This is a movie that many of us remember "watching as a kid", and a secondary thought that follows that feeling relies in the fact that many of those movies indeed were a lot better than most of today's soulless blockbusters. "Sheena" is actually a flawed, rather modest and slightly camp matinée flick which live up to equally modest expectations. As many other movies based in popular culture characters, this is an "Origins story" of the female hero of the title which updates and upgrades the ancient archetype -and male fantasy with racist overtones- of a blonde amazon who rules a savage land, however, this movie succeeds in a more respectful portrayal of the natives and their millenarian wisdom, depicted as rather peaceful people living in balance with nature, properly turned into fierce warriors in order to assume the defense of their land from evil and greedy visitors.
Beautiful starlet Tanya Roberts brings charm and brightness to the leading role, despite her odd outfit that underlines an adequate sense of campiness (just like, let's say, a horse painted as a zebra), which delivers the magic (some people would like to call it suspension of disbelief) this story deserves. A most ambiguous issue is the thin line between the innocent eroticism and well-intended exploitation that justifies non-sexual full frontal nude scenes involving a Caucasian woman, but has to be admitted that's precisely the part which everyone expects to see in a movie like this one, where sexiness is the principal ingredient.
The DVD, poorly released by Sony/Columbia Pictures definitely doesn't do justice to the movie. The full screen format crops the magnificent landscapes off and the awful quality of the transfer play against the experience. Even the cover artwork (another example of bad photoshop, and, by the way... there are NO tigers in Africa neither do they even appear in this movie) is a big let down to an otherwise enjoyable, fun, sexy and entertaining adventure flick with a soul and a body. Tanya Robert's body.
Beautiful starlet Tanya Roberts brings charm and brightness to the leading role, despite her odd outfit that underlines an adequate sense of campiness (just like, let's say, a horse painted as a zebra), which delivers the magic (some people would like to call it suspension of disbelief) this story deserves. A most ambiguous issue is the thin line between the innocent eroticism and well-intended exploitation that justifies non-sexual full frontal nude scenes involving a Caucasian woman, but has to be admitted that's precisely the part which everyone expects to see in a movie like this one, where sexiness is the principal ingredient.
The DVD, poorly released by Sony/Columbia Pictures definitely doesn't do justice to the movie. The full screen format crops the magnificent landscapes off and the awful quality of the transfer play against the experience. Even the cover artwork (another example of bad photoshop, and, by the way... there are NO tigers in Africa neither do they even appear in this movie) is a big let down to an otherwise enjoyable, fun, sexy and entertaining adventure flick with a soul and a body. Tanya Robert's body.