the audience applauded

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A desert warrior, a former soldier of a war that left the land barren and practically worthless, assists a young women, her little boy, and laborers(..who operate a camp attempting to develop water for their valley), soon defending them against a tyrant and his sadistic brood who wish to overrule the region.As much as I hate to admit this, Steel Dawn is really a rather average Mad Max clone, offering nothing really new to the post apocalyptic genre except a really good cast attempting to give the rather mediocre material a boost. Brian May's score, quite a majestic orchestral composition, and stunning South African locations are a shot in the arm, and there's plenty of violence(..a lot of people get stabbed)thrown in for good measure, but not much in the way of originality.Swayze's enigmatic warrior, called Nomad, has a 'steely' resolve and is equipped with the physical presence needed to fulfill the required Mel Gibson look. His skills at spinning kicks which down his foes are on full display and Swayze does engage in not one but two spirited battles with Christopher Neame, in a showy role as a hired assassin, Sho, who murdered Nomad's mentor and trainer Cord(John Fujioka, making the most of a nothing role)in cheap fashion(Sho has a blade hidden in a knee pad which springs forth when it appears he could be in trouble). Brion James has a nice supporting turn in a rare hero role as Tark, an intimidating worker whose strength and girth help Kasha(Lisa Niemi)a great deal around the camp, repairing and building plumbing systems needed to operate their water machine. Tark is quite a loyal hand who, at first, rejects Nomad out of jealousy mostly, for he carries a torch for Kasha, and doesn't appreciate this outsider moving in on his "family". Obviously, Nomad will form a fatherly bond with Kasha's son, Jux(Brett Hool).The characters all appear in "post-Holocaust wardrobe", patterns sewn together from materials that weren't destroyed during the ambiguous war. You also have ratty hairdos, odd land rovers(..seemingly formed from various metals and materials found from junk yards) and incongruous swords(..steel fashioned in peculiar styles). Anthony Zerbe is Damnil, the cold-blooded despot whose authoritarian command over the region strikes fear in the communities attempting to survive in such harsh environs. Early role for Arnold Vosloo, as one of Damnil's goons, who would come into his own as a formidable presence both as hero and villain in cartoon action adventures such as Darkman(..in the sequels), John Woo's Hard Target, and the revamped Mummy movies.Steel Dawn will be of interest mainly to Swayze's die hard fans and those of us attracted to the Post Apocalyptic genre as a whole. Others should beware. Might interest those desiring to see Swayze and his wife working together in a movie. But, in all honesty, this tale goes through the motions, never quite rising above other Mad Max imitations that existed around the same time.

I saw this one laying in the bargain DVD rack at the rental store, and I just couldn't resist spending 3.00 to buy it. I always liked Swayze and I feel that he could have been a top action star if he got the chance. In short, this post apocalyptic desert epic set in the not too distant future combines elements of Mad Max2, Shane, Samurai epics, other westerns and sci-fi.Swayze is the loner-drifte who discovers a settlement in the desert and before long, he deciedes to stick around and help out with the water supply. He forms a friendship with the young son of one of the colonists-his wife Lisa Neimi,earns the trust of Brion James the defender and before long he helps to defend the settlement from the bad guys led by Damnil {love that name!} played by the fine Anthony Zerbe, the holder of water rights in that sector. The low budget somehow adds to the films atmosphere and the junkyard like settlement seems real enough.Though only a B film, it is enjoyable and is fun on its own terms. There are some good props like the windracer vehicles that are powered by sail and the long sword and knife fight at Damnil's settlement is very exciting and well handled -not to mention very graphic. . Early on in the film, there is a ship that somehow ended up in the dessert, probably inspired by the sequence in "Close Encounters- The Special Edition " where a cargo ship is also in a dessert. There are also a few sequences where Swayze seems to be doing a Clint Eastwood impersonation! All in all, this was a fun movie and well worth the 3.00 I paid for it. And, unlike others that I bought and only watched once, this is up for repeat viewings.A fun film for fans of the genre, it shows that a good film can be made on a small budget and still deliver a decent 100 minutes of entertainment, especially when compared to such mega-budget, mega-duds like "Waterworld" and "The Postman" with bad movie king Kevin Costner.Sure, its not "Lawrence of Arabia", but that is missing the point, but then again, I'm just a freak for any adventure film that is set in a desert.

Steel dawn, had no dawn and very little steel to speak of. However, it did contain large quantities of Swayze. The hero, played by Patrick Swayze, is a nomad traveling post-apocalyptic wastelands in search a swayz-tacular adventure. He meets up with Tark, a hulk-hogan-like individual who eventually befriends swayze. Their advisary, played by a rejected member of Bon Jovi, spends the majority of the film trying to kill swayze because he is jealous of his hair style. There are many whimsical happenings along the way, such as a swayze finding a dog, and swayze climbing a sand dune. Overall i give this movie a 4/10 due to its poor method of conveying the modern struggles of the inner self in an existential environment.

After reading the story i know what to expect from the movie (not much) so with that in mind it was quite alright. Some laughs over the stereotyped action-movie scenes. Most of the story wasn't so hard to figure out.