Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

_**Fun sequel with a great cast doesn’t have the same magic**_ Quatermain & Jesse (Richard Chamberlain & Sharon Stone) are about to travel to America to get married when Allan learns that his brother is missing after an expedition. They team-up with a powerful warrior (James Earl Jones) and a spiritual con (Richard Donner) to journey to remote east Africa where they find a lost city of gold. Henry Silva shows up as a malevolent priest while Cassandra Peterson (aka Elivra) plays a dark queen. "Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold" (1986) is the sequel to “King Solomon’s Mines” (1985), both knock-offs of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), but it lacks the magic that made “King Solomon’s Mines” an exhilarating ‘B’ adventure. It has the same fun tone, Chamberlain & Stone, excellent locations and colorful or cheesy props/effects/sets, but it has a different director and cowriter. It’s just nowhere near as compelling and is sometimes tedious. But the notable cast looks like they had fun and you can’t go wrong with the magnificent Cassandra Peterson, who has no lines; she just stands around looking great, albeit angry and mean. Stunning blonde Aileen Marson is also on hand in her one-and-only role. The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes and was shot in Oudtshoorn, South Africa; Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls); and Laird International Studio, Culver City, California (e.g. river-cave scenes). GRADE: C

It's Henry Silva who steals the scenes here as the maniacal High Priest "Agon" who meets gold-hunting explorers "Quatermain" (Richard Chamberlain) and "Jesse" (Sharon Stone) who are looking for someone. This time, it's his long long brother who has gone awol after reading the script and deciding that deepest Africa was probably best instead. Determined not to share the blame alone, the others head off on a search that introduces them to the axe-wielding "Umslopogaas" (James Earl Jones) and sees them having to deal with the perils of the wilderness. Now to be fair, at least they made an attempt to liven it up by heading to Zimbabwe for the filming, and that photography showcases this beautiful terrain and it's wildlife to full effect. Stone also has a go, here, and could never be accused of underplaying her part, but the rest of the cast deliver something that really reminded me of one of the Johnny Weissmuller "Tarzan" films that had a far-fetched, stereotype-riddled, plot. Indeed, it might have worked slightly better had it been in black and white - at least that might have helped out illustrating some of cultural and superstitious elements of this whilst making it slightly harder to see the wires holding the star as he engages in one too many set-piece action scenes that the editing doesn't exactly help. It's a film that out of it's time, this one, and is probably best this stays as lost as they city they are seeking.