Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

Despite the critical drubbing and box-office failure of King Solomon's Mines (1985), Cannon Films released this sequel two years later, again featuring Richard Chamberlain as adventurer Allan Quatermain and a pre-Basic Instinct Sharon Stone; the result is marginally better than its predecessor, and may please "bad film" fans. This time around, Quatermain is seeking his brother (Martin Rabbett), who has disappeared while on an expedition to locate a legendary white tribe in Africa. Quatermain's search leads him to the title city, which is controlled by evil Henry Silva (overacting with relish). Director Gary Nelson and returning writer Gene Quintano achieve a few more half-hearted laughs here than in its predecessor, and the cast, which includes James Earl Jones and Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, do their best with the material, but this can't hold a candle to the 1937 and 1950 film versions of King Solomon's Mines. --Paul Gaita