The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy

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The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (a.k.a. The Osiris Chronicles) was a science fiction film which aired on January 27, 1998 on television. The film was written by screenwriter Caleb Carr, who wrote the novel The Alienist, and directed by Joe Dante.

[edit] Cast

John Corbett as Justin Thorpe
Carolyn McCormick as Rula Kor
John Pyper-Ferguson as Heenoc Xian
Elisabeth Harnois as Maggi Sorenson
J. Madison Wright as Nova Thorpe
Darryl Theirse as Wally Price
Marjorie Monaghan as Jana
Joel Swetow as Shahklan
Rod Taylor as General Sorenson
Lilyan Chauvin as Mashwah

[edit] Synopsis

The story takes place several centuries in the future. Mankind has colonized their entire solar system and beyond. Hardships such as: war, disease, hunger, and overpopulation have been eliminated. Then boredom swept rapidly throughout the galaxy and as a result, an interstellar war broke out. The two factions fighting each other consisted of the Galactic Republic and the Rebels. The Galactic Republic’s opposition were far greater in numbers, resulting in their eventual defeat, but the Rebels were no better off. The aftermath of that war spawned a new Dark Age. Houses, plantations, and more importantly, most books were wiped out. Plus, the knowledge of interstellar travel has been lost, existing only to the few privileged. Human beings had come a long way and now history has rewarded them with living in third world conditions, despite still having very advanced computers.

[edit] Plot

The movie opens in the living room of a very luxurious house. A man named Heenoc Xian (John Pyper-Ferguson), is immersed in reading his book when suddenly, his concentration drifts away and reminisces about his life in chronological order: starting with his recollection as a pilot during his Academy years, to a freedom fighter, and eventually, a warlord. He recalls the latter with irony as he narrates the tale of those particular events of his life. It begins on the planet Caliban 5, ruled by none other than Warlord Heenoc Xian. A young man named Justin Thorpe (John Corbett), a petty thief who carves out a living for himself by trading goods with other people, items he obtained through stealing and salvaging comes home one night to his battered, run-down house as he is greeted by his kid sister, Nova (J. Madison Wright), a precocious pre-teen. Their parents are dead and they are all that's left of their family. Routine evenings tend to end with Nova teaching Thorpe to read a chapter per night. The two siblings make the most of the situation and are content. However, one day Thorpe returns from his morning routine and discovers that Nova has disappeared. Knowing his sister would never run away from home, Thorpe comes to the conclusion that she’s been kidnapped. But by whom? And more important, why?

Frantic and desperate, Thorpe turns to Warlord Xian for help. Despite the ominous title, Xian is not entirely a warmonger, considering his heroic past. He listens to his people and is sympathetic towards them. Plus, he has provided a reasonable amount of order and security amidst a chaotic world, despite the fact that some of the people under his rule have expressed a degree of ungratefulness and resentment towards him. He listens to Thorpe’s grievance, and while he feels for him, he cannot help him because he doesn’t have enough to trade for his services. With that, Thorpe leaves in anger, when he’s suddenly met by Nova’s best friend Maggi Sorenson (Elizabeth Harnois), a cute and cynical teenager who happens to have some serious connections when she introduces her grandfather to him, General Lars Sorenson (played by veteran Australian actor Rod Taylor), a man who was a former soldier of the now extinct Galactic Republic. He knows what Thorpe wants and offers to help him by searching for Nova in his starship, the Osiris. However, he informs Thorpe that he must help him first by applying his thieving skills and steal precious jewels from the Warlord Xian’s treasure chest, so he can pay someone to fix his ship. Thorpe, along with Maggi succeed in obtaining the goods from the Warlord Xian’s treasure chest and are nearly caught by the Warlord’s henchmen.

Before long, Thorpe, Sorenson, and Maggi arrive on the Osiris, a sleek, shark-looking ship parked out in deep space via shuttlecraft. Once inside the ship, they bump into Thorpe’s long-time buddy, Wally Price (Darryl Theirse), a man who has “really strong feelings” but is not actually a telepath or a psychic. Sorenson is greatly puzzled by how he managed to get inside the Osiris, considering that the ship is genetically keyed. Wally convinces the gang that his extraordinary intuition abilities will aid in Thorpe’s search for Nova. All that remains now is for the ship to be fixed. Sorenson hires a humanoid alien race only known as “The Engineers”, who are dressed in cloaks, to repair the ship’s engine. These beings are matter-of-fact and have zero interest in communicating with other lifeforms. The only thing they care for is technology. As soon as the ship is fixed, The Engineers leave.

Later, Sorenson informs Thorpe that he has a vague idea of where Nova is being held captive, but doesn’t know the exact location. However, Sorenson has his own agenda for helping Thorpe: he wants to rebuild the old Republic and to do that he must find Trajan Cabel, the grandson of the last Proconsul, Julius Cabel. For this he hires an Arbitrator, a diplomatic mercenary, who much to his surprise turns out to be Rula Kor (Carolyn McCormick) Sorenson’s daughter! She brings along her mute and beautiful bodyguard Jana (Marjorie Monahan) for muscle, should the need arise. Their surprise is magnified when she tells them that The Engineers are the ones who are holding Nova prisoner! Then Sorenson confesses to Thorpe that he knew all along that The Engineers were the ones who kidnapped Nova, but didn’t want Thorpe to know beforehand because The Engineers were the only ones who knew how to fix the ship. Had he told Thorpe beforehand, the ship would have remained dead in space and they would have no way of rescuing Nova. Initially, Thorpe is peeved at Sorenson for misleading him, but his telepathic friend informs him that in spite of Sorenson’s questionable agenda, he senses that his heart is in the right place. As a result, Thorpe and Sorenson make a pact to be upfront with each from now on and set a course to rescue Nova, based on Rula’s reliable sources.

Meanwhile, the Warlord is hell-bent on capturing Thorpe for stealing from him and is hot on his trail, in his battleship, the Daedalus. He chases Thorpe and his crew through a volcanic planet and fires on his ship with vengeance, but the Orsiris escapes and finds itself face-to-face with a cloaked planet in deep space, the homeworld of The Engineers. They allow the crew of the Osiris to come down to their planet using the Osiris’s teleportation system known as a multi-spatial transverse system (which works by folding space, a la wormhole) after which they explain as to why they took Nova: she’s a supergenius and they need her vast intellect for their Sublime Plenum, their rulers consisting of a huge amalgamation of their greatest ancestors’ minds and souls, that turns out to be a grotesque exhibit of goo filled with countless bodies mixed together with tentacles. Their mission: to eliminate all emotions and the concept of family. The crew of the Orsiris does not stand for this, especially Thorpe. Rula makes The Engineers an offer in exchange for Nova’s life, but they refuse. With that, Thorpe snatches Nova from the clutches of The Engineers, but she doesn’t want to leave, nevertheless, he convinces her by stressing the need for family and love. The crew make it back to the Orsiris, but Nova is grabbed away at the last minute, while the Orsiris faces another attack by the Daedalus. However, Sorenson offers Xian a truce and allows him to come onboard the Orsiris to explain about the current crisis. When Xian learns of The Engineers’ plan, he offers his services. With Xian’s help, they destroy the Sublime Plenum, leaving The Engineers in defeat and rescue Nova again, this time with success.

During all this, Sorenson discovers that Xian is the man he’s been looking for all along: he is Trajan Cabel, the man who is destined to help rebuild the old Galactic Republic! However, Xian is not too thrilled about this because he was greatly opposed to the idea of a new Republic, so he left and changed his name to Heenoc Xian and became a warlord. In spite of this, Xian decides to help Thorpe rebuild the Galactic Republic with new ideals and values. Sorenson steps down as General and gives Thorpe the Orsiris for him to command with Nova at his side, Maggi as his pilot/navigator, Wally as the computer expert, Rula as herself, i.e. Arbitrator, and Jana as chief of security. As for Xian, he remains on the Daedalus, but provides his expertise in strategy and war tactics to Thorpe, acting as his counsel. With the Orisis and Daedalus as the only relics of the Old Galaxy Republic, it is a new beginning for humanity’s reemergence to the stars. The saga begins.

Films directed by Joe Dante