Line #48 Film/TheBladeMaster


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6	[[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AtorBlademaster_1175.jpg]]
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8	''Ator l'invincibile 2'' (released in English-speaking countries as ''The Blade Master'', ''Ator, the Blade Master'', ''Cave Dwellers'', and ''The Return'') is an Italian film that was made in 1984.
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10	The movie was written and directed by Creator/JoeDAmato. It stars Miles O'Keeffe as Ator, a man skilled in not only fighting, but in many other arts as well. It also stars Charles Borromel as Akronas, a wise ruler and teacher who is also called the Great One. Lisa Foster stars as Mila, the daughter of Akronas, and David Brandon as Zor -- the principal villain of the film. The film was released in theaters as ''Ator the Invincible'' and later as ''Ator, the Blade Master''. It received the name ''Cave Dwellers'' after it was re-edited by distributor Film Ventures International. It is the sequel to 1982's ''Ator l'invincible'' (with the English title ''Film/AtorTheFightingEagle''), which received the Podcast/RiffTrax treatment in 2017 and appeared on ''[=MST3k=]'' itself in 2018.[[note]]The show likely skipped the original film the first time around due to highly uncomfortable material like Ator's romantic feelings towards the woman he thinks is his sister, and an Amazon tribe who plan to rape him, which never would have flown on TV in the early '90s.[[/note]] The third film was 1986's ''Iron Warrior'', followed by ''Film/QuestForTheMightySword'' (which was also released as ''Troll 3'', one of ''three'' InNameOnly sequels to ''Film/{{Troll\|1986}}''.) The movies were made to [[FollowTheLeader capitalize]] on the popularity of the Conan movies which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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12	For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' version, please go to the [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S03E01CaveDwellers episode recap page]].
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14	Unrelated to [[VideoGame/BladeMaster the video game]]. It's one letter away anyway.
15	----
16	!!''The Blade Master'' has these examples:
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18	* AnachronismStew:
19	** Neanderthals, barbarians, a 17th century castle and an atom bomb going off?
20	--->'''Tom Servo:''' Well, looks like he flew into 17th-century Bulgaria and that's Mad Ludwig's castle right there.
21	** Also pointed out in the ending:
22	--->'''Crow:''' Hey look, tire tracks!
23	* AnnoyingArrows: Mila gets shot in the heart by an arrow and keeps limping on! ''The heart!''
24	* BackstabBackfire: Saved by Thong, though!
25	* BaitAndSwitchCredits: In the Film Ventures International release, the film's opening and closing credits are clearly from another film.[[note]]''Taur, the Mighty''[[/note]]
26	-->'''Tom Servo:''' You know, they couldn't even find an exciting enough scene from their own movie to show with the credits.
27	* BambooTechnology: Pushed to the breaking point of historic credibility when Ator even makes a ''hang glider''.
28	-->'''Joel:''' Oh, I suppose he's got a tank in the courtyard now.\
29	'''Crow:''' [[Series/GilligansIsland Yeah, and it's made outta coconuts.]]
30	* BarbarianHero: Subverted. Ator ''looks'' like a classic barbarian hero, but is much too civilized to actually count as one, and Akronas stops him from killing the defeated Zor by reminding him that he's not a barbarian.
31	* BedsheetGhost: Ator and Thong beat invisible assailants by turning them into these with their cloaks.
32	* BigBad: Zor is the major antagonist of the film, though he isn't actually in charge of ''all'' the baddies that Ator fights through.
33	* BigNo: Several, actually. Said in a fairly goofy, almost petulant manner, however.
34	* TheBlacksmith: Ator apparently learned blacksmithing between the first and second film.
35	* BreastPlate: Averted; Mila appears to be wearing a hub cap on her chest.
36	* ChainmailBikini: Mila wears one in the promotional poster... though not in the film itself.
37	* ChekhovsSkill: Played with. Early in the film, Mila proves to Ator that she's the daughter of Akronas by making gunpowder. Instead of Mila herself doing anything useful with the skill (such as helping out in the snake pit with a skull bomb or something), it's Ator, the ''student'' of Akronas, who uses gunpowder bombs to distract the cannibals and later against Zor's soldiers.
38	* CulturedWarrior: Ator, in the second movie anyway, is so cultured he can create hang gliders, perform surgery, and make gunpowder grenades.
39	* FantasticNuke: The "geometric nucleus" seems to be a magic-based nuclear weapon, depending on how you interpret the {{anvilicious}} closing monologue and stock footage of a mushroom cloud.
40	* FauxActionGirl: Mila. Sure, she's a strong-willed young lady with lots of rebellious spunk. Sure, she has some nominal experience fighting bad guys with swords. Sure, she knows everything her Dad taught her, even did a neat {{MacGyver\|ing}} job with gunpowder made from cave wall minerals in a test Ator set for her. However, she gets shot with an arrow, becomes a DamselInDistress with both the cannibal cavepeople AND the snake cult and cowers in the corner like a helpless blob of jello when in the snake pit with Ator.
41	* GeniusBruiser: How many other Conan knockoffs can ''build a goddamned hang glider''?
42	* HappyEndingOverride: The entirety of the previous film was Ator's quest to rescue Sunya, his stepsister/wife, and the film ended with them running happily into the distance to start their lives together free of danger. Cue the second movie where a cheap montage says Sunya died (it's not specified when or how) and now Ator is living in a cave away from society.
43	* TheHero: Ator by default, though he doesn't do very much.
44	* HumanSacrifice: Zor's henchmen feed a few hapless girls to a bunch of growling snakes to appease their god.
45	* HypercompetentSidekick: Thong, who finds the way out of the cave, sniffs out the villagers' trap, and ultimately offs the villain with a throwing knife.
46	* IdiotBall: The chief of the village spends considerable effort trying to convince his villagers that Ator is wrong. Then when he fails, he suddenly becomes totally supportive of Ator and offers him a drink. Somehow it doesn't occur to Ator that anything might be amiss. (This looks extra stupid if you know that he also accepted a drugged drink from a shady character in the [[Film/AtorTheFightingEagle previous movie.]])
47	* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Invoked but turned humorous.
48	-->'''Akronas:''' No, Ator! You can't! Zor is disarmed. If you kill him now, you'll be guilty of murder!\
49	'''Crow:''' What?\
50	'''Akronas:''' Wait until he is tried by the court of the League of Peaceful Lands!\
51	'''Joel:''' Oh, he's making that up!\
52	'''Tom Servo:''' What is this, ''[[Series/LALaw BC Law]]''?\
53	'''Akronas:''' They will make him pay for his crimes, but for us to take the law on our hands puts us on the level of the barbarian!\
54	'''Crow:''' We ''are'' barbarians!
55	* ILied: Punctuated with an axe to the face. Ouch.
56	* ImAHumanitarian: The cave dwellers are of the AndShowItToYou variety.
57	* InvisibleMonsters:
58	-->'''Joel:''' I don't believe it -- they were too cheap to hire ''villains'' in this movie.
59	* LoinCloth: There's a lot of these in this film, not the least of which is worn by our hero.
60	* MacGuffin: The "Geometric Nucleus".
61	-->'''Akronas:''' It is everything... and nothing...\
62	'''Crow:''' Uh, could you be a little more vague, please?
63	* MrFanservice: Miles O'Keeffe. For a flagrant Conan bootleg, he at least has an impressive body build to match Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
64	* MsFanservice: Say what you will about her [[FauxActionGirl uselessness]], Mila certainly is easy on the eyes, and the camera certainly enjoys taking [[MaleGaze shots up]] her bearskin MinidressOfPower.
65	* NeutralFemale: You were a ''big'' help with the snake, lady.
66	-->'''Crow:''' "Is ''Series/CharlesInCharge'' over? Thanks for showing up!"
67	* NeverMyFault: The aversion of this is discussed. When Sandor's magic fails to stop Ator, Zor gives him a right nasty tongue-lashing for it (and is preparing to give him worse); Akronas points out that Zor, having placed all his reliance upon Sandor's abilities, is as guilty of failure as the wizard.
68	* NoisyNature: Growling snakes. Helps that one of them is humongous, though.
69	* PlotHole: So how did Ator manage to survive destroying the Geometric Nucleus if it caused such a huge nuclear explosion? Was he able to rig it up like a pre-historic time bomb so he had enough time to get to a safe distance before it exploded?
70	-->'''Crow:''' Well, this is neat, but what the heck does it have to do with the movie?\
71	'''Tom Servo:''' Uh.... Your guess is as good as mine. Think they ran out of things to do.\
72	'''Joel:''' Yeah.\
73	'''Tom Servo:''' Throw a little Oppenheimer in here right now. Hey, I see a president's face up there!\
74	'''Crow:''' I see a bunny.
75	* PornStache: Zor has an insanely huge mustache of evil.
76	* PreviouslyOn: The movie shows a recap of the first. As low budget as it was, it also painfully points out how the first movie had a better budget than ''this'' one. Worse, nothing in the first film has a bearing on the second film, so the recap is essentially useless padding.
77	-->'''Crow:''' Jeez, Tolkien couldn't follow this plot.[[note]]Given that there's a giant spider in it, this may possibly be a ShoutOut.[[/note]]
78	* RedemptionRejection: Akronas manages to convince Ator not to kill Zor... but the instant Ator turns his back, Zor grabs his discarded sword and charges him. Thankfully for Ator, Thong hurls a knife into Zor's back before he closes the distance.
79	* {{Retcon}}: Akronas' long-winded recap of the first movie makes Ator out to be considerably more competent than actually depicted in that film, neglecting to mention that the majority of his exploits were only made possible by the help he received from his mentor Griba, "side piece" Roon, and pet bear cub Kiog. If Roon in particular hadn't kept bailing him out, he wouldn't have gotten close to defeating the spider god.
80	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: The town's leader has his people drug Ator and friends, in exchange for not having to give the Snake God female sacrifices. He's rewarded with a sword to the face and the town getting pillaged and females getting taken anyway.
81	* RidingIntoTheSunset: Invoked in the film's conclusion.
82	-->'''Tom Servo:''' Oh, but enough of this, let's escape to Wisconsin!\
83	'''Joel:''' Yeah. Looks like he traded in his hang glider for a horse. He probably built that horse too if you think about it.\
84	'''Tom Servo:''' Out of mud and sticks...\
85	'''Crow:''' Raised it from a pup.
86	* SameLanguageDub: Miles O'Keefe's voice was dubbed over to sound more mature and heroic. The voice actor was Greg Snegoff who uses a voice very much like the one he used for Scott Bernard in ''Anime/{{Robotech}}''.
87	* SchizoTech: A Conan The Barbarian ripoff with gliders and atomic bombs. While building a glider is not ''too'' out of place, the fact it uses what looks like tanned leather and parachute silk, and possibly forged metal components on a pretty sophisticated wood frame, makes it a little ''hard'' to believe Ator could have whipped it up in 5 minutes. He could have built it sometime before and hidden it, but if so that should have been made clear. Nukes, on the other hand...
88	* ShoutOut:
89	** ''[[Literature/TheLastOfTheMohicans Straight as an arrow flying into the sun.]]'' Shout Out or plagiarism? Your call.
90	** The ending seems to be a reference to the Whatsit from ''Film/KissMeDeadly''.
91	* SnakesAreEvil: ''So'' evil that they... er, growl.
92	* TheSpeechless: Thong never speaks for the entire film, just doing all the real work without a word. This is never explained.
93	* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: Sunya, Ator's bride that he spends the entire first movie rescuing, is simply stated to have died during Akronas' exposition dump. She is ''never'' mentioned in the rest of the film.
94	* TokenMinority: Also Thong, whose sudden association with Ator is never explained. He's missing in the next film, also without explanation.
95	* TrivialTitle: For ''Cave Dwellers''. The actual cave dwellers are shown very briefly in the movie. The rest of the plot revolves around a journey made by a character named Ator to save his former mentor from the bad guy. The scene with the cave people is just a brief detour. It's worth mentioning that it was originally ''Ator l'invincible 2'' (''Ator the Invincible 2'', also released in the US as ''Ator, the Blade Master'' or ''The Return''). ''Cave Dwellers'' is just the title that Venture Films International slapped on it when they got the distribution rights. Of course, since the VFI version was the one featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', it's the most famous one.
96	* WackyWaysideTribe: The cave dwellers themselves are just an obstacle the heroes stumble into, with no connection to anyone or anything else in the story. Of course, replace "wacky" with "primitive and bloodthirsty."
97	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Ator. Delicious barbarian Ator...
98	-->'''Joel:''' Who is this gentle stranger with pecs like melons and knees of fringe?
99	* WhatTheHellHero: Thong waits around for no apparent reason long enough while rescuing Ator from the snake dude's temple that all of the other prisoners are sacrificed to the giant snake.
100	* WickedCultured: What Zor aspires to. He's not very good at it. Akronas uses this and Zor's (limited) respect for him to manipulate him a few times, particularly when he gets Zor to show Sandor mercy by suggesting that weak men are incapable of showing mercy.
101	-->'''Zor:''' ''(dueling Ator near the end of the movie)'' Have you lost your nerve?!\
102	'''Joel:''' Oh, come on, yeah! He ran to The Ends of The Earth, he invented the wheel, he's had a long day!
103	* TheWorldIsNotReady: Then again, what can an iron age tyrant can do with a nuke?
104	-->'''Joel:''' Actually, Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked it over. So uh... Yeah.\
105	'''Tom Servo:''' Mankind, you make me want to vomit. Go away, just go away. I'm so sick of you, get out of here. Come on!
106	* WorthyOpponent: What Zor thinks of Akronas. He punishes his soldiers for hurting Akronas in the process of capturing him on the grounds that mere {{Mook}}s aren't worthy to touch such a man, and he later refuses to use torture to get information from Akronas on the grounds that that would ruin their battle of wits. [[spoiler:He does eventually lose his patience, though.]]
107	* YellowFace: Zor is some sort of weird Samurai/Mongol/Hun guy with a cheesy Literature/FuManchu moustache, played by a white guy.

Context Film / TheBladeMaster