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Energetic Campy Fun

A space pirate gets caught up in the affairs of a princess who is set on overthrowing a galactic empire...Yeah this is a little, okay a lot, derivative. Ice Pirates is a homage or rip off, whatever you want to call it of just about every major sci-fi franchise of the mid to late seventies. There are the obvious heavy influences from Star Wars but also from Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rodgers, Star Trek and a minor nod to Death Race 2000. An interstellar war has destroyed nearly all water in the galaxy and what little remains is under the control of the Templars. Robert Urich and Michael Roberts play two pirates who steal ice from the Templars and sell it on the black market. Urich is captivated by a sleeping princess he finds during one of their raids and kidnaps her along with 2 million gallons of ice. Captured by the Templars while escaping, they are sentenced to be castrated and sold into slavery. The wakened princess saves the pirates from castration and arranges to buy them as personal service. The princess, however; really wants the pirates to help her escape and find her father who is rumored to have found The Seventh Planet, a water planet.Ice Pirates is energetic, campy fun with many genuine hilarious moments. Such as the Ice Pirates accidentally breaking into an alien bathroom causing a flustered alien to lose it on the toilet. Or after they are supposed to be castrated, they are forced to wear skin tight white spandex jump suits while an old woman makes sure they are sufficiently tight in the crotch. The actors were forced to squeeze their genitals between their legs for the shot and are visibly uncomfortable, especially as the old woman grabs the fabric where their junk should be and gives a good yank. One man in the background apparently forgot to stow his gear as it is on prominent display. The robots provide frequent slapstick and potty humor which I won't spoil. Another interesting tidbit is the Space Herpes creature that runs around biting people and giving them herpes. Ice Pirates was made prior to the AIDs scare and during a time when herpes was the scariest VD anyone was concerned about.

Piece of garbage

It was a terrible film, tedious, painful to watch. The premise was bad - water is recyclable, so that was a mark against it. Even if water needed to be moved, we wouldn't do it in one gallon jugs!

Money not spent on writing wasn't wasted on special effects, either.

Don't waste your money, unless you have no taste in films.

A gaggle of sci-fi cliches masquerading as parody

I couldn't believe when I saw the average rating for this movie was 4 stars. The movie is godawful! I saw this a few times on cable back in the late 1980s, and I thought it was funny at the time. What a difference 20 years makes. I recently bought it for old time's sake, paid 8 bucks for it, and feel dreadfully ripped off. Singularly lame humor, poor acting, mildly interesting idea wasted in a dopey script. I chuckled a little at the robo-pimp and the space herpes, but that was it. My 16 year old son thought it was supremely stupid & continues to berate me for ever buying it.

What is it about so-called "parodies" that they seem to be held to a lower standard than the films they supposedly lampoon? They still need to be original, funny, or at least generally unboring. This isn't. Don't waste 90 minutes of your life, you'll never get it back. (Too bad this dreck is available on DVD, while the more entertaining homage "Battle Beyond the Stars" with Richard Thomas is not.)

leave you expectations at the door

don't sit down to this expecting citizen kane. watch this knowing that it's going to be truly ridiculous. I've been warning people of space herpes for years. It's so stupid you can't help but love it. buy it, especially at amazon's price.

To DELENDA EST (Reviewer??)

Get over it. It's just a movie.

For everyone else; This is a rare classic that has the right to claim one of the B+ movie list top 10.

It has a unique story, hilarious humor and well known actors. What more could you ask for?

Hilariously funny

"Ice Pirates" gives the otherwise so deadly serious and almost always trying to be epic science-fiction genre a satirical face. I really wonder why many SF fans disliked this movie so much. No sense of humor?

But it seems beneath all the fun some second thought and deeper meaning might be occasionally intended. You simply have to look closely and a good example would be the scene where Urich and Roberts, a white and a black, are both dressed up and supposed to be sold as slaves.

I can't believe it!

I remember watching this movie on cable years and years ago and I loved it then. I was never able to find it on dvd until now! The humor is great, the story may be just ok for some people, but it's a real treat! And for people who tink it's on the lines of Pirates of Penzance, well, the story only touches that here and there. (PofP with Christopher, Blonde-Curls-whatever-his-name-was, wasn't all that great even when he was popular) I remember the first time I saw it and laughed so hard I fell over. There's only one person I know who has this on DVD and was unwilling to part with it(even for a hefty bribe!). I'm getting in line now! The cast is wonderful and really give it 100%. As cheesy as the sets may look, they didn't seem to be doing this just to have a job, they relly seemed to enjoy themselves (and that makes a BIG difference). Sometimes the humor is crude, and there are a couple of short spots that drag a little bit, but this movie is worth every penny! It's entertaining and engaging.

Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! You'll love it!

"What was that?" "Space Herpies..."

(spoilers) I just picked up a copy of this for a dollar at a movie store. I'd seen it years ago and thought that it was much cheesier and bad than it actually is. I rewatched it and was amazed that I liked it as much as I did. It IS cheesy, yes, but not half as cheesy as I'd remembered it to be. It is quite funny, especially the Space Herpies thing. That and the raiders 'death car' out in the desert with the plastic devil skull attached to it and the huge monster wheels. Bruce Villanch is hysterical in his role of 'Queen of Space', especially when he disgorged the ring form his mouth and Robert Urich asks him if there's anything else in there and he says something about him 'leaving a deposit' there instead. My jaw dropped at that quip. The cheap costumes are a laugh and a half, especially the fact that the evil Templars(from the planet Mithra!) wear knitted chain mail coifs. I would have thought that if these guys were from the planet Mithra that they'd be Roman soldiers, because it was the Romans who worshiped the war God Mithra, not the Christian Templar Knights. Not that you can expect a movie this intentionally silly to get anything right. that's o.k. The movie is great fun, anyway, and worth watching once in awhile.

As I remember it...

I remember seeing this movie in the theatre when I would have been about 9 years old. I absolutely loved the movie then... and I absolutely love it now as a 31 year old...

The movie "Ice Pirates" is certainly no award winner, but it is a great parody on the sci-fi genre. Less slapstick than Spaceballs, but plenty of cheesy effects, sight gags, and toilet humor.


I thought the acting was very solid. The plot was good, but a little confusing at times. What happened to all the water?


I knew what to expect when I bought this movie on DVD, which is an entertaining sci-fi parody, and not a serious sci-fi movie with ambitions to be some sort of new Star Wars.

If you don't take yourself too seriously, this is an average comedy, which is exactly what I think it was supposed to be.

A MUST!

I loved this movie as a kid, and am now getting ready to show it to my child. It is so bad that it is ridiculously good. I can't wait to see it again.


I recommend that every one sees it at least once. You will either love it or hate it. It is just silly fun. It gave me new respect for Robert Ulrich. Now i'm getting all giddy thinking about seeing it again.

80's ya!

I think you have to have an appreciation for slapstick and 80's movies. They wouldn't be able to make this movie today[like most 80's movies]since it's weird, irreverant and pre-steroid using Pearlman.

I laugh every goddamn time the space herpie is seen scooting around in the background.

SciFi HiCamp

This is the movie "Galaxy Quest" wanted to be.Absolutely hilarious script, executed with style and wit, double entendre loaded, spiced with loving hommage after hommage, Robert Urich at his most deliciously hunky, Anjelica Huston looking tough-dyke fab, the biggest, bestest, blackest afro-sheen robot, and Bruce Villach as a more fabulous outer space queen then Zsa-Zsa, makes this little film a lost gem.Don't worry about plot and storyline; they're there and well above standard for the genre. The real joy is watching the actors immerse themselves in the gloriously campy dialogue, and relishing the appropriate cheesy special effects.Enjoy!

If You're Warped Enough...

You have to be a little warped, but this is a great old movie. Yes it's corny, and campy, and the special effects aren't great even for the time period, but you know what? It's still funny as heck. If you like Mel Brooks, or movies like Yellowbeard, Zorro: The Gay Blade, and/or Love At First Bite, then this is your kind of film.

The Poor Man's "Spaceballs"

I never heard of "Ice Pirates" before having the film recommended to me by a friend. And now having seen it, I'm curious as to why because one would expect this to be high on a list of cult classics alongside "Zardoz". The story of space pirates who fight Templars and herpes to find ice in a universe where water has become a scarce resource. With robots and princesses to boot.The connection of this film to "Star Wars" and "Space Balls" is obvious. A thuggish but charming lead actor captures a princess, who then joins his team to go on an epic quest. Ice Pirates is not a direct parody like Space Balls is, but enough of the same themes are present to see the influence is more than just slight.I enjoyed the racial humor (which I won't go into here) and also the references to things obviously outside the realm of this movie's universe (Tylenol??). And the obligatory sex scene? Completely incongruous. A time warp scene makes absolutely no sense, but is so over-the-top that its senselessness can be easily overlooked for the humor. Elton John could have showed up to sing "The Circle of Life" for this scene.The short of it is if you like Star Wars, Space Balls, or other such films you really need to give this one a try. The budget is smaller and the actors lesser-known, but the film has a big heart and you really haven't lived until you've seen Ice Pirates. Just make sure not to ask too many questions and don't hold your breath for a sequel (unfortunately).

True, not intended to be a classic... but so what!?

Anything intended to be a classic is inherently pretentious, one thing this movie is definitely not! I first saw this movie 17 years ago and still love it to this day. The funniest aspects of 80s comedy tucked neatly into your favorite Star - Fill-in-the-blank - series. Yes, probably the reason the sci-fi crowd hated it was because of the irreverence it contained. Yes, certain other, more modern, movies have succeeded where Ice Pirates "failed" but do keep in mind that movies like this paved the way for certain other high-budget mock sci-fi flicks, which would probably never have happened if the Ice Pirates hadn't set sail (hah hah) to do battle with the hard headed sci-fi fandom of its time.

Ice Pirates

Movie just wasn't as funny as I remembered it to be, probably because that was so long ago.

Thank God For No Rape And Pillaging ?

I Saw The Movie Back In The 1980'S And I Thought The Movie Was Awesome, Hillarious And Creative For The Most Part! It Was A Good Movie To Make When Urich And The Cast Had To Avoid Filming With The Space Herpie's. It Bring's Back Good Memorie's While Being A Younster Watching It With My Family Thinking If The There Really Could Be Space Herpie's? Chad Dueling.

Police Academy in Space

Throw together a tv star, a football player, an actor's daughter, a singer's daughter, and assorted hangers-on. Add in a script that is pure recycled hokum, something that would be a pastiche but couldn't spell it. Set it in space and stand back. Way back.I saw this movie years ago in the theatre and still laugh watching it. This movie could have maybe been the start of another Police Academy or Police Squad series. Yep, it's that dumb. On purpose. Too bad it wasn't good enough.This is a movie for SF fans, the way Galaxy Quest is, just not as well made. It pokes fun at the foolish cliches. It is a great fun 'renter' of a film, so long as you don't expect much. If you get a warm feeling from this film, and it's all the hot air leaking out of Sci-Fi's most cherished idiocies. Favourite game: Try to name the film(s) being parodied at any given point in Ice Pirates.I recommend this film to anyone who likes bad movies or has seen too much Hollywoof Sci-Fi.

I LOVE ICE PIRATES

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think it is sooooooooo corny, but yet so AWESOME at the same time. There are so many 80's movies that are so B rated it isn't even funny, but then again those are the ones I LOVE to watch over and over again. Everyone everywhere has an 80's movie that they love, and there is no reason to be ashamed of that. In fact I will come out and say that I actually love 'Howard the Duck'! See, I said that out loud and I am not afraid. Ice Pirates is actually not too bad to watch. It really is a lot of fun to watch and it has a great cast, too!! Well, again, I LOVE ICE PIRATES!!!!!

Thanks, Me

Swashbucklers in outer space

Enjoyable and fast paced. Extremely funny in places with a touch of sexual banter. The actors are first rate and the story moves along at a good clip until the ending which is almost too silly to watch. Up to that point though it is very much worth watching. I plan to buy it.