.It's about a futuristic war in the 21st century is looking for a new age in technology.
I am not so interested in the film, but like I said, i'm a Michael Beck fan.
It isn't bad for it's time, but now it's not so great.
"Battletruck" is yet another umpteenth rip-off of "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior", only this time fabricated in New Zealand!
This is a fairly enjoyable post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi flick, as long as you don't expect to see anything groundbreaking or mind-blowing.
In "Battletruck", the malignant General Straker overthrows the cute community of Clearwater because they gave shelter to his beloved runaway muse Corlie.
The truck is undoubtedly the star of the movie, and thus director Harley Cokeliss aims all of his cameras on it as much as possible.
The action sequences in "Battletruck" are somewhat disappointing.
The acting performances are extremely weak and hammy, especially from lead couple Michael Beck (Swan of "The Warriors"!) and Annie McEnroe.
Evil man James Wainwright, who looks like a crossover between Daniel Von Bargen and William Shatner, is okay but still not psychotic enough..
Actually pretty good, and definitely not a "rip-off" of The Road Warrior, which did not come out beforehand.
I can understand that about Deathsport, but I think Battletruck (aka Warlords of the 21st Century) is downright good.
Some IMDb reviewers even refer to it as a rip-off, but it was being made before The Road Warrior was ever even released, and, at least in most places, it was released almost at the exact same time (in the U.S. both were released in April of 1982).
Compared to The Road Warrior, okay, Battletruck isn't nearly as good.
Battletruck is merely good, with a less ambitious story, though still probably too ambitious to completely succeed with the small budget it had.
Michael Beck of The Warriors stars (though he doesn't appear for a good while into the film, which is a cool touch) as a lone wolf in this post-apocalyptic wasteland.
He rescues Annie McEnroe (a character actress whom you might recognize from Beetlejuice and many other films), who has escaped her villain father (James Wainwright), but is left stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Wainwright drives around in the titular truck raiding whatever settlements he can find and stealing all the oil and gasoline he can find.
Beck takes McEnroe to a democratic settlement called Clearwater (among whose citizens is John Ratzenberger, who probably has more lines in this movie than any other before he started working with Pixar).
The action sequences in the film are well done, and the scenery is nice (it was filmed in New Zealand).
"Battletruck", is fun stuff, if overly reminiscent of the more famous "Mad Max" series (although, truth be told, this was actually filmed *before* "The Road Warrior").
It's competently directed (by Harley Cokeliss), nicely shot (by Oscar winning Chris Menges), and has enough action and futuristic stylings to make it enjoyable viewing.
And there are a substantial amount of truly impressive explosions and one hell of an awesome vehicle - the "Battletruck" of the alternate title - to capture ones' attention.Michael Beck of "The Warriors" stars in this post-apocalypse tale in which oil is a rare and valuable commodity.
He comes to the aid of the forlorn Corlie (Annie McEnroe, "The Hand"), who's run away from domineering villain Straker (an effectively one-note James Wainwright).
Unfortunately for the citizens of Clearwater, Straker fully intends to get Corlie back, and so he proceeds to terrorize these people.The supporting cast features a likable John Ratzenberger (Cliff from 'Cheers') as Clearwater resident Rusty and a very amusing pair of performances from New Zealand native Bruno Lawrence ("Smash Palace", "The Quiet Earth") and Welshman John Bach (the "Lord of the Rings" franchise) as Willie and Bone, Strakers' primary two henchmen.
Beck is an under-stated hero; McEnroe isn't bad but her character is kind of whiny.Kevin Peek does the rousing music in this engaging escapist fare, which builds to a pretty good action finale on board the Battletruck.
This was filmed in New Zealand and there's lots of amazing scenery along the way.Most fans of the post-nuke genre will likely have a good time with this.Seven out of 10..
A very cheap version of Mad Max. Well, what can I say about this movie?
It's basically a New-Zealand cheap version of Australian Mad Max.You won't believe this plot, yet again there is no oil and the chaotic future is desert like, but at least Mel Gibson rides a car, instead Michael Beck rides a (much cheaper I guess) motorbike.Actually for such a B-version the special effects are not that bad at all, and I've seen a lot worse perfomances in my life.The action in this movie (let's not compare to Mad Max 1 or 2 then) is centered in warlord Straker who drives Battletruck to steal oil from villages.
Battletruck is this mean and powerful truck with all kinds of stuff to smash and destroy any resistance.
Well anyway Hunter (Michael Beck), our hero gets involved in the plot because of a girl, that is no less then Straker's daughter.
After Hunter, an ex-commando, and his kind-of-futuristic motorbike are on the case the world will never be the same.In conclusion, don't watch it, but if you have nothing better to do with your life and you don't feel like renting Mad Max, you might watch this, if it will ever pass on tv..
They're all good, Wainwright, leaving his mark as the head villain of the show.
Wainwright and his posse of men roam around the mountains of beautiful New Zealand, in this monstrous tank truck, the battle truck, that occupies the front cover of the Roadshow titled movie, after no 1 commodity which is oil, shooting or killing anyone who gets in their way.
Battletruck was just somewhat disappointing, who's American director, Harley Cokliss mad other films I liked.
Cheer's barfly, Ratzenberger was particularly good as Beck's friend who hides him out for a bit.
After 1981 the knock off's of the Road Warrior -- Mad Max 2 kept a cumin'.
I remember Cliff builds some sort of road warrrior like dune buggy for the hero that goes up against a fortified 18-wheeler truck.
So we took the bait and saw the movie with absolutely no preconceptions--we didn't know who was in it, what it was about--in fact, we had never heard of it before.So, my final verdict?!
I haven't actually seen this film in years, but it became something of a benchmark that I measure all other crap movies I've ever seen against.
When I was only about 14 I rented this movie with my best friend, when we had the brilliant notion that maybe all those movies we'd never heard of really were worth watching, so we picked one that seemed to have a cool cover.
Everything about this movie, from the acting, to the sets, to the effects, were laughably awful.
The climax of the film was when the protagonist built what was supposed to be some sort of unstoppable war machine, but looked more like an errector set experiment gone horribly wrong, and nailed to a $50 junk-yard reject of a vehicle.
Anyway, if you want an example of awful film making, rent this movie; otherwise, run far and fast towards the other side of the store..
Looking for a low-budget diversion packed with plenty of action, some beautiful scenery, and a pretty cool truck, then look no further than this New Zealand film from the early 80s.
Though the budget is tiny, and the story seems derivative, there is enough here to hold your interest if you are into post-apocalyptic Mad Max type of stuff.
The early 80s produced many, many low-budget films of this type, but nobody else, not even the Gibson franchise had THE BATTLETRUCK!
Some, like our hero Mr. Hunter have found a way to live independently, using methane-based technology to remain mobile and self-sufficient.
Michael Beck as the anti-hero Hunter plays his character with the kind of stoic toughness and resourcefulness he showed in The Warriors.
Mostly known for his role on Cheers, think of his film career for a moment.
Also starring here is the beautiful New Zealand countryside.
This area they filmed in kinda looks like Utah in the wintertime.
I don't want the battletruck coming after me!
The ruthless Colonel Straker (well played with hard and cruel resolve by James Wainwright) rides around the countryside in his formidable heavily armored battletruck with his vicious gang of marauders.
When Straker and his men terrorize the peaceful commune of Clearwater for food and supplies, mysterious laconic loner motorcyclist Hunter (a solid and likable performance by Michael Beck) comes to the commune's rescue.
This film further benefits from sound acting from an able cast: the pretty Annie McEnroe makes for a very spirited and appealing heroine as Straker's spunky wayward daughter Corlie, Bruno Lawrence provides hilarious comic relief as Straker's grubby, dim-witted lackey Willie, a pre-"Cheers" John Ratzenberger has a nice sizable role as amiable commune dweller Rusty, and Randy Powell is appropriately slimy as the traitorous and treacherous Judd.
Cinematographer Chris Menges offers plenty of striking shots of the truck and makes good use of the desolate rural New Zealand locations.
I always remembered the battle truck and hunter's rather futuristic motorbike.
The plot is typical post apocalyptic ww3 stuff but still OK and the characters are well done even the girl is a bit annoying at times.
For what is obviously a low budget movie the stunts are very well done in the vein of mad max 2.
It is pretty cool to see them construct a a vehicle for hunter from parts scattered around which ends up looking like a massive Volkswagen beetle!