User reviews

This movie clearly has a small budget, looks cheap, and isn't very serious. Fortunately, that is exactly what the film makers were going for. I enjoy this one, though it is apparent by its score that most people don't. I just find it funny and I love the cast which includes Ron Pearlman and even Angelica Houston. Heck, John Carradine even has a small role in it, though his scene is absolutely pointless and adds nothing to the flick. In fact it is a rather serious scene especially considering the rest of the movie. This one doesn't look great, kind of like Space Mutiny, but unlike Space Mutiny this one isn't trying to be serious so the effects can be forgiven. This one has a band of space pirates that go after, you guessed it, ice. They do this at the beginning and get immediately captured and this sets up the rest of the movie. No work of art, but it is entertaining to me.

"The Ice Pirates" is a pretty engaging off kilter comedy spoofing both space adventures and swashbucklers, with enough verbal and visual gags to make it pleasant, and impossible to truly dislike. It's clearly not aiming to be something particularly memorable or special, just an irreverent diversion on lazy afternoons. It's played enthusiastically by an interestingly chosen cast that helps it to have a cult-film sort of appeal. The script, co-written by director Stewart Raffill ("The Philadelphia Experiment", "Mac and Me"), has a muddled story but a disarming sense of humour. Not all of its scenes work that well, but it's sure to have its viewers smiling if not laughing out loud.

TV stars Robert Urich ('Vega$') and Mary Crosby ('Dallas') headline a cast also featuring Michael D. Roberts, Ron Perlman, Anjelica Huston, John Matuszak, Bruce Vilanch, and a too briefly seen John Carradine. Urich plays Jason, the leader of the title characters in a galaxy where water is the most precious commodity. After their latest escapades, they're captured by the baddies - dubbed Templars - and then acquired by princess Karina (Crosby) so they can help in a quest to find her father.

Reasonably good visuals and a decent score by Bruce Broughton help in the enjoyment of this little bit of escapism, as well as a fairly clever finale taking place inside a time warp where our heroes steadily age while fighting the bad guys. There are also a variety of interesting and likable characters, human, robot, and otherwise, with actors and actresses such as Natalie Core, Jeremy West, Alan Caillou, Marcia Lewis, Robert Symonds, Rockne Tarkington, Ian Abercrombie, Hank Worden, and Carmen Filpi in various small roles. Perlman is particularly funny as one of Jasons' comrades, while Huston gets to be a total badass.

This would make a decent double feature with another off the wall cult genre effort from the same year, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension".

Six out of 10.

For lovers of Star Wars (ep.4 - 6) this is a must see.They have borrowed so many lines and ideas it's insane, then they have intertwined great comedy. The effects are poor, the aliens and robots, a joke, and the enemies appear to be cast offs off Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I always thought Spaceballs was the best Star Wars spoof movie; I was wrong, this is better. Give it a try, its bonkers.

I saw this movie as a kid and just watched it again. Some may think it's a sci-fi action flick that hit well below the mark. Others view as a comedy that hit pretty much dead-on. I don't really care ... it's got men being men, women kicking a**, lots of aliens and space battles that make a shoestring budget look appealing, but work anyway. It's lowdown, dirty, often vulgar, and succeeds in making just about every character in the bunch the butt of at least one joke. The only thing is, I can't remember any other movie that made Ron Perlman out to be the small, weaselly guy. Score one more for the Ice Pirates!

Water is scarce and the evil Templars from the planet Mithra have taken control of all of the supply. Jason (Robert Urich) leads a band of pirates in a raid to steal ice from the Templar fleet. Their raid turns into a kidnapping of Princess Karina. They are captured. Jason and his men are rescued by Karina who has her own plans.

It's a schlocky Star Wars derivative with a lot of campy 70s feel with some Alien and Mad Max thrown in. It's a lot of silly slapstick and broad sex comedy. I would like it if the jokes are actually funny. For some, this may be so bad that it's good. For me, this is mostly bad with a lot of amusement at how good actors get trapped in bad movies. The sets and costumes are a cheesy mix. The special effects are good B-movie work. I can't believe Anjelica Huston is in this. It's fun to see John Matuszak hulking over Ron Perlman. It's got bad sword fights, swashbuckling action and silly space battles. I'm not disputing that this brought a smile to my face which is always a good thing. It doesn't make it a good movie.

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.

I like the "Star Wars" series. I like a good, cheapo sci-fi flick every once in a while, too. Heck, I even like the Roger Corman-produced nickel-and-dime jobbies.

I do NOT like "The Ice Pirates", though.

For one, it just looks too cheap, you know? For a movie that's supposed to take place in outer space, it feels cramped and closed-in like it's being filmed in the front seat of someone's Mazda. And the special effects, while appropriately cheesy, look more than anything like foam rubber painted metallic gray.

Usually, I don't let things like that bother me, especially if the story and the characters are worthwhile.

They ain't.

The whole storyline, about these ne'er-do-well space pirates who decide to find a planet loaded with ice they can melt down and sell as water (a hot commodity in the future, I guess) is about as original as the jokes, which is not a compliment.

The humor comes in at about crotch-level (like that castrating machine you'll see early on), and everyone seems to have a cranky attitude. And who told John Matuzak that he was funny? Whoever did, shame on them. Good old Robert Urich tries, but he's a reliable actor on board a badly sinking ship (or starship, in this case).

I watched this one about three times and ended up feeling the same way every time - shanghaied.

No stars. In spite of of the presence of Huston (one year prior to "Prizzi's Honor") and Carradine (at the tail end of a once-lofty career), these "Pirates" should walk the plank.

Outside of Space Balls, there are very few actually funny and enjoyable Sci Fi comedies out there. Stunningly attractive Mary Crosby is a great reason to watch this movie unless you're female and then the recently late Robert Urich is your reason. The robots steal the scenes, there's some social comedies and political satires, but the best scenes are the time warp and the castrating assembly line as the heroes are threatened with becoming eunuchs. The cast includes Michael D. Roberts from Manimal and Angelica Huston from The Addams Family. This movie is definitely worth a see.

You want to know what the writers of this movie consider funny? A robot child sees his robot parents killed (beheaded, as I recall), and then moves between their bodies calling their names. Yeah--what a comic moment. This is the worst movie I ever paid to see.

The year is 1984 and Hollywood is thriving with lots of slapstick comedy and B-rated movies. I guess that's why the 1980s has some of the best pop classic hits. If you are a fan of 1980s space comedies, you will truly enjoy this one.

This movie is generally underrated, which is to be expected, as all the Debbie downers out there expecting this to be something that it's not. Its a 1980s comedy, a spoof, and an excellent one to boot. This is not a serious sci-fi action adventure.

This movie is filled with talented actors before they hit it big. C'mon now, Sloth is in it. They work well with each other and they make the comedy work, unlike most modern day comedies. Their is never a dull moment in this movie and if you don't pay attention, you will miss most of the subtle humor that makes this movie work.

The biggest shortcoming of this film is the ending, where there's an over the top chase scene that is really out of this world. It amazes me that it works well for this movie. Another downside to this movie is that it rarely, and i do mean rarely, ever gets shown on any of the streaming sites. In addition trying to find a DVD copy is near impossible. If you do get a chance to get your hands on a copy of this movie, I highly encourage you to take a watch. You will not be disappointed.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (sound familiar), water has become the most precious commodity (this has got to sound familiar) and a small minority control its distribution (what a surprise, just have a heart attack and die from that surprise). A group of ice pirates (water renegades?…wet bandits?...oh wait, that last one's been used) try to discover the route to a fabled unlimited supply of water with a lovely but spoiled (Druish?) princess en tow and a group of idiots…er…despicable villains in pursuit.

This movie has the potential to be a really great comedic parody ("Star Wars," David Lynch's "Dune") but was just not handled correctly. It goes for, I believe the term is, "low brow" humor. It doesn't really succeed in being all that funny which is a shame since it has Angelica Houston, Ron Perlman and Robert Urich, (hence the three stars) who aren't exactly slackers in the acting department.

Definitely a rental and definitely have a drink straight up.

I never heard of "Ice Pirates" before having the film recommended to me by a friend. And now having seen it, I'm curious as to why because one would expect this to be high on a list of cult classics alongside "Zardoz". The story of space pirates who fight Templars and herpes to find ice in a universe where water has become a scarce resource. With robots and princesses to boot.

The connection of this film to "Star Wars" and "Space Balls" is obvious. A thuggish but charming lead actor captures a princess, who then joins his team to go on an epic quest. Ice Pirates is not a direct parody like Space Balls is, but enough of the same themes are present to see the influence is more than just slight.

I enjoyed the racial humor (which I won't go into here) and also the references to things obviously outside the realm of this movie's universe (Tylenol??). And the obligatory sex scene? Completely incongruous. A time warp scene makes absolutely no sense, but is so over-the-top that its senselessness can be easily overlooked for the humor. Elton John could have showed up to sing "The Circle of Life" for this scene.

The short of it is if you like Star Wars, Space Balls, or other such films you really need to give this one a try. The budget is smaller and the actors lesser-known, but the film has a big heart and you really haven't lived until you've seen Ice Pirates. Just make sure not to ask too many questions and don't hold your breath for a sequel (unfortunately).

The only redeeming scene in this movie is when the robots are sent out to fight 'karate style', there was one good spinning side-kick... and that is the best 3 seconds of the movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie has very little to recommend it -- there are better spoofs out there.

As I wrote this I awarded it an extra point because of how much I enjoyed it.

Ok, it's not the best film ever, it's not the funniest Space Film (Spaceballs obviously, but if you loved Spaceballs then check this out), but it does do an awful lot right. This is what the 80s were about: FUN films, unlike the "fanfic content" we get now from the Big Evil Corps.

The cast put their all into it, and you'll recognise an awful lot of people that went on to bigger and better things. The FX are pretty bad, even by then standards, but who cares - lets go for a ride - it's a comedy film, and delivers.

I'm sure people will complain about some of the stereotypes - but for those that know they'll know that Bruce Vilanch was playing Bruce Vilanch in Space and have a riot with it. For those that don't know Vilanch is a super important person in the US's LGBT progression.

The story is daft and fun, the casting far more multicultural and realistic than all the modern crap, much like Star Trek The Original Series. And you'll come away loving the cowardly robots.

Stacked full of throwaway lines that are far more actively progressive than the crowbarred stupidness and the gaslighting that follows of current Hollywood.

"Why'd you make him black?" "Cause I wanted him to be perfect"

To keep short: It was disgusting. The roles were completely random. The costumes, change from scene to scene. The cameraman had certainly no experience. The cuts were so awful that it was sometimes so hard figure whats going on. The plot did not really exist. It was certainly all reused stuff from other film. It was so confusing like watching a monthy python movie BUT in a negative way. I think I haven't seen a lot of movies were you got to see so many rope-swings. It was like rope-swing move, and again, and again... incredibly bad. All of the robots were useless and stupid. Why did fight with simple sabres instead of using laser weapons??? They had laser weapons but only sometimes.

In the wake of 'Star Wars,' many film companies tried their hand at some sort of 'big budget space opera.' Most failed. Few could ever create such a rich and memorable universe. However, in the case of the - now 'cult favourite' - 'The Ice Pirates,' it actually managed to produce something truly memorable, if a little bizarre.

The premise is pretty straight forward for a science fiction movie: in a far-flung galaxy water has become the most hard to come by commodity and a big, evil planet controls the supply, therefore leaving the rest of the universe to become subservient to them. What makes it different is that 'The Ice Pirates' is an outright comedy. It never takes itself seriously and is all the better for it. For a start, it sort of shoots down its own 'serious' plot by having - literally - 'pirates in space.' When you think of pirates your mind probably brings up images of Johnny Depp in 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' And you wouldn't be far wrong here either. You have effectively, long-haired, blouse-wearing dandies with cutlasses hijacking spaceships.

You could probably ask questions like, 'Why do the space pirates use cutlasses and swords when the people they're fighting all have laser guns?' But if you really want to dwell on plot inaccuracies such as that, then you're not going to get much out of a film like this.

For a start you'd be missing the amazing eighties sets and costumes. Seriously, for a low budget film the sets are amazing and it's a testament to what can be achieved with 'practical' effects over vast (and, in my opinion, unrealistic) computer-generated landscapes.

The cast all play their parts well. I didn't really think anyone really stood out. You may notice both Ron Perlman and Angelica Huston's names on the cast list, but they're not really in it as much as you might expect and their performances are not an indication of what they're capable of. The real 'stars' of the film are the armies of robots both the pirates and those they're robbing from seem to possess. Despite the droids never actually talking they steal every scene they're in due to their slapstick and crazy antics.

If you're in the mood for a well thought-out space opera that doesn't take itself too seriously and has all the rich and varied style and flair of 'Star Wars,' but played for laughs rather than drama, then check this one out. It's a well-deserved cult classic from yesteryear. It really does have scenes that will stay with you forever... even if it's just what the bad-guys do with captured pirates on a conveyor belt - OUCH!

I have to admit, this movie is not that great. If your looking for a entertaining film, minus a meaningful plot, this is it. However, if your willing to just be entertained or to find the good in the bad, watch this! I laughed out loud, and certainly didn't expect to.

The story, plot, the whole idea of this film is absurd to say the least. The campy dialogue, the sets and some painted vistas/backgrounds are wonderful. I cant help but laugh at this film, what with its stellar cast! Robert Urich! His best work since, well, since Spencer for Hire. Is this his only work other than that bad 80s series? LOL.

I love the scene at the beginning when Robert Urich and crew (which includes a very young Ron Perlman and also a younger Angelica Huston!) first board the ship and we see a !!maid? in typical maid outfit shouting they shouldn't be aboard the ship! What the hell? Why a maid, and in a traditional maids outfit?!! Why is a maid on a ship traveling through space?

The wardrobe/costume designer did one helluva job outfitting the characters with, dare I say, AWESOME outfits!! The maid, the guards who are wearing chain-mail, the princess in her dry ice vapored sleeping tube.. I cant praise the cheesy-ness of this movie enough. Its fun enough for a single viewing, and good enough to watch it with a friend who may have never seen it. Why am i leaving this review? I guess I want people to watch it since I enjoyed it so much.

Just know, ships in space still need to be cleaned, so always include maids in the crew. Also, robots are necessary, especially ones which convey emotions: fear in particular. Oh, and they are really easy to reprogram just by touching something or turning a knob located on the back of their necks. WTF? Hehehe ...

Awful Star Wars knock-off with a slightly more comic tinge. Robert Urich stars as the leader of a group of ice pirates, who steal ice because water is the most valuable substance in the universe now (how all the poor people stay alive is a mystery). He hooks up with Mary Crosby (Bing's daughter, around 25 and a total cutie), a princess looking for her missing father. Also in the cast are an embarrassed-looking Anjelica Huston in some hilarious sci-fi get-ups and a pudgy, short-ish Ron Perlman (whom I thought was seven feet tall from his other roles!). And John Carradine, who looks days from death and Hollywood Squares funnyman (relative term) Bruce Vilanch. If you ever wanted to see Bruce Vilanch get decapitated, here's your film. But, then again, even that's not worth seeing, as it doesn't shut him up at all (think he might have been a robot, but I nodded off a couple of times).