The main interest here lies in the fantasy world created, a cross between Mad Max 2 and Excalibur in which pugnacious Celtic chieftains, on the point of making peace by marriage, are overcome by the Slayers, a warrior band ruled over by the mercurial Beast, a protean monster who makes Jabba the Hutt look like the boy next door. The story, with many romantic overtones of The Thief of Bagdad, is concerned with the quest of Prince Colwyn for his abducted betrothed: meeting dangers, encountering perils and helpers (including a Cyclops-style Bresslaw and several talented RSC-National Theatre stalwarts in disguise), and aided by a magical weapon, the Glaive (a jewel-encrusted starfish with prongs). Strong on stunts and special effects but often rambling and ponderously lurching into comedy, it's not the greatest of Christmas treats, but does have enough cherishable moments between the wordy longueurs; and in
Lysette Anthony
's Princess Lyssa, a heroine for whom many a young Turk would walk through fire and ice.