Overly gruesome and often cheesy, The Beastmaster is nevertheless one of the few satisfying, worthwhile swords and sorcery films and required viewing for fantasy buffs. The first fifteen minutes are not promising, and there are a few poorly done scenes, where seemingly preventable bad things happen -- but as many or more scenes are fresh and exciting. But the best part is that Tanya Roberts is not annoying. The story is about a child who discovers he can communicate psychically with animals after he calms an angry guy in a bear suit. Then he grows in to a man and fulfills his destiny.