Judged on their own merits, "Gor" and "Outlaw of Gor" are enjoyable tongue-in-cheek near spoofs of the sci-fi warrior genre. The belabored Norman books are in the films given a much needed dose of humor, making them more palatable as film fare. On this basis, I found them to be agreeably entertaining. Having read the first five or so books and been impressed with the original cover art preceding Vallejo's, I had envisioned somebody like Ron Ely playing the lead, but I thought Urbano Barberini was charming as the awkward nerdly scientist who through a series of unbelievable circumstances is forced to gradually transform himself into a more primal, aggressive hunk. Yes, they were far short of the books in detail and characterizations, but that only helped to liven what would have been a deadly slow pace. I suggest that the many negative critics of these films take a look at "The Invincible Barbarian" or "Throne of Fire" if they think these are bad. Compared to those films "Gor's" production values are lavish and the scripts Oscar worthy. The English dubbing of Barberini's Cabot sounds exactly as if it were done by Dan Quayle...and after watching a while he almost morphs into Dan Quayle!
Review of Gor
