Goldraiders is the epitome of a mixed bag and is entirely prototypical for the era - to point of being textbook. It's quality (or lack of it) is simply all over the place, in some scenes it's intensely entertaining, whereas in others it completely falls flat. Starring the dependable B-lister Robert Ginty and a supporting cast of even lesser known actors (for some this is their sole acting credit) join his ranks and form an "elite crack commando unit" and seek to recover lost gold in jungles of Thailand. Though I find this movie to be quite inconsistent as a whole, but don't worry because there's plenty of fun to be had.
Some of the movies strong suits are as follows:
1: Thee awesomely villainous and over-the-top general with the mustache (something all proper movie villains should have) and his remarkably evil gravelly voice, which is used to great effect as he delivers most of the movies best lines. 2: The shoot-em-up scenes are well done, but not award winning, replete with airborne knives and even some hatchets and are complemented by some good old blood-packs - and not that crap, that computer-generated-red-paint-stuff that's added in post, typically used in modern movies. 3: The dialog, oh the dialog... The dialog for this film is so badly written AND delivered, well...it will have you chuckling away, I know I did. 4: Sarah Langenfeld (never heard of her either) was quite a nice piece, she has a wet t-shirt/semi-nude scene which comes roaring into view in the middle of the movie and is one of the most abrupt scene transitions you'll ever see, with jarring suddeness and zero subtlety - TERRIBLE EDITING! 5: Solid underwater SCUBA action scene, not entirely dissimilar to what's seen in 007's Thunderball - just not as good. 6: The goofy motorcycle/gyrocopter that's powered, curiously enough, by a "special kind of crystal" that NASA uses to power a "space ship". Whether it's driving or flying that crap-tas-tic contraption will have you in stitches - good stuff. 7: The jungle scenery is refreshing and pleasing to the eye, not a fast food joint or titty bar seen anywhere in this flick, just war machines and bloodshed really.
On the downside there are several boring scenes throughout the film that you'll have to sit through to get to the end, great for bathroom breaks. But for a Robert Ginty movie Goldraiders is a top-of-the-line production and it has, very much, a Cannon Films feel to it and on that note if you're a fan of 80's action films I'd also recommend his "Exterminator" movies. Again, Goldraiders is simply B-List Gold. Period.
