Sheena (1984) User Reviews

Good for what it is

[jmatrixrenegade · 6/10 · 23 April 2006]

First off, PG apparently at the time allowed a brief nude scene. A refreshing deal really. The violence really isn't too bad; surely of the comic variety. Not an "R" picture.

Second, the movie obviously is not to be taken seriously. As harmless entertainment, it is pretty good, especially if watched in the right frame of mind. The evil countess (best line was demanding equal harm to be done to Sheena ... no ERA stuff for her!), big city reporter (reference to his view of the Towers), mystical shaman (imdb has the actress having a pretty interesting backstory), and Sheena (talk to me in words I understand!) all are fun.

Commenting on Tanya Roberts' acting skills is a bit redundant. She is there because she fits into the costume, so to speak, and she does that rather well, thank you. As an actress ... well, she isn't THAT horrible, really. If Heidi Fleiss can be in a movie, TR can play Sheena! And, really, her performance adds to the fun too.

I saw this at about 2am. Perfect time.

Fun 80's B movie

[fryguy-88668 · 6/10 · 16 February 2020]

As several others have noted, the reviews seem a bit rough. This is not an Academy Award drama. It is a fun family film with a very strong female lead. There is much more nudity than is seen in PG movies today, yet it is still fitting as a family film. It is done in the sense of cultural norm and the body not being something shameful. I think it actually opens the door for discussion of the body in the family setting for those that are comfortable with the discussion. But if nudity offends you then this is definitely not a good family film choice for you.

Fun adventure with plenty of action , African animals and quite entertaining

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 17 September 2022]

The recently deceased Tanya Roberts is the gorgeous starring in this bubble-gum action fantasy with silly dialog , based on comic "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" by Will Eisner . Dealing with a lost girl named Janet grew up in the African wild, raised by a mystical witch woman , the Zamboulis' female Shaman (Elizabeth of Toro) who takes in the orphaned child. Orphaned at the age of 6, a little girl is taken in by the Shamaness Kali and taught how to control her mind and the domineering wildlife . She shall become Sheena (Tanya Roberts) , Queen of the Jungle . She is a Tarzan woman , in her loincloth . When her foster mother is framed for a murder Sheena is forced to flee , helped by her ability to talk to animals and her knowledge of the jungle . As an evil African prince tries to take over his brother's kingdom while our heroine with the help of two TV sports-casters (Ted Wass , Donovan Scott) attempts to stop him . As the reporters aid the jungle queen in defending her kingdom from being overthrown by an evil prince . Meanwhile , a nasty assassin schemes heinous plans , along with avaricious mercenaries with jeeps, a little army and helicopters are going after them . Part Animal ... Part Legend ... All Woman. She'll fight like a tigress to save the land she loves...She alone has the power to save Paradise. She is an ancient prophecy fulfilled. A gift which grew in strength as she grew in years. A gift about to be put to the ultimate test: Innocence against Evil. Part Animal. Part Legend. All Woman. When paradise became a battleground, she led the fight for survival!

Starring Tanya Roberts in a Tarzan style movie , she stars as the comic heroine Sheena , Queen of the jungle , a golden God-girl possessed with a mystic gift . Although the movie is dubiously faithful to the original Will Eisner's comic book in which it is based on . It contains noisy action , sensational adventures and wonderful outdoors from Kenya . There's a lot of wild animal sequences with the intervention of a well trained lions , Elephants and chimpanzees ex-professed for the film . I think the show is pretty good for all members of the family to see because it teaches good things , but it does have some nudism and violence with murders in cold blood that some people may not like . The sets and production design are visually appealing . Followed by a TV series (35 episodes, 2000-2002) with Gena Lee Nolin, John Allen Nelson , Margo Moorer , Kevin Quigley.

It displays attractive African scenes , being wonderfully photographed by cameraman Pasqualino de Santis and marvelous musical score by Richard Hartley with catching soundtrack , they are the chief assets of this colorful , charming film . This amusing adventure movie was professionally directed by John Guillermin , though it has some failures , gaps and flaws . Guillermin was habitual of disaster films (Skyjacked , King Kong , Kong lives) , adventures (Tarzan in India , Tarzan's greatest adventure , Sheena) , Wartime (Bridge of Remangen , Guns at Batasi , I was Monty's double) and intrigue (Death on the Nile , Shaft in Africa , The whole truth) . John Guillermin usually worked with George Peppard in various films (P. J , House of cards and Blue Max) and Peter Sellers (Never let go , Walz of the Toreadors) . Rating : 6/10 . Worthwhile watching.

Enjoy The Film For What Is Was Intended

[loveout · 7 November 2004]

Sheena wasn't made to win any Academy awards. Nevertheless, for a "B" film the photography is actually quite good. Granted, Tanya's acting ability at this time in her life needed a lot of work. I'm sure the producers knew this going in and didn't care. They knew the attraction would be to watch Sheena doing her thing in her jungle outfit. Tanya was the perfect choice considering the reason for the film. Sheena was made to showcase Tanya Roberts stunning physical attributes and was successful in this regard. She is the reason the movie is still moderately popular after 20 years. So if you like this type of eye-candy film, enjoy! It wasn't meant to be anything else.

Not as bad as its reputation suggests...and you get to see Tanya Roberts naked.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 8 November 2009]

This is a bizarre sort of film--and very confusing and difficult to give a numeric score and I am struggling more with this film than 99% of the movies I have rated. The biggest reason is that while it is a bad movie, the production values are amazingly good and it looks pretty nice. This is not some $50,000 production by Ed Wood, but one that inexplicably was approved and made by a real honest-to-goodness studio! The cinematography and music are often quite lovely and it's obvious some money was put into the picture. On the other hand, though, the dialog and basic idea are pretty dumb--a lot like some of the many jungle B-movies of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. In fact, movies like BLONDE SAVAGE and DAUGHTER OF THE JUNGLE are very cheap films but they manage to provide decent B-movie entertainment--and are an awful lot like SHEENA, an A-picture in almost every way. The other odd thing that make this film hard to rate is its audience. While these other female jungle warrior films all were designed mostly for kids, SHEENA is decidedly NOT a kids film--and I wonder how this film managed to receive a PG rating! I assume that no one actually saw the film since it was pretty goofy and didn't notice the two very striking nude scenes with its star, Tanya Roberts. And, on one hand this makes it a very family unfriendly film but on the other, for anyone who wants to see a lot of Ms. Roberts (more than she showed in BEAST MASTER), this is your film!

The film begins with two scientists bringing their young daughter to the middle of the Zambuli lands to look into the rumor of some "healing earth" that has magical restorative properties. But, only moments later, they are killed in an accident and the little girl, Janet, is renamed 'Sheena' and is raised by the nice Zambuli. Apparenlty, they have some prophecy about a golden-haired lady who will save the tribe and Sheena is this fulfillment of prophecy. Oddly, after all this (and almost 20 minutes of film), the credits now roll.

Later, time has passed and Sheena is now a buxom babe--sort of like a combination of Tarzan and a Playboy cover model cavorting about the jungle and talking with animals...and taking her clothes off now and then. And, now that she has reached adulthood, the prophesied threat to the tribe is about to be unleashed. After an assassination, the good king is replaced by his wicked brother whose goal is to rape Zambuli land. A reporter and his fat (i.e., comic relief) cameraman have stumbled upon evidence that the new king, in fact, was behind the assassination, so the king and his baddies all chase them into the jungle. There, they meet up with Sheena. After dispatching the cameraman with the evidence, the reporter (Ted Wass) stays with Sheena and marvels at her ability to control animals and her curvaceous body. In the end, the film pretty much goes as you expect, though the ending (when Wass leaves) is a letdown. I wonder if perhaps they ended it that way and assumed there'd be a sequel to reunite the lovers, but critical response to the film was so bad that it wasn't surprising this sequel never was made.

So what makes this a relatively bad film? Well, the dialog is THE problem. Despite Sheena being raised by the Zambuli since she was about 3, she sounds like she could fit in almost anywhere--with lovely American-accented diction. Other than not understanding a few words about modern machinery, she sounds nothing like anyone raised in the middle of Africa. The same can be said, incidentally, of the Zambuli themselves. Also, too much of the dialog sounds like it came from an old movie serial--which is great for kids (who are often less demanding) but for a skin-flick, this makes no sense.

Another problem is simply that much of the film isn't that interesting. You KNOW that in the end Sheena and the forces of good will win, so there is no real sense of uncertainty.

As for Miss Roberts, she wasn't THAT bad...but she wasn't particularly believable. Much of it was because she was too well-coiffed and much of it was the dialog, though her acting didn't do much to inspire either. She was, however, in her element when it came to nude scenes, as at the time she must have been one of the most beautiful women in the world with her piercing eyes and...um...everything else. The way that some blamed her for the failure of the film seems a bit unfair, as the real culprit here is John Guillermin, the director, as he was apparently insane. If you don't believe me, try watching his next film, KING KONG LIVES--a film that is a billion times dumber than SHEENA ever was.

One final problem, and it's more a problem for snobs like me that look for mistakes. The 'zebra' that Sheena rides throughout the film is clearly not a zebra but a horse painted like one. This makes sense, as zebras are wild and unpredictable but the paint job on the horse was poor--way too intensely black and the strips were too well-defined--making it look exactly like a painted horse. Heck, I would have simply made it be a horse in the film or had her ride an elephant (but African elephants can also be a bit hard to control) or had her walk or run instead.

Overall, not a terrible film. The movie looks nice and even occasionally draws you into this goofy little world with its odd sense of innocence. However, it is pretty dumb when you think about it.

What rubbish

[lynn-simpson · 1/10 · 11 June 2022]

This was just nonsense. A total rip off of Tarzan but not even close to being as good as the worse Tarzan movie. Never get that time back. I image the males of the species would have enjoyed it for a few reasons.

Goofy.

[gridoon · 3/10 · 14 August 1999]

Roberts' undeniable gorgeousness (as an actress, she is terrible but that's irrelevant) hardly redeems this goofy turkey. This film is quite a comedown for director John Guillermin, who had directed "Death on the Nile" six years earlier.

Female Tarzan

[wolfhell88 · 7/10 · 3 January 2002]

The story about a female Tarzan is really nice. Every Fan of Tanya Roberts will love this movie. She looks fantastic as always. Sweet, sexy and lovely with her natural charme she wins the heart of the heroe. She also wins the heart of everybody who has seen this movie. A few nice action-scenes are also included. Don't miss it!

Downhill All the Way from the Credits

[JamesHitchcock · 3/10 · 30 April 2005]

The best thing about "Sheena" is its opening title sequence. Accompanied by an evocative musical score, a beautiful blonde girl dressed only in a sort of leather bikini rides on the back of a zebra across a dramatic African landscape. (OK, it's really a horse painted as a zebra). Unfortunately, from here on it is downhill all the way. The title character is a sort of female Tarzan, a white girl orphaned as a baby and raised by an African tribe. The plot tells how Sheena, helped by an American journalist, battles against a tyrannical ruler who has usurped power by murdering his brother. Her main asset in this struggle is her ability to communicate telepathically with animals and to persuade them to come to her assistance.

This film has two things going for it. The first is Richard Hartley's music, reminiscent of Vangelis's score for "Chariots of Fire" and worthy of a much better film than this one. The second is the striking good looks of its heroine Tanya Roberts which were clearly the reason why she was cast in the part. Her acting talents, however, are striking only by their absence, although to be fair to her the same could be said of the rest of the cast. The one exception, surprisingly, is Elizabeth of Toro as the tribe's shaman responsible for Sheena's upbringing. She was a member of the Ugandan royal family, exiled by the regime of Idi Amin, who worked as both a diplomat and a model and who only made one film other than this one, but who seems more convincing than any of the professional actors on display.

Trying to list all the goofs and plot holes in this film would be like shooting fish in a barrel, but would be pointless because it was clearly made as a fantasy and was never supposed to have any great connection to real life. (Although if you are going to paint a horse like a zebra, you should remember that zebras have striped manes and tails, not pure white ones as shown here). A fantasy only works, however, when we are able to suspend our disbelief, something we never manage to do here. There are some ludicrous scenes; the one where a flock of flamingos summoned by Sheena manages to bring down a helicopter is particularly noteworthy both because of its inherent unlikelihood and because of its unconvincing special effects. This is not a film we ever care about; the best that can be said for it is that it is simply an undemanding way of spending two hours. It is, however, worthwhile watching a bad film like this one from time to time, if only to increase one's appreciation of the good ones. 3/10

The Quintessential 80s Guilty Pleasure

[Damien_King86 · 7/10 · 19 November 2016]

There is really only one reason to watch this movie, and that reason has a name: Tanya Roberts. Anyone who pretends otherwise is a lying fiend.

Anyway, Sheena is obviously in the narrative tradition of Tarzan, with a very simple, kind-of-silly-but-still-charming story about greedy rascals being thwarted by a benevolent, jungle-dwelling white person who also happens to be amazingly attractive in every way.

It mostly works. There are some funny moments sprinkled throughout the script that are well-written. The filming locations are authentic and beautiful and the animal actors and stunts are pretty convincing, especially considering how this was not a big budget production. There is only one particularly dubious special effect involving birds swarming a helicopter which throws you totally out of immersion.

Sheena's "magic" abilities taught to her by the Shaman are also a little hokey, and sort of give her the land-based version of Aquaman's powers, but hey...it basically works in the context of the story.

I was also surprised at how much agency Sheena has throughout the movie. Her principle allure may be her nude scenes and skimpy clothing, but she is still a capable heroine who needs very little to no help from her new man-friend to win the day. It was good that the writer's allowed her to be the actual heroine of the movie, instead of merely the eye candy.

Ultimately, this is a guilty pleasure, but I found it to be much more entertaining that the movie's reputation suggested, and I would not hesitate to buy a nice, blu-ray collector's edition if they will ever get around to releasing it.

Especially if it has extended waterfall bathing sequences.

SHEENA (John Guillermin, 1984) *1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 2/10 · 13 January 2008]

This is another film I recall being released in my childhood but have taken over twenty years to catch up with – not that it was a priority for me, knowing of its dismal reputation (SHEENA having been a nominee of five Razzies back in the day); that said, having just watched the even more maligned TARZAN, THE APE MAN (1981), I thought I might as well get to that jungle character’s female counterpart (who originated in a comic-strip)...

The result is perhaps even worse than the notorious John Derek film: if anything, the fact that the character is a household name makes the Tarzan outing a more desirable commodity – besides, even if Tanya Roberts as Sheena does get a couple of gratuitous nude bathing scenes, she’s not really a match for Bo Derek’s Jane! Furthermore, the plot doesn’t exactly compel attention: the ambitious younger sibling of the current African ruler covets both his throne and his intended bride (whose model-type body is also conveniently bared for our perusal) and has him killed – at the same time, contriving to frame the visiting female shaman of an ancient jungle tribe for the deed!

The latter is jailed, but she’s apparently able to communicate telepathically with Sheena (who promptly sets out to rescue her); the scantily-clad, tree-hopping jungle-girl was raised by the shaman ever since the childhood trauma of watching her explorer parents die in a cave-in; the young woman’s gift also allows her to talk to the animals (apparently, all that’s needed is to rub one’s forehead...only it looks more as if the subject’s suffering from migraines!) and, on many an occasion during the course of the film, they come to her aid. Also involved in the narrative are wimpish reporter Ted Wass (who eventually teams up with – and falls for – Sheena), his comic-relief cameraman, and a band of mercenaries in the new king’s employ (unrealistically, he and his bride tag along to their ultimate regret) who sets out in pursuit of our heroes because Wass has unwittingly filmed the assassination.

The film is not unwatchable per se, but it’s not very rewarding either outside of some undeniable campiness – despite the involvement of interesting talent behind the camera: director Guillermin, for one, wasn’t new to the jungle habitat – having directed a couple of the 1960s Tarzan films, SHAFT IN Africa (1973), and the 1976 version of KING KONG (with its lamentable 1986 sequel following SHEENA itself)!; story and (bad) script come courtesy of David Newman (the SUPERMAN films), Leslie Stevens (THE OUTER LIMITS TV series) and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (the 1960s BATMAN), cinematography is by Oscar-winning Pasqualino De Santis (ROMEO AND JULIET [1968]) and the editor is Ray Lovejoy (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [1968]); still, perhaps the worst offender is Richard Hartley’s unsuitable score – with a main theme shamelessly redolent of Vangelis’ celebrated music for CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981)!

last surviving fairy tale

[unbrokenmetal · 8/10 · 7 June 2001]

Tanya Roberts certainly got the best part of her career (alongside the Roger Moore Bond movie, of course) in "Sheena". It's hard to pretend so much innocence and naivete after a life spent in NY and Hollywood, of all places. That's acting... I'd like to point out many scenes with the animals, arranged better than in many Tarzan competitors, and I am not afraid to admit I still am fascinated by this fairy tale that was kindalike the last survivor in 1984 - before digital FX took control. Seen the OTT animal scenes in Jumanji? Maybe you feel the same then.

Not entirely bad.

[mst86 · 6/10 · 11 December 2000]

I saw this on TV not too long ago. Not very bad. Sure the cast and plot sucked, but it looked great and had some fiery effects. The animals were pretty cool too.

See it alone for some unintentional laughs.

Wild turkey.

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 17 December 2008]

When a pair of geologists are killed by a cave-in, their young daughter Janet is adopted by the shaman of the Zambouli tribe of Tigora, who believes the blonde girl to be Sheena, the one who has been prophesied to become protector of her people.

As she grows up, Sheena is taught to survive in the wild, and also how to communicate telepathically with animals, a trick which comes in very useful when nasty Prince Otwani assassinates Tigora's king, frames the shaman for his crime, and attempts to exploit the titanium-rich Zambouli lands.

Aided by a variety of jungle friends, and a pair of American news reporters (played by Ted Wass and Donovan Scott) who have stumbled upon Otwani's plan, the beautiful wild-woman sets out to free the shaman and stop the evil prince and his army.

With an embarrassingly bad script littered with risible dialogue, stereotypical characters, dreadful action scenes (including a laughable flamingo attack on a helicopter!), a horse unconvincingly painted to look like a zebra, and some of the worst acting imaginable, Sheena sounds like an unmissable slice of low-budget, bad B-movie heaven.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Based on comic book writer Will Eisner's female version of Tarzan, Sheena was actually a relatively big-budget, major studio release (it cost an estimated $25,000,000). Directed by John Guillermin, the man behind the immensely successful disaster film The Towering Inferno, and the less impressive 1976 remake of King Kong, the film attempts to capture the excitement and sex-appeal of Eisner's jungle heroine, but only succeeds in achieving the latter, resulting in a disappointing and dreary yarn memorable solely for the fact that its star, Charlie's Angels hottie Tanya Roberts, spends the entire film in (and out of) a tiny animal-skin bikini.

I give Sheena, Queen of the Jungle 3/10 for Ms. Roberts' incredibly hot bod, and the unintentionally hilarious scene where our heroine carefully clears a patch on the ground in order to illustrate her strategy, draws a single line in the dirt with a stick, and says 'This is the edge of the great forest; we shall wait for them here'. Complicated plan, Sheena—thank heavens you drew it for us in the dirt, or else we may never have understood.

Mostly Eye Candy, and WHAT candy!

[timmauk · 7 June 2004]

I remember watching this on TV in the 80's. The old gang back at the college dorms really enjoyed this too. This film has a lot GREAT eye candy. Tanya Roberts was sooo worth watching in BEASTMASTER that the big wigs at the studio thought they'd give her another film to "show off" more of her special talents. Not to be sexist, they threw in SOAP's Ted Wass as her love interest and made him show some of his "special talents". Just like in the BEASTMASTER, there are plenty of those adorable animals to entertain and attack those nasty old villains.

With so many bad things happening in this world, do yourself a favor and get away for 90 minutes. Watch something mindless like this to make you forget about elections, markets, wars, terrorist, and J Lo. Let Tanya tame you......

A film so bad it is funny

[wizard42 · 2/10 · 12 October 2005]

This film is painful to watch most of the time. However, it is so bad, that anyone with even a little taste in cinema will start howling with laughter. The director clearly used as few words as possible to direct this film, and the acting is truly awful, making this film unintentionally funny. Ted Wass actually does act in the first scene and in the last, both shot on the same airplane, leading me to suspect that those were filmed before he met his co-star, the truly inept Tanya Roberts. After meeting her, it is apparent that Wass realized just how bad an actress she was, and gave up trying, producing a monotone performance for the rest of the film. Tanya Roberts may have been good looking but her acting range is limited to one expression where she screws her face up in an effort to look like she is concentrating (I thought she might just have been constipated throughout the filming since that is what her one facial expression suggested to me). The best actress in this whole mess, Elizabeth of Toro is killed off only a quarter of the way through the film, which brings the level of acting way down. The production clearly was filmed on a shoestring budget where they couldn't afford to re-shoot anything. Even the casual viewer in the theater is able to spot the wire the model helicopter is being guided by when it crashes (your not supposed to be able to see that), and there is never any kind of a herd of animals on screen in this African jungle movie, just one of any type at a time. If you watch carefully you will see the occasional shadow on the ground which doesn't belong to any actor in the scene(it must be a crew member's). The plot is blindingly obvious with absolutely no surprises or dramatic tension. The script is also very poor, with cheesy dialog running throughout it, and you can predict lines and jokes far in advance of their being said. Actually, the limited script helps as it means you don't have to suffer through Roberts trying to speak. So go to the film and laugh at it, and learn what not to do when producing a movie.

A really crap movie, but worth watching for laughs.

[Rob_Taylor · 4/10 · 25 December 2002]

I'm betting the casting of Tanya Roberts in this movie was primarily dome because someone said "We need a chick that looks good in leather and who has worked with animals" and someone else said "How about that girl from that movie about some animal master a couple of years ago?" Apart from being dire in the extreme, this movie has a similar plot to Beastmaster. A hero who can control animals, for a start. Not to mention animals painted to look like other animals.

Clearly, acting ability was not a consideration here. Tanya Roberts has all the acting ability of wet cement. But she looks the part.

This movie is really pretty lame, with horses painted to look like zebras, helicopters putting out fuel fires with their rotors and the killer flamingos and so on.

I was particularly struck with how clean and pretty Sheena always looked. I know, it's based on a cartoon etc. but still, after that long in the wilds without a razor you'd expect her to have some armpit hair, right? And just how did she get her eyebrows so nicely plucked? I know, I'm being picky. But stuff like this bugs me.

Anyhoo, the killer flamingos are THE star scene of the movie. They basically attack a helicopter in flight. But the FX are so dire you end up laughing through the whole thing. Between the obvious blue-screen and the truly muppet-like flamingo puppets, your biggest fear will be trying to breathe through the laughter to the end of the scene.

A really crap movie, but worth watching for laughs (and there are plenty).

Campy Fun

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 1 February 2014]

Fun camp adventure with Tanya Roberts as the blonde female Tarzan clone Sheena. Roberts is AWFUL but damn nice to look at. The slow-mo shots of her riding her zebra are classic. Ted Wass has fun as the reporter who becomes Sheena's love interest. Oliver Hardy-lookalike Donovan Scott plays Wass' comedic sidekick. French (I think?) actress France Zobda makes for a beautiful villainess but doesn't appear nearly enough. Lots of eye candy and plenty of humor, intended and otherwise, make this an entertaining movie of its type. But it's also overlong and lacking much action for long stretches. The climactic flamingos versus helicopter scene is something you just have to see to believe. Surprisingly, this wasn't made by Dino De Laurentiis or Golan-Globus.

Just imagine a female Tarzan

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 11 November 2013]

With slight modifications, Sheena is basically a female version of Tarzan and was the first female comic book character with her own title, debuting in 1937 in Great Britain and 1938 in America. The first jungle girl in adventure fiction was Rima from the 1904 book by William Henry Hudson "Green Mansions," which was made into a movie starring Audrey Hepburn as Rima in 1959. DC Comics later had a short-lived series called "Rima the Jungle Girl" in 1974-75. Model Irish McCalla depicted Sheena in a TV series that aired for one season from 1955-1956. Meanwhile Marvel Comics developed their own Sheena-like jungle girl named Shanna the She-Devil, which debuted in a short-lived series in late 1972; she was subsequently a guest character in issues of Ka-Zar and Daredevil. Lorna, Nyoka and Jana (aka Jungle Girl) are other comic book jungle heroines, amidst others.

I note the history of jungle females to illustrate their comic book ties. It's no surprise, therefore, that the movie "Sheena," aka "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" (1984) plays like a comic book on screen. Everyone knows going in that the plot, dialog and acting of a film like this will be of the comic book variety with a similar tone to Tarzan flicks or Indiana Jones. What's magnificent, awe-inspiring and "A" level are the African locations (Kenya), the entertaining array of animals, the grand score and Tanya Roberts in the titular role.

As far as the African locations go, if you're bored with your every-day locale, this movie is the perfect antidote. It's virtually a two-hour tour of some of the most gorgeous African scenery you'll ever feast your eyes on. Concerning the animals, there are elephants, rhinos, hippos, chimps, giraffes and more; all real and no CGI. As for the score, it's pleasant and meditative; reminiscent of "Chariots of Fire." And Tanya Roberts, what can I say? She's a stunning example of womanhood; so is France Zobda as Zanda, but she's a villain.

I never concern myself with ratings when watching films, but I couldn't help but be a little surprised by the PG rating here because Sheena (Roberts) is shown TOTALLY nude on a few occasions and prances around throughout the flick in a ridiculously skimpy leather bikini (Zanda is also shown nude getting a massage). Yet it struck me that the nakedness/semi-nakedness is portrayed in an inoffensive way like Eve in Eden before the fall and the consequent awareness of evil. In other words, there's an almost child-like innocence and purity to Sheena even though she's a quite skilled jungle warrior. I commend the filmmakers for capturing this quality. For this reason I don't feel the movie is inappropriate for kids, despite the nudity.

While Siskel & Ebert laughed at "Sheena" on their show in 1984 and wrote it off as a "bad movie," it's very effective for what it is: a comic-based flick about a beautiful, but formidable jungle woman, a journalist she meets (Ted Wass) and their fight against evil oppressors. What were they expecting, "Chariots of Fire" or "Gandhi"? Films should be critiqued according to what they ARE and aspire to achieve, not what they aren't. My appraisal reflects the happy medium between the Grade B plot, dialog & acting and the Grade A African locations, animals, score and Ms. Roberts.

The film runs 117 minutes.

GRADE: B

This is the epitome of a popcorn movie!-Extra jumbo size!

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 10 January 2021]

Sit back, relax and get into the glorious adventure that is Sheena, a classic comic strip that gets a glorious film treatment in the era of Indiana Jones, a more adult Tarzan and Buckaroo Banzai. This is a female super hero whom men will root for, not only for the buxom presence of Tanya Roberts but her belief in good must prevail over evil, that a kiss is asked for (even though up to that time she only believed that the mouth was only used for speaking and eating), and that her friends, the jungle animals, are kinder than people.

Brought up by an African shaman (Elizabeth of Toro), she is thrust into the political turmoil over the assassination of the king (by his own brother!) and his double-crossing girlfriend, and finds love with American reporter Ken Wahl whom she introduces to adventure.

This is beautifully filmed with lots of lush nature scenes and friendly lions, a treat on a big screen. Roberts is not out to prove that she's a great dramatic actress, but someone with years of stage training would lack the innocence that the roles required. She has awkward pauses between lines, and perhaps her English is too perfect for an orphaned girl brought up in the jungle, but she delivers lines like "I see your death in my eyes" with great oomph, if not passion.

I would have liked to have seen more of Elizabeth of Toru as she makes the most of her small part with great wit and intelligence. Wahl is appropriately handsome and virile, but it's not a really well defined role. Lots of villains to hiss and majestic scenery to ooh and ah at, and plenty of opportunities to cheer as the villains get their comeuppance.

Entertaining for what it is.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 29 November 2016]

An adorable blonde moppet is on an African safari with her parents when the two of them perish in a cave-in. The girl is raised by the Zambouli tribe to be a mystical white warrior woman named Sheena (played as an adult by Tanya Roberts). Into Sheenas' life comes a wise ass journalist named Vic Casey (Ted Wass), who's come to Africa to do a story on a royal family member who plays football in America. Unfortunately, the gridiron star / prince (Trevor Thomas) is an evil bastard looking to control the region and the people, and get his greedy mitts on some titanium.

If one is looking for an arty, "Oscar bait" type movie, steer clear of this one. But if you're looking for simple, dumb, and deliberately campy fun, "Sheena" does deliver the goods. Based on the "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" comic, it has corn ball dialogue galore, some of it hilariously funny. "Mouths were made for eating. Why did you touch yours to mine?" Wass is a handsome but dorky leading man, with Donovan Scott as his comedy relief sidekick / cameraman. The film is wonderfully shot in widescreen, on location in Kenya, and features a rich, lovely score by Richard Hartley. The animal action is also first rate. But let's not kid ourselves: the main reason "Sheena" the movie exists is to give us some prime eye candy in the form of Roberts, who looks ravishing (and does some nudity, to boot). The fact that she's never been much of an actress won't matter all that much.

The action scenes are pretty well done, with lots of people shot with arrows and a number of impressive explosions. The supporting cast isn't memorable but they serve their purpose: Elizabeth of Toro has an effective screen presence as the tribe shaman, and the striking France Zobda is an amusing villainess. Overall, a silly but reasonable diversion.

Co-scripted by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., and directed by John Guillermin, who'd both previously worked on the 1976 version of "King Kong".

Six out of 10.

Guilt Pleasure

[Tweetienator · 4/10 · 18 February 2022]

Something like the female counterpart of Tarzan, or one of Charlie's Angels lost in the wilderness of Africa. Sheena - one of those guilt pleasures one can dare to watch, if you can stomach a lot of trash and involuntarily funny scenes. The movie is based on Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, a comic series published first in the 30s - she was the very first female comic book character with her own title, even preceding Wonder Woman. No hidden gem but fun.

Sheena's #1 fan on the African continent responds

[RavenGlamDVDCollector · 10/10 · 1 May 2014]

This often maligned movie is my personal film classic. I saw it in 1984 at a drive-in theater, and now you've got to take my country into account. South Africa with its Draconian censorship laws still in full force, with the emphasis on force, so there was no nudity. There were lots of promotional photographs of the bikini beauty in the press when it was released, but the poster was relatively subdued, bikini beauty yes, but mostly an adventurous image, rather than something pin-up. Anyway, I went to see the pretty girl, and got to see a fun movie with likable characters. Okay, so there are the corny bits, such as Sheena's calling-the-elephants stance. But it's all wonderful fun! And that theme music! Okay, so what if it's a striped pony? Hell, I didn't come to see a zebra. Hell, if you are after a real zebra, might I suggest National Geographic? Off you go then!

That scene where she wakes up next to him the next morning, wow, can anybody ever be that perfect in real life?

I had it copied onto VHS, and became even better friends with the guy who did it for me as a favor. We shared similar tastes. He was, by the way, the projectionist at this drive-in. I then discovered, through this video rental, the nude scenes. But it was a much-abused original, and my copy of course looked weak.

Years later, and after an initial struggle, I have it on DVD. I well remember it was Sunday, 22 January 2010. Movie night! Finally, SHEENA! In all her splendor! First as a child (!! Wow, pretty kids! Really pretty, well-chosen children, but very surprising, all that nudity, not that I myself see anything wrong with that, quite the opposite, it is healthy and natural, BUT WE ALL KNOW HOW PEOPLE ARE, and I suppose there were at least some outcry in the Puritanical regions.) Then, gloriously, Tanya Roberts, all golden mane and long legs and curves everywhere, one stunning example of young maidenhood, and now fully exposed on equally glorious DVD! I could have wept with happiness!

I have since also obtained the Gena Lee Nolan TV series and will be reviewing that in the near future, but Tanya Roberts is my particular favorite. Granted, if Gena Lee 'didn't waste her time on BAYWATCH' (not that I really, really mean that, for she was the best bird of the lot) and if SHEENA the TV series came along sooner, she'd have been in her absolute prime. But that's for another review.

The action scenes are well done, and that military convoy looks great on the screen. Oh, that old toothless-looking circus lion was a letdown, and the chimps corny as hell, but who really cares when you've got such a feast of Grade A eye-candy? I also loved Sheena's way of talking. 'The water the wagons drink', 'his fermented buffalo milk will be your fermented buffalo milk', 'I see my death in your eyes', 'Vic Casey, you are a giant', the list could go on and on. Tanya Roberts is, by all accounts, a difficult actress to work with, and she really got canned for A VIEW TO A KILL, but the initial haughtiness of her Sheena really made the character all the more tangible.

The theme music during the opening credits, and the dramatic climactic showdown, deserves special mention. I have a huge TV with powerful stereo sound (brag, brag :)) and I go full blast!

Please somebody Find This Healing Earth In Real Life?

Go for it. Just leave your two-bit movie critic attitude at the door. There are clearly many mistakes, there was room for improvement, but what was filmed, remains well worth watching again and again to this day!

Update, 7 April 2017. Some thoughts on the Sheena subject after I've spent a considerable part of last month downloading pics of Sheena on DeviantArt. I will be forever divided in two here. For Sheena, it goes: Lean scantily-clad blond goddess, the glorious animals, the wonder of nature. Against it goes: any muscular depiction, which ruins it for me completely. My thoughts went back to the movie, and I had the warmest, warmest regard for Tanya Roberts. Even watched INNER SANCTUM. Say about her what you like, you bunch of detractors out there, I'll always judge her on what was delivered on the screen, and The Lady Is A Goddess. So feel free to mock this 1984 title, ridicule it all you want, but of course, as Wikipedia says, the box office bomb had its success on home video, in the privacy of people's homes, yeah, of course. I rest my case. I will take it even further though. I will go as far as to say that there is something about the Jeep/Landrover/whatever & zebra chase scene with the bow and arrow and that music that is just... words fail me... it will just stay with me forever.

If a bit of nudity caused people to turn against it (a la SHOWGIRLS) then all the more reason for it to be seen in a more enlightened age. The kind of nudity here is pretty as a postcard. If anybody is offended by it, I AM OFFENDED MUCH MORE DEEPLY BY THAT KIND OF PERSON.

What a relief to have this fun-filled jewel on DVD despite the bickering hordes bringing it down.

Very good B-movie

[IndustriousAngel · 7/10 · 29 April 2016]

This movie is much better than the low IMDb rating seems to indicate - of course, it's a B movie, but it's proud of it, and the production values are extremely high - better than in many A movies. The location shooting must have been a horror, but it pays off big time - scenery, sets, props are all excellent, and the animal scenes are outstanding. The acting is not that good, especially Ted Wass as the male lead can't give much life to his role. Tanya Roberts is not a great actress either, but she has real screen presence and so Sheena's scenes don't feel awkward for the most part. The story is straightforward (a bit like Avatar, but simpler) and moves along at a nice pace, the villains have it coming and get it, the heroes get together and they even managed a not-so-silly ending! If there's something not to like here (apart from the weak acting), it's the music - the synthesizer soundtrack manages to feel incongruous in every single scene. But overall, I can heartily recommend "Sheena" to everyone not put off by a B-movie plot.

Tanya Roberts - skimpy outfits

[Redbreast777 · 4/10 · 2 September 2001]

Tanya Roberts in skimpy outfits and one brief long distance nude scene - and STILL a male with high testosterone will only give it a 4! Some gorgeous Kenyan scenery also added to the rating - which tells you how truly awful the movie was! If you really like Tanya, save the two hours, and buy a poster!