Made on a very low budget in 1981, Comin' At Ya! was the first successful full length 3D motion picture since Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (Or was it The Stewardesses?). It started an early 80's resurgence of 3D films that (unfortunately) quickly died due to bad, bad movies and poor projection. Believe it or not, this (along with Friday the 13th Part 3) is arguably the best of that batch.
The 80 minute plot (which, without the endless assault of blatant 3D effects, would probably clock in at just over a half an hour) is very slight. In an opening flashback, Hart and his girl Abilene rob a Wells Fargo bank, get attacked by mercenaries, get married and get attacked once again, this time by white slave traders who take Abiline and leave Hart for dead. Hart survives, though, and sets out to find her. The bad guys lump Abiline in with a group of other women that they intend to use, abuse, and sell into prostitution across the border into Mexico. Hart and his scottish preacher sidekick(?) capture the head bad guys brother and use him as leverage to get his new wife back.
Now, I don't know how seriously the filmmakers were taking this story because sometimes the film seems like it's trying to be funny and other times it's incredibly deadpan. I'd like to say it's a spoof of Sergio Leone's Italian oaters (The actor's mouths move in English, but are still dubbed over by voice over artists, the soundtrack is a complete Morricone rip off and the lead actor strives for Eastwood's man with no name personna), but I'm not completely sure of the intention. I am sure of what the film is, however. It is the most gimmicky 3D movie I've ever seen. Not 5 minutes pass without guns, daggers, arrows, sticks, spilling beans, baby asses (midway through a diaper change), rats, bats and soap bubbles flying out in your face. The last five minutes of the film are a recap of the more successful 3D effects spun together with footage of fireworks and pinwheels sparking and spinning against a black background. About 75% of it works, though. The rest come too close to the camera and causes eye strain. It's 3D movies like this that give the rest a bad name.
Don't misunderstand me. I was entertained by this film, make no mistake. It's hard not to be entertained by a film that doesn't want a single thought entering your head for its running time. It's a 3D movie equivalent to a porno film... If you've never seen a 3D movie before, don't start here (see House OF Wax first), but If you've seen the best, then it never hurts to see the rest. Oh, yeah, a six pack helps this one immeasurably.
