The Ice Pirates (1984)

Ice Pirates is a B-movie, it's campy, trashy and it is most of the time hilariously funny.

To me it probably is the funniest sf movie I ever watched. Sure, Galaxy Quest is funny, but it is also totally selfconcious, the whole humour comes from making fun of Star Trek.

Ice Pirates also makes fun of sf tropes, but it never takes itself seriously. While the story might be less strange than Buckaroo Banzai, the former is as quirky as the latter.

On the other hand, some of the visuals still look great to me.

This is one of the few films, I loved as a child, that stood up to the test of time and entertained the adult me as well as the young peg.

Fmovies: I saw this in college with the rest of the UMass-Boston SF Society gang, and no, this is no classic, nor was meant to be.

Like "Hudson Hawk," a light-hearted comedy unjustly slagged because moviegoers who'd never seen Moonlighting couldn't hack Bruce Willis not wading through bullet storms (and because judging from the MSTK-driven bottom 50 on IMDb, pack mentality rules), "Ice Pirates" bombed because most SF fans of the generation couldn't stand their genre mixed with humor; witness the prompt implosion just a couple years before of the very witty TV show "Quark" after only a handful of eps.

Maybe "Galaxy Quest" -- which spoofed the syndrome -- and "3rd Rock" changed the paradigm, but twenty years ago, SF fandom still expected to see Shatneresque painfully earnest pomposity in their futuristic dramas. Urich didn't deliver; his bad. Ice Pirates would no doubt do better now.

7/10.

Ice Pirates is the funniest sci-fi spoof, and one of the best comedies ever made. There is no way that Galaxy Quest is even close. Even Spaceballs has to take a back seat. Ice Pirates is Spaceballs on Nitrous Oxide.

Of course, to appreciate it you'd have to have seen a lot of science fiction movies, as they are what Ice Pirates is poking fun at. Fans of Red Dwarf are also advised to take a look at this film, as it was obviously an inspiration for the show.

The Ice Pirates fmovies. Some people would call this a type of movie vehicle riding the star wars wave. I see it as a template that might of ended up influencing such series as Fire fly, Cowboy Bebop, and many other space themed western films after. Its funny and has its moments.

Most people would be turned off by the plot. They are pirates that steal ice cause of the galaxies limited supply of water. Not really spectacular but the comedy and witty dialog make up for the movie flaws. Robert urich is always cool as ever and the rest of his cast looked like they were having a good time with their characters.

They first get captured and sent to a factory that turns prisoners into unichs. They manage to escape with the help of a woman they first held hostage. Through out the story the dashing heroes are looking for her father who holds the secrets to a planet that has a limited supply of water. The bad guys wanna stop them so the Ice pirates break into action and you get that whole cat and mouse thing. its worth it though cuz I always give points to movies that have a good way of not taking themselves seriously and letting the audience in on the laugh.

I found a very used copy at a yard sale and boy does it bring back memories. It is funny, romantic, provocative, even sexy. Comedy is hard and the actors in this film make it look easy, and when your willing to put up with a worn out tape; that's when you know it's good. Someday I hope to see it on DVD.

Seriously fun to watch though it is a little hokey. This is a fantastic movie when you're in the mood for a good giggle. The quality of the cinematography is dated but it is really quite good for the time. There are a few rough plot points and a few loose ends they leave untied but nothing serious enough to hurt the movie any. Keeps you on your toes, and though the ending is obvious it's got some real good twists on the way. Ice pirates lacks little in the emotional spectrum though it can be a little hard to get worked up while the main character is wearing a frilly shirt tied at his waist. Anjelica Huston is very fun to watch and each of her costumes made me want to steal her for my own. There are lots of familiar faces, including one for another low budget film, Caveman (John Matuszak).