Barb Wire (1996)

Rating: B

Dir: Who cares? [If you do: David Hogan]
Star: Pamela Anderson, Steve Railsback, Temuera Morrison, Jack Noseworthy

I can see why this got dire reviews; the critics will have seen it stone-cold sober at 11 a.m, rather than, as intended, after several beers, a Big Mac and a session of manic slaughter down the video arcade. Having taken the latter route, I had a great time. The film is so shallow it’s in danger of evaporating completely, Pammie’s (fortunately limited) attempts at acting are laughable, and it’s nothing you haven’t seen in a thousand post-apocalyptic films, set in the usual disused industrial estate.

Yet it works, on the most cynical, visceral level. I don’t like silicone blondes, yet even I have to admit Lee is perfectly cast, wandering round in clingy costumes (or even clingy bubble-bath!) kicking and shooting her way through the film. As the cliché says, it’s an empty, meaningless experience, but as empty, meaningless experiences go…