SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Manthast Absolutely amazing

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Scott LeBrun "Indiana Jones" style late 80s adaptation of Alistair MacLeans' book is a watchable adventure that should have been more fun, as it has some irresistible ingredients. (Like veteran actor Robert Vaughn playing a demented Nazi scientist.) But the execution just doesn't have enough "oomph" going for it. Its action scenes are fine, and the story is a fairly enjoyable one, despite its characters not being terribly interesting, for the most part.American ninja Michael Dudikoff stars as John Hamilton, a jungle guide in the late 1960s who takes a doctor (Victor Melleney) and his sexy daughter (Sarah Maur Thorp) through the Amazonian wilderness to a fabled "lost city". When he alone escapes the clutches of hostile native tribes, he feels just guilty enough to want to go back. And there are a variety of parties who want to make the return trek with him, like German "businessman" Heinrich Spaatz (Donald Pleasence) and his associate Maria (Cynthia Erland), each with their own agenda in mind.While it's commendable to see Dudikoff step outside his personal comfort zone and try something different, he just isn't enough of an actor to make his character all that compelling. (One can hardly fail to notice that his narrator voice is somehow more gravelly than his speaking voice in the rest of the movie.) Fortunately, heavy hitters like Vaughn, Pleasence (who absurdly sports a wig part of the time), Herbert Lom (as a grumpy and officious police officer), and L.Q. Jones (coming off well in the most colorful role of the picture) do their part in keeping the story alive. Lovely Erland is passable in the most tragic role.Striking scenery (this was actually filmed in South Africa) and photography do help to a degree, as well as a fine music score by Sasha Matson. Undemanding viewers may be amused.Six out of 10.

LeonLouisRicci Cheesy, Low-Budget, but Colorful Action/Adventure with Scary looking and Color Coordinated Amazonian Tribesmen, South American Nazis Circa 1965, Big Haired Babes, and Non-Actor and Fan Favorite Michael Dudikoff.Along for the Fun is Robert Vaughn and Donald Pleasance Playing Dueling Old Fogie Nazis. The Pacing is too Slow and the Action Lackluster and looking Staged, the Film has Complications like Biological Scourges, and a Hidden Jungle City that Go virtually Nowhere.The Movie may Take Itself Too Seriously to be much Fun, but it Ends Up being a little Entertaining if You can Get into It. Whether it's Worth the Try will be a Matter of Tolerance and Taste. Overall, Average for this Type of Pre-CGI, Direct to Video Stuff. It's a Canon Production and the Hacks there Did and Do Have a Fan Base for this Type of Glossy Trash.

Maziun This movie was made and released about eight years after its source novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean was first published in 1981. "River of death" was MacLean's twenty-fourth novel and this movie was the fifteenth film adaptation of one of MacLean's stories. It's the first filmed adaptation of an Alistair MacLean to be made and released after the author had passed way. First and only made for cinema filmed adaptation of an Alistair MacLean story to be made and released during the 80s. Final to date made for cinema adaptation of an Alistair MacLean story. I haven't read the book , but I 've heard that it's one of MacLean's poorest books. So it's really no wonder that the movie sucks too. Michael Dudikoff is John Hamilton , a mercenary who leads the expedition into the heart of the Amazon in search of Nazi scientist. It turns out that they all have various motives for searching for a Nazi scientist in a lost city, but none of the revelations are very convincing. Most of the characters turn out to be someone other than who we thought they were. It might sound interesting , but believe me it isn't.The characters are VERY one dimensional , the twists are unconvincing and the plot is paper thin. The movie is TERRIBLY directed. It's strange , because director Steve Carver made some decent Chuck Norris movies before ("An eye for eye" and "Lone wolf McQuade"). Here the pacing is sluggish , the action is lame and there is too much talking.Dudikoff is capable B class actor , but he is lost here. Good actors like Donald Pleasance and Robert Vaughn are wasted. Even the Amazon scenery seems underused. There is no pretty scenery or good photography. It's dull, dull ,dull. It's a cure for insomnia. It's the worst kind of B movie making. It's not even "so bad it's good" type of B class movie. I give it 1/10.

bkoganbing I'm sure that the original novel by Alistair McLean was a whole lot better than this film would indicate. It would almost have to be. This is a style of film making not seen since the pleasant days of Republic and Monogram Pictures were active. It's almost like a bad serial without as many chapter breaks.A Mengele like scientist played with relish by Robert Vaughn as the Allied armies are closing in on both sides of Nazi Germany has to flee. Those concentration camp inmates, wonderful subjects for experimentation are going to become unavailable shortly and he wants to continue his research. He kills a Swiss investigator and his SS backer Donald Pleasance he merely wounds in a rather stupid double cross.Fast forward twenty years to the Sixties and two fisted adventurer Michael Dudikoff is looking for a lost Inca city in the Amazon head waters where all kinds of strange things have been happening to the natives. All sorts of other people want to get to the city as well for varying motives. They team up with the intrepid Dudikoff leading the motley expedition.River Of Death is a throwback to those old action adventure films that used to be churned out of those B studios by the bucket load. That's not necessarily a good thing. It might have been better had this been a satire of same, but River Of Death is as serious as a crutch.What a serial this could have been, river pirates, corrupt police, lost city, Nazi scientists, what more could you want?