Let's be realistic.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

2021. Women have become enslaved by a savage army of men after the world gets reduced to a barbarous state in the wake of a nuclear holocaust. It's up to a group of nomadic female warriors called the Sisterhood to set things right.Director Cirio H. Santiago keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a steady pace, stages the rough'n'tumble action scenes with scrappy aplomb, maintains a gritty tone throughout, makes nice use of the desolate desert locations, blows lots of stuff up real good (of course!), and sprinkles in a little tasty gratuitous distaff nudity for extra trashy good measure. Moreover, the women are attractive and impressive: Rebecca Holden as the feisty Alee, Lynn-Holly Johnson as sweet and perky teenager Marya, and Barbara Patrick as the fierce Vera. Chuck Wagner lends sturdy support as the formidable Mikal while Robert Dryer contributes a nicely slimy turn as the ruthless Lord Barak. Thomas McKelvey Cheever's compact script draws the characters with some depth and humanity. Both the tacky (not so) special effects and Jun Latonia's cheesy synthesizer score possess a certain lovably rinky-dink charm. A fun B-flick.

Cirio H. Santiago is a director who has made quite a few "girls-with-guns" (or, in this case, "girls-with-swords-and-later-guns") films; he could perhaps be described as another Andy Sidaris, but with less sleaze and an even lower budget. "The Sisterhood", a cheesy post-apocalyptic flick complete with laser beams and "talking" hawks, must not be one of his best moments: most of the action sequences are rather flat, and there is too much wandering around in the desert. But the two female leads are physically well-cast, and as for the third....let's just say that if you ever wanted to see Lynn-Holly Johnson, of "For Your Eyes Only" fame, kicking some serious butt (though it is never quite explained how her character is able to do that), this may be your only chance! (**)

It's hard to figure out which scene elicits the moost laughter in this post-apocalyptic stinker: Lynn-Holly Johnson (cutsey, blonde former figure skater) fighting with a sword; Lynn-Holly Johnson cracking peoples' necks; Lynn-Holly Johnson firing from a Bradley Fighting Vehicle; Lynn-Holly Johnson attempting to act; etc, etc... Lynn-Holly Johnson looks moore like a Valley Girl shopping for over-priced shoes in some pretentious Rodeo Drive boudoir, instead of vicious amazon firing m-16As. She is one of the least cowvincing actresses the MooCow has seen in many mooons. She's part of an all-female band of fighters who each have a special "gift", none of which seems to be acting. They beat the stuffing out of a faceless group of chauvanistic, bone-headed men. As fer the rest of The Sisterhood, the least said the better - it is set in one of those cowfusing Midieval/Post-Apocalyptic wastlands, part Mad Max, part Hercules, where people fight with swords and rocket launchers, and no one know quite sure why they're fighting at all. The shields and armor are plastic, the swords aluminum, the "costumes" include shoulder pads, fatigues, and bits and pieces left over from a Xena get-up. The fight scenes are stagy and poorly timed. Lynn-Holly Johnson can talk to birds and horses, who are probably telling her that she stinks as an actress. This cow says ignore the Boris Vallejo-inspired video box and drop The Sisterhood like a hot cow flop! :=8P

Quite a few folks have belly-aching to me about why these so-called "femme fatale" flicks don't stack up to sheer greatness. Well, this is one of those movies, and it sure comes darn close at being good! Some cool costumes, a futuristic setting, and an original idea were the bright spots, making this one to drool over. But now, the screaming starts. What we have here is a movie based on a horribly bad scripting job, causing everything else lacking throughout the entire program. The end result is another cheesy exploitation movie that tries too hard to pump enough blood. Acting, plot, and everything else that breathes vitality! Is this why they're called "B" movies? I think so. I'll keep trying to search for more of these films, but you and I may be better off disappointed than satisfied with them! Don't lose your mind over seductive artwork on tape boxes!