source: Starchaser: The Legend of Orin- In 3-D

Hi...it almost sound like this should be the movie ive been looking for the past 18 years..but its like something from my vivid rememberings are wrong...everything sounds familiar..only for one thing...what i remember about a movie that sounded just like this was that it was animated just as lord of the rings was when it came out as an animated movie...or am i wrong??..like the orcs..over painted real people...and does this movie have cyborgs in it?? cus i strongly remember those in a similiar movie...can anybody please say if im wrong or right?? =) bye =)

Basing its storyline in antiquity, it shows us the final battle in a war that has spanned centuries. The Kakan, Orin, learns of his abilities as he learns of the plight of humanity and the centuries long effort of Zygon to dominate all humans in the entire Universe. While the storyline is another version of mankind against the machine, it is not as predictable as you might think. Orin escapes slavery and journeys through the known universe to finally come full circle to battle with the android mastermind on the eve of Zygon's fulfilling his plans for a Galaxy wide empire. Since my wife tells me I am all thumbs, I can honestly give it ten thumbs up. A wonderful animated movie. One I have looked for, both online and off, for almost seven years to buy for my very own, whatever the cost.

How did LucasFilm NOT sue over this? How? Okay so some bad Korean Animation characters do a ripoff of Star Wars, with the plucky hero with a mystical power involving swords, or something, and a wise-cracking pilot and a sexy princess who fortunately does not happen to be his sister, because, ick! We also have some sassy robots, but no Wookies, thankfully. Except nothing the characters do actually make sense. we find out that the people running the evil robots are in fact evil robots themselves. Some of the creature designs looked interesting, there are things you can do with animation that you can't do with practical effects. The downside was that the animation quality was somewhere above Star Trek the animated series and somewhere below Heavy Metal and nowhere in the same vicinity as Disney quality. Could have been a 5, but subtract 1 for ripoff and 1 for Robot Misogyny.

Spoilers contained within: If you intend to read the hype of those people who give this film an 8 or higher, then you shouldn't bother to read the review of someone who went to the premiere of this film, with all of the cardboard cut outs and Klieg lights in front of the theater. The film was originally presented in 3D and as we sat with our Polarized lenses on, the first problem presented itself - the cardboard cut-out syndrome. You had the feeling you were watching the film as it must have looked to the photographer as he looked down through the multi-plane animation stand with foreground and background mostly static and the middle plane made up of the character (also flat-looking) moving around. Second, the plot was far too close to the "Star Wars" films which had just finished dominating American cinemas in their three-film run between 1977-1983. You had Orin, who more than resembled Luke, with a sword that worked like a laser; you had Dagg (Han) a rogue space pilot with a vessel like the Millennium Falcon; a cute robot Silica (C3P0) and the evil Zygon who mirrored the emperor/Vader character. Did we mention the force? Those would be the legendary Ka-Khan whose mystical guidance are used by Luke, uh Orin. Confused? You will be. This is a cardboard movie, limited animation, corny predictable plot, and horrible score (far from John Williams). If you liked this movie, you don't know science fiction. If you loved this movie, you don't know cinema. Not recommended.

One question: why does the potential overlord of the entire universe walk around dressed like a Chippendale dancer? This is one of the those movies you can't take too seriously. I happened to check it out from my local library on a whim, practically wore out their copy. I found my own copy a few years ago, and every once in a while I re-visit it. It's one of those guilty pleasures, sort of a "Star Wars Lite." A final note. I read someone's review of this film where they said Dagg Dibrimi looked like a cross between Burt Reynolds and Han Solo. It's pretty common knowledge in Star Wars circles that George Lucas considered Reynolds to play Han Solo before deciding on Harrison Ford. If you ever wondered what it would have been like if the decision went the other way... well, now you won't have to ponder that anymore.

When I think about this film all i can think about is how thrilled i was as a kid when i watched it, so has it lasted the test of time?, Sadly it does look dated but hell, its an animated feature film and as animation is one of my passions i cant help but tell you it was bound to happen. Lets just say think Titan A.E and your half way there a great film worth a watch if you can find it, as always e-mail me with any comments and if any one knows if you can get a dvd copy?

Somewhere underground of a planet where a race of humans are enslaved to dig for a evil baron named Zygon, a young man named Orin discovers a magic blade-less sword to kill his enemies as he becomes the master of the sword. His quest is to dig up to the upper world to find the blade he seeks, during his mission he joins with a smuggler, a princess and two robots to save his home planet and free his people. Often referred to as a "Star Wars" rip-off but i think it's a terrific and exciting animated Korean/U.S. made Sci-fi romp for adults ( not really for kids) in the tradition of "Heavy Metal" and The Story of Moses. For it's day there's some old school CGI and was originally in 3-D, i think the movie is a wonderful and nicely done animated movie that i recommend for fans of Sci-fi, animation and "Star Wars" alike. Also recommended: "Rock & Rule", " Heavy Metal", "Titan A.E.", " Fire & Ice", " The Black Cauldron", "Star Wars Saga", "Krull", " Serenity", " Star Trek Saga", " Transformers The Movie", "Spaceballs", " Nausicca: Valley of the Wind", "Princess Mononoke", "Akira", " Ghost in The Shell 1 & 2", " Flash Gordon", "The Dark Crystal", "Prince of Egypt", " Project A-Ko", " Wizards", " Fantastic Planet".

I remember seeing this film years ago when i was younger and definitely have a memory of renting it out more than once from the video shop. For the past couple of years i've been searching around second hand video shops (in vain none the less)trying to find a copy. Looking back on it the comparisons between it and star wars are incredible; a diamond smuggler with an amazing ship (Han Solo perhaps), a young boy escaping from a very crap life to fight an evil bad guy with the use of his newly found sword (Luke and his light saber?). However despite this, it really was an enjoyable film and i'll spend another 4 years looking for it.

Outstanding film, originally meant for 3D that hasn't suffered in the slightest from being banished to VHS rental tapes. A heady mix of Star Wars, manga influence and even a little Moebius take this Ten Commandments style film in fine style for a braethtaking ride, matched by beautiful set and character design, superb music and outstanding voices. Lobby for this one on DVD!