Conan the Barbarian you could say was at the top of the pile of these derivative sword and sorcery enterprises that were being churned out in the early 80s and the main influencer for these films. "Ator" was at the very bottom of the pile and was a quick cash-in on the former by notorious director Joe D'Amato. It's quite bad. More so in a banal and simple-minded way, this is unforgivable. What happens is second-rate and hasty in its execution and with little fun attached to it. A bemused Miles O'keeffe plays the title character and goes about things in a rather laborious manner (uneventful journey with plenty of strutting and flat sword choreography)… although there are some amusingly terrible dialogue exchanges (the heart to heart talk about love with romantic interludes),a lousy twist… and a battle scene with a slow moving gigantic spider… but other than that not much to recommend. It's just risible more so than thrilling. Oh I did forget something… the bear cub. I don't know what it had to do with anything, but its presence was a welcome inclusion.

This rating is not a reflection on how "good" "Ator l'invincibile" is; admittedly, it's a cheap, cheesy 'n' clunky "Conan the Barbarian" Italian made imitation designed to cash in on the success of that film. The rating applies to the entertainment value, which is fairly substantial, unintended laughs and all. Beefy Miles O'Keeffe, then riding high after making an impression in "Tarzan, the Ape Man", plays the title character, a warrior who, it has been prophesied, will rise up and vanquish an evil ruler, the High Priest of the Spider, played by Dakar, whom you'll recognize from "Zombi 2" and "Dr. Butcher, M.D." The priests' henchmen have snatched Ator's luscious would be bride Sunya (Ritza Brown),whom he was led to believe is his sister (!). Fortunately, as he goes on a quest where he's never ever challenged to a great degree, he acquires an equally delectable travelling companion, Roon (Sabrina Siani),who's only interested in treasure seeking. From the predictably tacky special effects (we can clearly see the wires manipulating the legs of the giant spider at the end) to the skimpy costumes on the ladies to that hilariously ridiculous end credits song on the American print, "Ator l'invincibile" (or "Ator the Fighting Eagle" as it's known in the U.S.) is agreeable if not outstanding genre entertainment. It's obviously more for the kiddies than the older viewers; one can hardly fail to notice that it's really rather tame, which is especially surprising considering the other, very adult titles on director Joe D'Amato's resume. There's even a little shameless button pushing in giving Ator a constant animal companion in the form of an adorable bear cub. However, even though this is therefore not going to appeal to some people, it's still hard not to like, as it stumbles its way through its 93 minute running time. O'Keefe and Siani may not be the most expressive actors in the business, but when they look the way they do, it's hard to imagine too many people complaining. Adding to the fun are the appearances of other familiar faces from exploitation cinema: Edmund Purdom ("Pieces") as Griba, who gives Ator all important advice and training, and the ever stunning Laura Gemser as Indun, the temptress (annoyingly, this character is never properly paid off). They all make this easy enough to watch, even though this is also easy enough to forget. Followed by three sequels, with O'Keeffe returning for two of them. Six out of 10.

I accidentally saw this film. I thought it was the same Ator movie that was currently ranked #40 on IMDb's Bottom 100 list--only to discover that was ATOR 2, not this first film. You see, I've got a crazy quest to try to see as many of IMDb's Bottom 100 as possible! However, after seeing ATOR I wonder how the sequel can possibly be any worse?! However, while ATOR has overall score of 2.3 (which is terrible),ATOR 2 is significantly lower at 1.8!!! Yikes...that's bad. But how is this possible as ATOR was 100% craptastic?!

The 1980s were an odd time and I remember lots of enjoyable but silly films of the day, such as BEASTMASTER, the Conan films and KRULL. However, there really isn't much about ATOR that is enjoyable.

The film begins with a prologue read by someone with a deadly serious voice. In fact, the incredibly serious nature of this film was one of the worst things about it--it was so oppressively somber and there wasn't a second of mirth or fun about it. According to the narrator, the land has long been ruled and oppressed by the Spider King--for 1000 years to be exact. But, now there is a child who will one day destroy the Spider King and his minions. Oddly, however, you never see more than about 20 men working for this king and controlling this vast kingdom! It's obvious the film had a minuscule budget, as there are only a few baddies and Ator and his army to battle the king consist of him and a woman....oh, and a baby bear. Talk about lame!

The star of the film, Miles O'Keefe is an odd sort of hero. Compared to the man other mythical heroes of the 1980s (and there were many),he looked awfully pretty--with Farrah-like hair and a rather effeminate outfit. Personality-wise, he's also a pretty dull guy. Perhaps this is because the crew and many of the actors were speaking Italian (much of the film is dubbed) or maybe he's just got the charisma of balsa wood....I'm not sure which.

I'd talk more about the plot and the many adventures, but they were all so forgettable. The only really memorable thing was the finale. First, killing the Spider King and his pals turned out to be incredibly easy--so easy, I had to laugh. But the biggest laugh came when I saw the giant spider that was apparently the arachnid behind the throne. It was hilarious to see--with the most obvious wired making it's legs dart up and down--making the spider DUMBER than the octopus in BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (an Ed Wood crap-fest).

Overall, you have a very dull story, a dull leading man, a very dull villain, little adventure and a giant spider on wires. So how, then, can the next film be any worse?! And, if it is, how is it legal to show this to anyone in any country?! I thought they had laws to prevent this sort of travesty.