Allan Quatermain (Richard Chamberlain) has been hired by Jesse Houston (Sharon Stone) to locate her father in deepest Africa. Not until he rescues her from being kidnapped by Dogati the Turk (John Rhys-Davies) and Colonel Bockner of the German Army (Herbert Lom) does he learn that her father is searching for King Solomon's Mines. Of course, that is a myth so her father must be some crackpot. However, he is now committed and zany adventures ensue.
Made in the mold of the Indiana Jones movies, this is non-stop action. There is a chase through an African city that goes through crowds, on rooftops, on a horse-drawn cart, and even in a truck. Later, we have the fight on the train. Sneaking under the train, across the train roof, on the side of the train, and so on. Then there is the biplane with Quatermain dangling from a wing while Jesse attempts to fly. Of course, it is mostly campy action. Sometimes the silliness just goes over the top, such as when Quatermain bluffs his way through a train car full of Germans by acting the fool with a cheap horn. While John Rhys-Davies mostly plays it straight as a villain, Herbert Lom is a comic relief villain. Sharon Stone is dressed in exactly the way a woman in the 1910s wouldn't dress. This is early in her career and she isn't given much to do. She is no Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). Chamberlain wasn't the right man for this role. The beard doesn't look right on him and he is too cheery and upbeat. What sort of big game hunter is armed with a sawed-off shotgun and a revolver? Though meant to be campy fun, he is the butt of too many jokes and is more often portrayed as an incompetent bumpkin who gets lucky rather than a skilled adventurer.
Cheesy fun.
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