The Ice Pirates

Trailer—The Ice Pirates

I love this film, despite its cheesiness. It's loads of fun, with a great cast. Robert Urich made for a great space-going swashbuckler, with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The film is filled with great character actors and decent special effects. Some of the comedy is pretty lame and it goes south when Bruce Villanch enters the picture, but picks up at the end. The film is a blend of Star Wars, Errol Flynn, Monty Python/Mel Brooks, and romantic comedy. It's a bit ham-handed at times, but gets enough elements right to be entertaining. Robert Urich is likable as the lead and is equally good at the action and comedy. Mary Crosby makes a decent love interest, but the pirate crew are more interesting: Ron Perlman, Anjelica Houston, John Matusak, and Michael D. Roberts. They make for a great ensemble and have some of the best lines and scenes. If you want some good old B-movie goofiness, you can't go wrong here.

I saw this in college with the rest of the UMass-Boston SF Society gang, and no, this is no classic, nor was meant to be. Like "Hudson Hawk," a light-hearted comedy unjustly slagged because moviegoers who'd never seen Moonlighting couldn't hack Bruce Willis not wading through bullet storms (and because judging from the MSTK-driven bottom 50 on IMDb, pack mentality rules), "Ice Pirates" bombed because most SF fans of the generation couldn't stand their genre mixed with humor; witness the prompt implosion just a couple years before of the very witty TV show "Quark" after only a handful of eps. Maybe "Galaxy Quest" -- which spoofed the syndrome -- and "3rd Rock" changed the paradigm, but twenty years ago, SF fandom still expected to see Shatneresque painfully earnest pomposity in their futuristic dramas. Urich didn't deliver; his bad. Ice Pirates would no doubt do better now. 7/10.

Ice Pirates is the funniest sci-fi spoof, and one of the best comedies ever made. There is no way that Galaxy Quest is even close. Even Spaceballs has to take a back seat. Ice Pirates is Spaceballs on Nitrous Oxide. Of course, to appreciate it you'd have to have seen a lot of science fiction movies, as they are what Ice Pirates is poking fun at. Fans of Red Dwarf are also advised to take a look at this film, as it was obviously an inspiration for the show.

I saw this movie as a kid and just watched it again. Some may think it's a sci-fi action flick that hit well below the mark. Others view as a comedy that hit pretty much dead-on. I don't really care ... it's got men being men, women kicking a**, lots of aliens and space battles that make a shoestring budget look appealing, but work anyway. It's lowdown, dirty, often vulgar, and succeeds in making just about every character in the bunch the butt of at least one joke. The only thing is, I can't remember any other movie that made Ron Perlman out to be the small, weaselly guy. Score one more for the Ice Pirates!

I found a very used copy at a yard sale and boy does it bring back memories. It is funny, romantic, provocative, even sexy. Comedy is hard and the actors in this film make it look easy, and when your willing to put up with a worn out tape; that's when you know it's good. Someday I hope to see it on DVD.

It's goofy, it's fun, it's entertainment! This quirky science-fiction film really packs a punch! It's a real joy to watch!

I don't get why the score of ice pirate is so low on here. It's a cult classic I enjoyed very much. There are countless funny gags that don't feel out of place like in other comedies. Ofc it's a B movie with low budget so the effects aren't mind breaking but in a comedy that shouldn't be the most important part. It's should be if you are entertained by the movie and Ice Pirates certainly does that.

This movie is generally underrated, which may be because people expected it to be something it's not. It's a comedy, a spoof, and an excellent one. It is not a serious sci-fi action adventure. Who knew Robert Urich could be this funny? The scene where the captured ice pirates are being prepared for slave duty alone is worth the price of admission! Then there's the robot that was purchased for an inexplicably good price. That particular scene is so dark that it may be necessary to play it back a couple of times to see what's going on. You find a beautiful woman in suspended animation. What would you do? The biggest shortcoming of this film is the ending, where there's a rather silly chase through a wormhole or some such. It doesn't really work, and since it's right at the end of the film may help explain why so many review the film so poorly.

For lovers of Star Wars (ep.4 - 6) this is a must see.They have borrowed so many lines and ideas it's insane, then they have intertwined great comedy. The effects are poor, the aliens and robots, a joke, and the enemies appear to be cast offs off Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I always thought Spaceballs was the best Star Wars spoof movie; I was wrong, this is better. Give it a try, its bonkers.