A human becomes an unlikely rising star in the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy that's dominated by alien species.
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Title: Arena (1989)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Paul Satterfield | ... | Steve Armstrong | |
| Hamilton Camp | ... | Shorty | |
| Claudia Christian | ... | Quinn | |
| Marc Alaimo | ... | Rogor | |
| Shari Shattuck | ... | Jade | |
| Armin Shimerman | ... | Weezil | |
| Brett Porter | ... | Wayne | |
 |
Charles Tabansi | ... | Troy |
| Michael Deak | ... | Horn | |
| Jack Carter | ... | Announcer | |
| William Butler | ... | Skull | |
|
|
Grady Clarkson | ... | Commissioner Dent |
| Dave Thompson | ... | Doctor | |
| Ken Clark | ... | Marcus | |
|
|
Diana Rose | ... | Space Lady in Nightclub |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (60) »
Storyline
Steve Armstrong is a human short-order cook in a fast food restaurant on a "starstation" where the most popular arena fighting tournament in the whole galaxy is held. Members of various alien species fight one on one, often dirty, to become the ruling champions of the galaxy. The restaurant's sole waiter and Steve's boss is Shorty, a short four-armed scheming humanoid alien. When Steve saves Shorty from a particularly unpleasant and violent alien guest, they're both fired by the restaurant's automated A.I. for brawling. Shorty shows gratitude and they become friends. However, without jobs, they'll both be kicked off the space station. Thankfully, Quinn, a human female no-nonsense fighting promoter, who's in quick need of new fighters, hears about Steve's fight with the alien guest and offers him sponsorship. Human fighters have traditionally been defeated easily by naturally tougher alien fighters in previous tournaments and Steve would be a real underdog. Shorty manages to convince ...
Plot Keywords:
tournament | champion | fighting tournament | four armed | champion of humanity |Taglines:
Tonight. Championship Grudge Match. Man Vs. Monster. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
18 September 1991 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Arena - Nur einer Überlebt See more »Filming Locations:
Empire Studios, Rome, Lazio, ItalyCompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
(video)Sound Mix:
Ultra StereoColor:
Color (Telecolor)
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See more »
Music and Lyrics by Paolo Rustichelli
Performed by Shari Shattuck
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Marc Alaimo and Armin Shimerman would both go on to star in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Claudia Christian would go on to star in Babylon 5 (1994). See more »Goofs
Near the end of the movie when Mr. Weasel and Shorty are fighting above the ring Weasel repeatedly calls Shorty a Nebuloid the actual name of Shorty's race is Nebulite. See more »Quotes
Space Comic: Oh, I could stay all night, folks, but I gotta go. A hand for the boys in the band, and remember, I hate your guts!See more »
Soundtracks
I Love the BarbarianMusic and Lyrics by Paolo Rustichelli
Performed by Shari Shattuck
See more »
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They just don't make them like this anymore. Yeah, it's a total schlock fest... But what an idea. Some dude has to fight it out in the intergalactic ring against all sorts of aliens ( AKA dudes in rubber costumes ), in classic cheesy 80's direct to video sci fi fashion. We're simply not blessed with such cornball films that are this fun anymore.
There's not really much in the way of story. We get some blondie no name actor playing Steve Armstrong, giving those super tough guys in rubber suits a really hard time in the intergalactic fighting ring. Will the golden boy make it out alive in the ring, fighting against the behinds the scenes corruption and overcome his underdog status to become champion? You'll just have to waste some time and find out.
Yeah, everything about it technically is fairly awful, but it's a fun film. Highly recommend if you spot it on cable and you enjoy cheese-fest flicks. There's some slow moments and awful dialog throughout, but the fights are all entertaining in a goofy way, just as most of the film is. It's B grade schlock, don't go into this film expecting something amazing and you'll have a fun time.
Someone should take notice from the good ol' days of VHS and get the direct to DVD market going with fresh ideas like this, and actually have them be semi-competent productions like this film.