Los 7 magníficos del espacio

Los siete magníficos del espacio es la respuesta de serie B del productor Roger Corman al éxito de la primera Star Wars de George Lucas. Se trata de una variación colorista y muy kitsch de Los siete magníficos y Los siete samuráis que no niega sus inspiraciones, pero que hace referencia a ambas descaradamente (uno de los siete magníficos, Robert Vaughn, tiene un papel secundario, y el planeta a combatir se llama Akira). El guionista John Sayles llenó la película de una gran variedad de especies alienígenas, que es el aspecto de Los siete magníficos del espacio más interesante. En cuanto a la trama, no es más que un montón de clichés con actores sobreactuados que dan discursos muy rebuscados, y sin embargo es bastante divertida de ver. Lo curioso es la facilidad con la que el protagonista consigue reunir un equipo de desesperados para luchar contra el übervillano John Saxon (entre los «valientes» se encuentran el miembro del Equipo A George Peppard, armado con una extensa colección de westerns clásicos, y la bomba sexual austriaca Sybil Danning, armada posiblemente con el mayor escote de la galaxia). Curiosamente, esta es una de las primeras películas del compositor James Horner y las naves espaciales en miniatura fueron diseñadas por el entonces joven de 26 años James Cameron. (14.03.2020)

Among the films riding the coattails of Star Wars, the Roger Corman-produced Battle Beyond the Stars is entertaining, yet surprisingly self-conscious meta trash. Everyone knows that Lucas borrowed the essential elements of his story from Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, so this time the filmmakers helped themselves to the master’s greatest classic, The Magnificent Seven, i.e. Seven Samurai ;). They did not conceal the model they followed and thus the central planet is called Akira and the cast even includes Robert Vaughn from The Magnificent Seven, who almost literally copies his character from the classic western. In addition to that, Battle Beyond the Stars is as entertaining as a naïve fairy tale tacked together in a frenzy which, instead of the epic and spectacular nature of Lucas’s saga, places its bets on hackneyed clichés, a handful of superficial jokes, attempts at pathos and, primarily, an absurd squad of characters. The cast itself is a source of considerable amusement, when the more deserving, or at least more experienced, actors such as Robert Vaughn, John Saxon and George Peppard coast along, while naïve young performers like Richard Thomas, star of the TV series The Waltons, and Sybil Danning dressed in silly costumes act as if their lives depend on it, because they think this will be their big break. The most surprising thing is the momentary flashes of creative ingenuity, which, thanks to the disjointed episodic narrative, come completely unexpectedly, such as the motif involving Sador’s hand. The film’s primary weakness is the space combat scenes, which, despite the ridiculously zealous acting of all involved, simply lack a spatial concept, since Corman did not splash out on the budget, so action shots couldn’t have more than one ship at the same time. In the end, as with a number of other Corman films, it is appropriate to remember that the king of B-movies actually built modern Hollywood – the future renowned animator Jimmy T. Murakami, John Sayles, James Horner, James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd first came together behind the camera on the set of Battle Beyond the Stars. (27.03.2016)