The Return of Sandokan

Dora Parker, an English lady/journalist, discovers that the legendary Sandokan is still alive and well, and she wants to write his story. Again, there are many colourful costumes to wear and treacherous enemies to fight. Twenty years after the original "Sandokan" TV series, "Il ritorno di Sandokan" takes us back to the jungle. The star of the show, Kabir Bedi, was meanwhile 50 instead of 30 years of age, but still convincingly explosive with fists and sabre. The cast is excellent, featuring Mathieu Carrière as the evil Raska, Romina Power as the honourable Maharani, Fabio Testi (replacing Philippe Leroy) as Yanez, and director Castellari brought his favorite actor Franco Nero to play a mystic who gets more wise lines by the script than the rest of the actors altogether.

Despite the delay of two decades, the sequel manages pretty well to capture the romantic spirit of the original. It is hindered by the fact Sandokan is on dry land all the time, I was missing the pirate ships on open sea. But under the competent leadership of traditionally minded action director Castellari, this is an entertaining historical adventure like few in the 1990s.