Is this a rip-off or a remake?

This may seem like too highbrow a term for the final result, but it really was intended as a reverse-gender homage.

This was not the first movie to be loosely based on another--and since it obviously doesn't take itself too seriously you can't fault it for throwing in a touch of class. (Although a case could be made that, given the target demographics of action flicks and Pam Anderson fans, the thought no one would notice.)


Far more egregious examples of ripping off exist, but for the most blatant you have to go all the way back to 1937 with the film, A Star Is Born. George Cukor had already told the exact same story five years earlier with What Price, Hollywood?. And the Academy even had the nerve to nominate ASIB for best "original" screenplay.

Then there was 1991's Switch, in which Ellen Barkin played a man who was reincarnated as a woman. Not a single acknowledgment was made to the Vincente Minnelli's Goodbye, Charlie with Debbie Reynolds as the "man".

In summary, happens all the time.


"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns

IMO, I think it was a rush job to put Pamela Anderson (very popular at that time) in a action movie and "Barb Wire" was the perfect character. All they needed was a story line and I thought it was pretty smart at the time. There were no copyrights on the plot of Casablanca and all you had to do was come up with some other colorful characters. Back then the plots weren't so complicated and action movies with elaborate stunts were used to "sell the movie".

But was it a good movie, no it was not! I think it took 4 months to film but most of the time (and money) was used on the stunts.