Allan Quatermain appears in various novels and short stories written by H. Rider Haggard between the mid-1880s and the mid-1920s. He’s a big game hunter in Africa and a somewhat complex character. As a writer of adventure stories Haggard has few peers and he more or less invented the Lost Civilisation adventure tale.
The producers of the 1985 King Solomon’s Mines very wisely went for a period setting, the time of the First World War. A search for lost civilisations in remote parts of the globe would have seemed absurdly implausible in a 1980s setting.
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold is a direct sequel to the 1985 King Solomon’s Mines.
Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) and his American lady love Jesse Huston (Sharon Stone) are about to be married. Jesse insists that they move to America. Quatermain is not thrilled by the idea. He doesn’t approve of the modern world. Much to Quatermain’s relief he suddenly finds himself thrust into another African adventure. His younger brother and two of his friends have disappeared, apparently searching for a fabled lost city of gold.
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Jesse storms off, determined to return to America on her own, until she remembers how much she loves Quatermain. And she’s the kind of woman who chooses a man and will then stick by him no matter how much craziness and danger it entails.
So Quatermain and Jesse are off on a search for that lost brother, accompanied by fearsome but friendly warrior Umslopogaas (James Earl Jones) and the crafty totally untrustworthy Swarma (Robert Donner).
Quatermain has acquired a useful accessory - a kind of primitive bullet-proof vest. It comes in very handy indeed.
They encounter the usual hazards, and a few unusual ones such as the ground literally opening up beneath their feet.
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The lost city is a utopia and utopias are always dull. This one is all peace and brotherhood. Fortunately there’s an evil ambitious high priest (played by Henry Silva). There are two queens, one good and one evil. They’re both beautiful but the evil queen is just not given any opportunities to demonstrate her seductive evilness, which is very disappointing. Especially given that the beautiful but evil queen Sorais is played by Cassandra Peterson. Yes, Elvira herself! What this movie really needed was for Cassandra Peterson to be allowed to be totally and deliciously evil but it doesn’t happen.
This movie’s biggest strength is the casting of Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone (who were paired in the earlier movie). Chamberlain was ideal for this type of movie. Sharon Stone gets to be feisty and brave but also cute, adorable, sexy and very feminine. Jesse is no clichéd kickass action heroine but she’s a girl who stands by her man no matter what. They make a perfect romantic couple. She’s the sort of girl you could imagine a man like Quatermain falling for. He’s the kind of man you could imagine a girl like her falling for. And they’re both extremely likeable.
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The location shooting is good. The special effects are handled pretty well. Visually there is nothing at all to complain about. The action scenes are quite decent.
King Solomon’s Mines was directed by J. Lee Thompson, a great director who certainly knew how to do thrillers and action adventure movies. Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold’s director is Gary Nelson and he just doesn’t achieve the same sense of excitement and energy. The first movie also had Herbert Lom as the chief villain. Henry Silva tries hard to be evil and crazy but he doesn’t have Lom’s style.
The script lacks bite as well.
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There’s nothing terribly wrong with Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold. It’s a decent adventure movie that suffers from being a sequel to a much better movie. If you adjust your expectations accordingly it’s reasonably entertaining. Goes perfectly with beer and popcorn. Recommended.
It looks terrific on Blu-Ray.
I reviewed King Solomon’s Mines not too long ago.
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