Mark Forest, among the more charismatic of the strongmen in the swords-and-sandals epics, has the title role in this one, originally titled Maciste, l’eroe più grande del mondo, as he battles both to free a nation from the domination of Babylon and to help a friend (Giuliano Gemma) win the hand of a princess (José Greci). Featured sequences include a chariot race, with the winner entitled to wed the queen, and in which the queen herself competes, and a fiendish torture-cum-execution device involving the release of spears that may (or may not, in any individual instance) pierce the hapless victim. A worthwhile genre entry.

  Recommended. Otto finds this one pleasing enough to relax.

Movie 438 for 2021.