Barb Wire

Barb Wire has built a real following in Australia on BINGE and Foxtel Now, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video among viewers who want their sci-fi to think as hard as it looks. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. A 4/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Pamela Anderson anchors it with a performance that grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Start it on BINGE whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Barb Wire earns its spot. The world-building is meticulous, but it is the characters who carry Barb Wire through its more ambitious moments. A sexy nightclub owner, Barb Wire moonlights as a mercenary in Steel Harbor, one of the last free zones in the now fascist United States. When scientist Cora Devonshire wanders into Barb's establishment, she gets roped into a top-secret government plot involving biological weapons. Soon Barb is reunited with her old flame Axel Hood, who is now Cora's husband and a guerrilla fighter, resulting in plenty of tense action. Pamela Anderson and Temuera Morrison lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1996. Barb Wire resists the temptation to explain everything, trusting the audience to sit with ambiguity. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Barb Wire is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Watch for Pamela Anderson in particular — the performance elevates the material. Satisfying on multiple levels.