I grew up in the San Antonio, Texas, area and watched a lot of Mexican wrestlers in person and on TV as a kid and I got hooked on the masked wrestlers movies. Even now, as I look back, I realize that the films were made cheaply with bad dialog and writing, but they still fascinated me. And this one is the cream of the crop in this admittedly strange film genre.
Produced as an homage to the wrestler films with tongue firmly in cheek, Jeff Uhlmann brought together an envious assortment of masked wrestlers including living legend Mil Mascaras as the hero to battle the nefarious Aztec Mummy (played by none other than Uhlmann himself). These films are meant to entertain and not vie for Oscars, so check your logic and high hats at the door.
An Aztec Mummy (who has been the nemesis in older masked wrestler films) is revived from a long sleep to continue his plan to rule the world. Mil and his band of wrestlers plus a professor and police captain line up to stop the evil doer. Mil plays the part with a blend of soft-spoken confidence and air of command that comes from years of dispatching bad guys who always seem to outnumber him tenfold. Even though you know the outcome in these good vs. evil plots, the joy is watching Mil and his cohorts pummel the hordes of bad guys.
The twist in this outing is that Uhlmann has managed to lend some respectability to the film by adding several known actors in cameo roles. Solid character actor Richard Lynch plays the US President and one of my favorites, P.J. Soles (Halloween), and Hall of Fame wrestler Harley Race show up at ringside in a match. There are Mayan temples, dancing Indian girls in loincloths, caped henchmen, a boss tomb room inside the temple and lots of suspended disbelief in this "Greatest film of its kind ever produced", according to the film's poster.
This film will attract people like me who already know the genre, but this film should satisfy the whim of anyone looking for some action-packed fun. Cheesy, yes. But if you don't take it too seriously and accept it for what it is, you just might enjoy it.
