Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Sons of Steel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 13, 2024

MTV grew into a dominating force of style during the 1980s, finding music videos going from a curiosity or simple marketing tool into cinematic experiences that helped to influence moviemaking throughout the decade. Such visual power was used by many and abused by even more, and this sense of flashiness dominates 1988’s “Sons of Steel,” an Australian production from writer/director Gary L. Keady. The helmer tries to merge punky happenings in the nuclear age with a grungy Duran Duran video, aiming to create a chaotic adventure across time with an extremely limited budget. “Sons of Steel” has a vision for bigness when it comes to end-of-days action and performance, but Keady doesn’t have the seniority to master the challenge of such ambitious, comic book-style material. His inexperience shows during the viewing event, which quickly goes from a tolerable curiosity to an absolute drag.

In the future, the world is ruled by the Oceana government, who crave war during a period of nuclear escalation. Black Alice (Rob Hartley) is a singer for a heavy metal band, and he’s also the head of The Octagon, a peace movement looking to eliminate all nuclear threats from the planet. Black Alice is an aggressive man, newly enraged by the death of his girlfriend, and his power is summoned by Oceana leaders, who want to discuss the future with him. What Black Alice is walking into is a science experiment, with evil Honor (Dagmar Blahova) and Secta (Jeff Duff) looking to capture the rocker, inject him with a serum, and “demolecularize” him, sending him to a post-apocalyptic underworld 113 years in the future.

At the 50-minute mark of “Sons of Steel,” Black Alice asks the question, “What’s going on here?” The man has a point, as very little makes sense in the feature, which is held together by narration from The Head, some type of artificial intelligence that isn’t explained. Well, almost nothing is explained, finding Keady mostly interested in generating a swirl of incomplete exposition and random characterization, with the primary focus being Black Alice and his rocker ways. His stage presence is showcased in an opening concert performance (where he rides a phallic nuclear missile), and he offers periodic breaks in the action to perform songs. Black Alice is also an advocate for world peace who possesses violent fantasies about murdering people, but that idea is merely introduced, not developed in Keady’s script.

“Sons of Steel” follows Black Alice and his interactions with Honor, who’s dealing with Hope (Roz Wason), a scientist whose eyes are finally opened to Oceana’s barbaric ways, refusing to go along with her sick experiments. At the halfway mark, Black Alice is sent to the future via a hologram(?), joining a pair of barbarians in some type of underground world, with Sydney’s future in jeopardy, giving Black Alice 10 hours to save the world. There’s a lot to take in during “Sons of Steel,” and little of it is compelling. Keady is mostly making a mess here, aiming to create blasts of music and muscle as the characters work their way around maze-like environments. He adds monsters and robots to the mix, and keeps his performers loud and broad, which mostly inspires confusion, not interest in this clash of heroes(?) and villains(?).

Sons of Steel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation deals with the general dimness of the production, but the feature does look excessively dark at times, losing some frame information along the way. Fine detail is limited, exploring soft textures of the characters and costumes, finding grain quite heavy and passably resolved. Exteriors are rare, but decently dimensional. Colors are appealing, dealing with design extremity and period style. Primaries are present, with deep reds and blues, and lighting efforts bring out a more heightened look, joined by glowing green weird science additions. Skin tones are natural. Source is in acceptable condition, with some mild damage.

Sons of Steel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA track is limited by age, but dialogue exchanges are mostly intelligible, often competing with the general chaos of the mix. Music isn't always sharp, but it's pronounced, delivering passable instrumentation and vocals. Scoring cues are also acceptable. Sound effects are blunt.

Sons of Steel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• CD Soundtrack is included.

• Booklet (14 pages) contains a preview for the comic book "Sons of Steel: Future's End."

• Isolated Score is offered.

• "Open Gate" (96:35, HD) is an alternate cut of "Sons of Steel."

• Making Of (37:05, HD) is more of a video essay from director Gary L. Keady, who takes viewers through his personal history and connections to the world of music, working his way to the "Sons of Steel" production experience. Beginning his career in music production, Keady found his way to film, trying to score attention with the short "Knightmare," which was shown before screenings of "Dune" in 1985. Taking "Knightmare" everywhere, Keady was focused on crafting a feature, spending years putting some form of "Sons of Steel" together. Dealing with casting issues, union problems, and technical challenges, Keady managed to achieve his dream. However, compromise was encountered, and the helmer details many problems and hardships encountered along the way. Post-production is detailed, along with release issues, and the picture's cult appreciation continues in the literary realm as Keady continues to develop the "Sons of Steel" world to this day.

• "Knightmare" (12:55, SD) is a short film directed by Gary L. Keady, with Yahoo Serious credited at the assistant director.

• "MTV Goes to the Australian Premiere" (15:13, SD) finds the cable channel covering the 1988 premiere of "Sons of Steel," which they describe as "nothing like 'Crocodile Dundee'," selling the uniqueness of this production as it goes into release, with potential for world domination. Red Carpet interviews are collected, including actor Jeff Duff, who's a little bothered by the process, acting hostile toward the interviewer. Cameras head into the theater to catch post-screening reactions, finding moviegoers coming out in a daze, trying to say nice things about the feature.

• "Access All Areas" (29:52, SD) collects BTS footage on "Sons of Steel," capturing workout sessions and the construction of scenes. Fly-on-the-wall material is always interesting, and this offering displays director Gary L. Keady in action, working with cast and crew. On-set camaraderie is also highlighted.

• "Sons of Steel Destroys The Movie Show" (13:45, SD) is a clip from a film review show, where the hosts try to make sense of a feature what wasn't made for "oldies" like the critics. Also included is an interview with director Gary L. Keady, who explores casting and music, working with MTV-inspired trends to create a flashy picture for young audiences.

• Music Videos (SD) offer "Fighting for You" (4:00) and "Parallel Worlds" (3:53).

• And a Trailer (1:56, HD) is included.

Sons of Steel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Sons of Steel" is cult-ready moviemaking with a grungy spirit, and it eventually reaches the real world in the climax, which introduces motorcycle chases and mad dashes to prevent disaster. There's some oxygen saved for the final moments, but Keady is almost determined to sabotage his own film, ending up with a story that doesn't have a conclusion, only a cheeky summation of cinematic manipulation. It's one last bad idea from Keady, who's trying to throw a big screen party with "Sons of Steel," ending up with a tiresome collection of half-baked concepts and low-budget limitations instead.