Gold Digger (1995 film)

Gold Digger is a 1995 American adventure fantasy sci-fi film directed by James Yukich, based on the comic book series of the same name written and illustrated by Fred Perry and published by Antarctic Press (which produced the film). Set in 1992, the film follows adventurer, inventor and treasure hunter Gina Diggers, her stepsister Britanny, their father Theodore, and their friends, who are on a quest to find a legendary time machine called the "Time Raft" and soon find themselves pitted against the evil dragon Dreadwing.

Plot
In 1992, treasure hunter Gina Diggers and her stepsister Britanny, a "were-cheetah" with amazing powers, are in Iraq, about to raid an ancient temple, which Gina hopes might contain massive quantities of gold; she is planning to become rich and use her riches to seduce attractive men. Inside the temple, they become separated. Britanny thwarts an attempt on her life by a shape-shifting, genderfluid creature called Genn. Genn is forgiven by Britanny after explaining that he wasn't trying to sap her life energy out of malice, but because he was hungry. They meet up with Gina, who activates an ancient supercomputer and discovers, to her disappointment, that the temple was emptied of all treasures two thousand years ago. The three barely escape with their lives (pursued, first by a possessed hamster, then by the Iraqi Armed Forces) with the help of Gina's friend, a pilot called "Ace".

Gina and Britanny take Genn to their home in Atlanta, Georgia. Their father, Dr. Theodore Diggers, a powerful sorcerer, returns from a long journey, and they share a warm reunion. Gina's personal supercomputer has finished developing some pictures she took of the Fourth Dimension recently; the pictures reveal the exact location of the Time Raft, a legendary time machine from the future which was somehow last activated six thousand years in the past and has laid dormant ever since. Gina assembles an expedition party consisting of herself, Britanny, Genn, and Dr. Diggers, with the goal of finding the Time Raft; Gina plans to use it to seduce attractive men through history, saying "What would be better than picking up sexy hunks? [...] Picking up historical sexy hunks!". They have Ace fly them to the English countryside, where the Time Raft is located, but the flight is boarded by Gina's bitter rival, Penny Pincer, who wants to find the Time Raft before Gina does.

Going into a cavern where Gina's talking GinaScope detects the Time Raft, the group is attacked by goblins. The goblins are easily defeated by the party, primarily thanks to Gina's GinaBeamsword, Britanny's super-strength and agility, Dr. Diggers' magic, and Ace's U.S. Army training. Upon their victory, they are greeted by two elves named Tark and Mesha, who guide them to the main audience chamber of an enormous dragon named Dreadwing. Dreadwing claims he is the custodian of the Time Raft, and that he wants Gina to repair it so he can use it to go back to his own time. He offers his entire treasure hoard and the services of Tark in return, and she accepts immediately. She is given a luxurious bedroom and workshop to work in; unbeknownst to her, the rest of the party is imprisoned in a magic-proof dungeon.

Gina washes herself and waits for Tark in bed, but begins to have her doubts when he reveals he is following Dreadwing's orders to break his previous romantic bond with Mesha by forming one with Gina (by having sexual intercourse with her), under penalty of death; he further explains that, once broken, an elven romantic bond can never be repaired, meaning he and Mesha will never be together again. Realizing she would be destroying their relationship in her own favor, Gina rejects him. Tark reveals that Dreadwing terrorized the world six thousand years ago, until a powerful "Traveller" from the future arrived on the Time Raft and aided the two elves in fighting Dreadwing; the Traveller intended to send Dreadwing to the present day where he would be easier to destroy, but died, leaving the elves trapped in the present as slaves of Dreadwing. The beast wants the Time Raft to return to his own time, kill the Traveller in advance, and become master of the world. Gina is appalled at the realization that she sold out her family.

Gina confronts Dreadwing and demands to see the rest of her party. Keeping up with the "gentlemanly" charade, Dreadwing claims each has a bedroom and servant of their own. Not willing to risk blowing her cover with a rescue, Gina begins repairing the Time Raft, discovering it is equipped with several energy weapons; she secretly begins to add a force field and a timed self-destruct mechanism, and also works on a remote control (the machine is mind-activated, but Gina has never liked mind-operated machinery). Meanwhile, Britanny manages to punch a hole through the dungeon wall, and Genn escapes by shape-shifting into a beetle. He finds Gina and Tark and tells them what has become of the others; Gina has finished installing the two new components, but the machine is still not fully repaired.

Through a crystal ball that shows everything that happens in the cavern, Dreadwing realizes Genn is gone (he is shape-shifting as the missing piece of the wall) and suspects treachery. He orders the prisoners brought to him so he can personally execute them, but a fight breaks out between his goblin army and the rest of Gina's group. Gina has finished repairing the Time Raft by now; the others find her, and Britanny confronts Gina over how her shallow-minded pursuit for riches and sex led her to sell out her own family and friends (saying "No wonder everyone calls you The Gold Digger!"). The whole group, Tark and Mesha included, is brought to Dreadwing, who demands Gina send him back in time. Britanny confronts him and he breathes fire on her, burning her alive; Penny, still intent on having the Time Raft to herself, wrests the remote control away from Gina and wastes its weapons in an effort to kill Dreadwing, to no avail, before accidentally activating it and sending everyone but Tark, Mesha, Dreadwing and the goblins into the past.

On the English countryside six thousand years ago, the group has to help the Tark and Mesha of the past face off the Dreadwing of the past, who Gina confronts inside her transforming wrist-watch GinaMech, a giant robot. The Time Raft runs out of fuel in the process. The Traveller (who, Gina observes, seems to have her voice) arrives and gives them just enough fuel to return to 1992. Returning just after Penny had sent them back, Gina admits defeat and offers Dreadwing to step into the now-depleted Time Raft. He, not knowing it's out of fuel, does so; Gina immediately activates the force field and the self-destruct, and destroys the remote, trapping the dragon in the machine. The elves use their own magical powers to fend off the goblins while Dr. Diggers prepares one of his magical "gates" to escape; carrying Britanny's dead body, the party escapes just as the Time Raft explodes, incinerating Dreadwing and causing the cavern to collapse.

Gina mourns her sister's death before Britanny reveals she is alive, as dragon fire cannot kill were-cheetahs (only silver, magic, and other were-cheetahs can). Having learned that all the riches and love she needs in the world are her family and friends, Gina invites the party to a local pub to celebrate (but Penny will have to pay for her own drinks, much to her annoyance). Tark and Mesha are invited to live with the Diggerses, and they accept.

Cast
Jonathan Frakes as Dr. Theodore Diggers

Will Smith as Ace

Cree Summer as Penny Pincer

Christopher Lee as the voice of Dreadwing

Production
The film was a co-production with Antartic Press, the publisher of the comic series.

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States on November 3, 1995 by Universal Pictures. It received mixed critical reviews and currently holds a 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was a modest box-office success, grossing $60 million domestically on a budget of $21 million.