Line #99 Film/DeathstalkerIIDuelOfTheTitans


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Deathstalker_II_1987_9911.jpg]]
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3	The second of the movies in the Film/DeathstalkerSeries, this film is known as "the funny one". Or at least "the one that was trying to be funny on purpose".
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5	Filmed on the cheap in Argentina in 1987, WordOfGod has it that the script the cast and crew had to work with was absolutely terrible even by the standards of [[BMovie this sort of movie]]. There was also the problem that their studio lot was surrounded by a highway AND an airport, the noise of which made shooting during the day all but impossible. Finally, the studio lot reportedly contained more garbage and tire-fires than the landfill next door.
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7	Faced with all of these difficulties and left with only two weeks to finish the film, director Jim Wynorski decided to just have fun with it and created an AffectionateParody of all the cliches of the sword and sorcery genre. Much of the film was heavily improvised, with Director Wynorksi and actor John Terlesky writing out a broad outline based in equal parts on the original script and WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoons.
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9	The plot centers upon Princess Evie, who has been forced off the throne by the EvilSorcerer Jarek and his [[TheDragon Dragon]] Sultana. Replaced by a vampiric EvilTwin, whom Jarek controls from behind the scenes, Evie is forced to adopt the persona of [[WaifProphet Reena The Seer]] in order [[KingIncognito to lay low]] while searching the neighboring kingdom for a hero who can restore her to the throne. She sets her heart on Deathstalker after he saves her from the local guards and he is quickly won over by her assurances that great treasure and fame await him if he travels to the next kingdom over. Along the way, they encounter gangs of {{Professional Killer}}s, an AmazonBrigade that wants Deathstalker's head for his crimes against women and [[NightOfTheLivingMooks an army of zombies]].
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11	This movie was featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'''s live tour.
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13	!!Tropes:
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15	* AdvancingWallOfDoom: Deathstalker has to contend with one of these in a sealed tomb.
16	* AffectionateParody: The movie does take every cliche of HighFantasy and runs wild with them.
17	* AllAmazonsWantHercules: Deathstalker is put on trial by local Amazons for his "crimes against womanhood". None of them finds his attempts at flirting amusing at first but after he wins his DuelToTheDeath, the amazon queen takes a liking to him and starts planning their wedding for the next day.
18	* AmazonBrigade: The local tribe of Amazons put Deathstalker on trial for his womanizing ways.
19	* AnachronismStew: Numerous examples, but all of them are justified by The RuleOfFunny.
20	** The Amazons have a modern wrestling ring and -- for some reason -- ring girls with clearly printed cards for announcing the rounds. They even play a short, medieval rendition of the ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' theme!
21	** One of the gang of murderers recruited by the pirate Chin to kill Deathstalker claims to have worked for five years under Genghis Khan (1162–1227 AD) and as a part-time consultant to Attila The Hun (406–453 AD). This despite some seven centuries passing between the death of the later and the birth of the former.
22	** There's another member of Chin's gang who was reportedly dismissed by Ivan The Terrible (1530-1584 AD) for excessive cruelty.
23	* AttemptedRape: Evie has to be rescued twice from being raped, first by Deathstalker and then by the Amazons.
24	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning:
25	** Evie at the end, when she becomes Queen.
26	** Also, when she gives Deathstalker his reward for helping her, making him a real Prince (Of Thieves).
27	* BackFromTheDead: Sultana is resurrected by Jarek, after Deathstalker kills her.
28	* BarBrawl: One breaks out in a tavern when Deathstalker punches out a soldier who's slapping Evie around.
29	* BarehandedBladeBlock: During the climactic battle against Jarek, this is the move that allows Deathstalker to land the final blow. Once in his hands, he forces the weapon and snaps in two, then jams the broken end into Jarek's throat.
30	* BigBad: The EvilSorcerer Jarek.
31	* ButNowIMustGo: Sultana leaves partway through the final battle. Literally, she tells Jarek that she's done working for him and just walks out of the castle. Reportedly, they had planned a better ending for her, [[RealLifeWritesThePlot but her actress had an earlier flight than the rest of the American cast and they couldn't think of any other way to get her out of the movie]] (without killing her, anyway, which they had already done once!) so they just decided to let her get fed up and leave abruptly as a joke.
32	* CassandraTruth: Evie is rescued from a gang of ruffian guards by Deathstalker after delivering one of these to the local king.
33	-->'''Evie:''' In my kingdom, a man would delight to know that his wife was with child!
34	-->'''Head Guard:''' But not by another man.
35	* TheCavalry: When Evie and Deathstalker are surrounded by the enemy army, the Amazons arrive to even odds and to do final battle.
36	* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: A chair has a smashing meeting with a body during the BarBrawl.
37	* TheChosenZero: Deathstalker. He isn't incompetent but he is a [[RobbingTheDead grave robbing]] HandsomeLech and a JerkWithAHeartofGold, who doesn't act like TheHero.
38	* CoversAlwaysLie: While the Boris Vallejo artwork is quite good, the BarbarianHero and AmazonianBeauty on the cover do not look anything like Deathstalker and Princess Evie.
39	* CrystalBall: Evie does have a crystal she uses to see the future, but it's not a perfect sphere (the actual prop was, in fact, a crystalline doorknob).
40	* DamselInDistress: Princess Evie. She's not much help in a fight, to put it politely.
41	* DenserAndWackier: This film takes itself the least seriously in the series, preserving the typical fantasy adventures while also embracing the goofy cheese the series would be known for. The titular Deathstalker is less of a [[TheStoic stoic]] BarbarianHero and more of a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] LoveableRogue, and the script has plenty of one-liners and anachronistic [[ShoutOut references]] to go around.
42	* TheDragon: Sultana.
43	* DuelToTheDeath: Deathstalker is forced to fight the amazons' champion as part of a trial by combat, for his crimes as a womanizer.
44	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Deathstalker.
45	--> '''Evie:''' Deathstalker?!
46	--> '''Deathstalker:''' Uh-huh.
47	--> '''Evie:''' Is that your first name or your last name?
48	* EvilSorcerer: Jarek.
49	--> '''Evie:''' The princess is being imprisoned by Jarek, The evil sorcerer!
50	--> '''Deathstalker:''' Are there any other kind?
51	* EvilPaysBetter: Sultana's apparent motivation. Deathstalker does try to talk her over to the side of good at one point, but says the money is so much better working for the bad guys.
52	* EvilTwin: Evil Evie -- the magical vampire clone of Princess Evie created by Jarek in order to replace the original.
53	* FaintingSeer: Evie plays at being this in order to sell her story to Deathstalker. She is not amused when he steps over her to get out of her hut to get at this Princess she was just talking about.
54	* FallenPrincess: Evie is a princess who was quietly booted from her land by [[EvilOverlord Jarek]], who created a [[EvilTwin subservient clone of her]] that allowed him to take over the kingdom. In the interim of her trying to amass forces to return, [[KingIncognito Evie had been passing as a local oracle named Reena the Seer]], but luckily, [[OneManArmy Deathstalker]] arrived to make her return a lot faster.
55	* GrievousBottleyHarm: During the the tavern brawl, Deathstalker encounters a stronger opponent which fists do nothing against, but smashing a bottle of wine to the head manages to knock him out instantly.
56	* HandsomeLech: Deathstalker, naturally.
57	* HeManWomanHater: Averted. Deathstalker plays at being this when he confronts the guards harassing Evie, but his sympathies are clearly with her.
58	* HilariousOuttakes: Fittingly, movie puts several bloopers into the credits.
59	* HollywoodDarkness: Averted, to the point where some exterior scenes are difficult to see because of a lack of light. Reportedly most of the outdoor scenes HAD to be shot at night, due to the noise generated by a nearby airport during the day.
60	* HonorAmongThieves: Deathstalker does have a code of honor, at least so far as helping helpless women and not killing except in self-defense is concerned.
61	* HumansAreUgly: Brought up in the exchange between the two orc-like guards, escorting a poor unfortunate to feed the vampiric Princess Evie, as they leave the room.
62	-->'''Guard One:''' Did you see the face on her?!
63	-->'''Guard Two:''' Too bad. [[{{Butterface}} Nice body]], though!
64	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Deathstalker plays at being this but his "one rescue per day" policy for helpless maidens is more of a guideline than a rule.
65	** He also saves Evie from Sultana, after seemingly abandoning Evie because she lied to him about who she was.
66	* KillAndReplace: A secondhand version is attempted as part of Jarek's plot to replace Princess Evie with a clone loyal to him. He can't kill the original immediately since [[{{Synchronization}} that would destroy the clone]], but around the third act, he creates a potion that severs the link. Fortunately, this allows the real Evie to get the drop on her clone.
67	* KingpinInHisGym: Jarek is introduced killing random henchmen to train his swordfighting skills.
68	* KleptomaniacHero: Deathstalker. He puts the quest to rescue a princess on hold so that he can loot a tomb, on the odd chance it might have something valuable inside it.
69	* LighterAndSofter: This film is much more lighthearted than the first ''Film/{{Deathstalker}}'', with comedic elements galore and almost no rape present.
70	* LoveableRogue: This version of Deathstalker, who is more of a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' style Rogue than a BarbarianHero.
71	-->'''Evie:''' Oh, so you rob from the rich and give to the poor?
72	-->'''Deathstalker:''' No, I rob from the rich and pretty much keep it.
73	* MagicKnight: Jarek the mage is an excellent swordsman.
74	* MirrorMatch: Evie insists that her EvilTwin be left to her. And then anti-climactically kills her with a single thrown knife.
75	* NightOfTheLivingMooks: Jarek raises a whole cemetery in an effort to kill Evie and Deathstalker.
76	* OracularUrchin: Evie in her guise as Reena the Seer.
77	* PendulumOfDeath: Sultana captures Deathstalker and straps him to a table where a giant pendulum swings closer and closer to his private parts.
78	* PropheticFallacy: Evie is, by her own admission, not a very good seer. The only thing she seems able to foretell consistently is unavoidable bad news.
79	** Avoidable bad news, it should be noted, eludes her completely. In one instance, she is able to accurately foresee three out of four things about the road they need to take. There's only one detail she gets wrong - that there will be no surprises on the journey. Cut to the two of them, trussed up on poles like game animals, being carried off by Amazons.
80	** There's also the CassandraTruth example above, where she foretold that the queen was pregnant... but not by the king.
81	* {{Pun}}: Deathstalker escapes Sultana's clutches! A sulking Sultana turns to the camera as says that she will have her revenge - [[TitleDrop and Deathstalker, t(w)oo!]]
82	* PungeonMaster: For an EvilSorcerer, Jarek is surprisingly fond of puns. For example, he informs Deathstalker, caught in the midst of breaking into a mausoleum, that "grave robbing caries a ''stiff'' penalty". He also tells Deathstalker that he's arranged ''a pressing engagement'' for him... just before the AdvancingWallOfDoom starts to close in.
83	* RobbingTheDead: Deathstalker takes a break from the Noble Quest to indulge in this.
84	* RuleOfFunny: Used to justify 95% of the movie. At least.
85	* ScareChord: A pretty obnoxious synthesized one pops up ''ad nauseum'', even in fairly inappropriate moments.
86	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Sultana literally walks out of the final battle, having suddenly become fed up with Jarek for no readily apparent reason. See ButNowIMustGo for how RealLifeWritesThePlot.
87	* ShoutOut: Numerous.
88	** Deathstalker quotes WesternAnimation/BugsBunny quite frequently.
89	---> '''Deathstalker:''' I shoulda stood in bed.
90	** The theme from ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' plays as Deathstalker enters the ring to face the Amazons' champion.
91	** At one point Deathstalker is locked in [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} a deathtrap that threatens to cut him in two]] and has the following exchange with Sultana.
92	---> '''Deathstalker:''' You don't expect me to talk?
93	---> '''Sultana:''' No. I expect you to die.
94	** Deathstalker is assured that if he helps Evie, he'll wind up in the legends "right up there with [[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian Conan]]".
95	** The pirate Chin was named in honor of the character Chin Ho Kelly from Series/HawaiiFiveO, and Sultana greets him with the same line used frequently in the show.
96	---> '''Sultana:''' Talk to me, Chin. What have you got for me?
97	** Having stabbed Sultana to death a few scenes ago, Deathstalker is surprised to meet her alive and blurts out, "I thought you wuz dead." Sultana replies, "Not hardly," in a shout-out to ''Film/BigJake''.
98	** A signpost that Deathstalker and Evie consult for directions to her country has markers pointing to other imaginary lands such as [[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian Cimmeria]], [[Creator/MarxBrothers Freedonia]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_in_fiction Altair]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria Lemuria]].
99	** The moment during Deathstalker's final battle with Jarek where he [[BarehandedBladeBlock grabs Jarek's blade with both hands]] then [[WreckedWeapon snaps it in two]] is directly lifted from a moment in the climax of ''Film/FiveFingersOfDeath''.
100	* ShovelStrike: When rescuing Evie for the first time, Deathstalker picks up a shovel from the ground, throws dirt on a soldier's face and then knocks him out with it.
101	* SignsOfDisrepair: Deathstalker and Evie stumble a signpost that gives directions and mileage for various destinations, but the one they need has been broken off the sign.
102	* SpikesOfDoom: An AdvancingWallOfDoom sprouts these after Deathstalker taunts the EvilSorcerer, asking why he couldn't come up with anything better than [[GenreSavvy "the old crushing wall routine"]].
103	* StockFootage: Several brief scenes from the original ''Film/{{Deathstalker}}'' are used to pad out the tavern scenes. Some of the people who appear are people who died during the first movie's tournament.
104	* SultryBellyDancer: Shown in the very beginning of the film, dancing during a brawl in a tavern...[[NotSafeForWork with no top on]].
105	* TitleDrop: ''"I'll have my revenge...and Deathstalker [[FunWithHomophones too]]!"'' Cue title card.
106	* TrialByCombat: The Amazons put Deathstalker to one, by means of WWF-style wrestling. He gets continuously creamed for fourteen rounds, then his opponent wears out in the fifteenth.
107	* YouJustHadToSayIt: Trapped in a tomb with an AdvancingWallOfDoom, Deathstalker taunts Jarek and asks why he couldn't come up with something better than " the old crushing wall routine." Cue the emergence of the SpikesOfDoom.
108	--> '''Deathstalker:''' Me and my big mouth.
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Context Film / DeathstalkerIIDuelOfTheTitans