Legend of Sea Wolf (1976) Review

You know those DVD sets you can find at Wal-mart that have like 25 horror movie, or 10 action movies, and when you look at the back of the box, you haven't heard of any of them?  Well, I received one of those as a Christmas present, but it was 9 movies that had actors from the James Bond series in them before they were well known.  Well, today I'm going to look at one of those films, because why not?  So, this is my review of Legend of Sea Wolf, which features Bond Girl, Barbara Bach (The Spy Who Loved Me), in a supporting role.



This is the poster from the Italian release, which is much cooler than the American version.



See?

Legend of Sea Wolf follows Humphrey Van Weyden (Giuseppe Pambieri), a rich author who hasn't worked manual labor a day in his life.  Humphrey is kidnapped and brought aboard the seal hunting vessel, the Ghost, captained by the brutal, sociopathic Wolf Larsen (Chuck Conners).  Humphrey is forced to sign on a sailor, or else starve to death.  Humphrey eventually learns how to be a halfway decent sailor, and he and Wolf begrudgingly start to respect one another.  But Wolf's brutal and murderous methods of keeping the crew in line tests Humphrey to the limits, and when misfortune hits the Ghost, Humphrey not only has to protect himself and the rest of the crew from Wolf, but from Wolf's brother, Death, who is coming for revenge on Wolf and anyone who stands in his way.

What works:

The most surprising compliment I can give Legend of Sea Wolf is the acting.  Giuseppe Pambieri does a great job as the protagonist.  He is really likable and he is easy to root for.  His growth arc is excellent, and it's easy to empathize with him.

But even more positive is the performance of Chuck Conners.  He is magnetic in his role, and steals the scene every time he is on camera.  The dialogue between Humphrey and Wolf is great, but Wolf totally overpowers Humphrey, creating an interesting character dynamic.  Every scene with them interacting is a highlight of the film.

Finally, I really appreciate the use of miniatures for the storm sequences in the film.  The miniatures look great, and I always appreciate the extra effort that goes into making practical effects.

What sucks:

Pretty much the rest of the film sucks.  The first five minutes of the film is utterly baffling and incomprehensible.  I had to google what exactly was happening in the opening, because I had absolutely no idea.  The film introduces too many characters instantly and jumps back and forth quickly between a flashback and the present.

The confusion continues during most of the night scenes.  It's really hard to tell what is happening because the lighting isn't great and it's too hard to distinguish between the characters.

There is also some terrible attempts at comic relief.  Legend of Sea Wolf is a very serious movie, but they try to inject some slapstick comedy that falls completely flat.

Finally, the whole movie builds up the character of Death Larsen, Wolf's brother, as a bigger, badder version of Wolf.  But when we finally meet Death, it's very disappointing.  Death only has two scenes, and no dialogue.  We don't even really get to see him interact with Wolf.  After all that build up, it felt like a real cop-out.

Verdict:

While I like the story of Legend of Sea Wolf, and the acting of the two leads, and the practical effects, most of the rest of the film was confusing, stupid, or lackluster.  I'd love to see a remake, because the story is very strong.  I think, with a more competent team, a remake of Legend of Sea Wolf could be fantastic.  But this version does not have it going on

4/10: Bad

P.S.  Barbara Bach doesn't even show up in the movie until an hour in. And even then, she doesn't do much.


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