Barb Wire (1996 film)

Barb Wire is a 1996 American action-Science Fiction film based on a comic book series of the same name. The plot of the film is loosely based on the plot of Casablanca with Barb Wire being set in the 2017 during the "Second American Civil War," rather than World War II and many of the roles having their gender switched.

Plot
Barb Wire owns the Hammerhead, a nightclub in Steel Harbor "the last free city" in a United States ravaged by the civil war and she brings in extra cash working as a mercenary and bounty hunter. Chief of Police Willis raids her club. Willis's target is fugitive Dr. Corrina "Cora D" Devonshire, a former government scientist with information about a bioweapon being developed by her former superior, Colonel Pryzer of the Congressional Directorate. Dr. Devonshire hopes to escape to Canada in order to make this information public.

Devonshire later turns up at the Hammerhead. She is accompanied by Axel Hood, a "freedom fighter" whom Barb had known and loved at the outbreak of the war, but the two were separated during the conflict. Axel is trying to help Cora get to Canada. They are trying to find a contraband pair of contact lenses that will allow Cora to evade theretinal scan at the Steel Harbor airport. The lenses pass through the hands of several lowlifes before also ending up at Barb's nightclub.

Rather than give the lenses to Cora and Axel, Barb makes a deal with "Big Fatso", the leader of a junkyard gang: Fatso wants the lenses, which are worth a fortune on the black market, and Barb wants a million dollars and an armed escort to the airport, where she plans to get on the plane to Canada. But Fatso double-crosses Barb; when Barb, Axel, and Cora show up at the junkyard to make the swap, Colonel Pryzer and his storm troopers are also there, along with Chief of Police Willis. Willis makes a show of arresting Barb and Cora, but instead of putting handcuffs on Barb, he slips her a hand grenade. Barb uses the grenade to kill Fatso and cause enough confusion to allow Barb, Axel, Cora, and Willis to pile into Barb's armored van and lead the Congressionals on a car chase, culminating in a hand-to-hand fight between Barb and Colonel Pryzer on a forklift suspended by crane above the harbor. Pryzer falls to his death while Barb escapes.

In the end, the party makes it to the airport, where Barb reveals that she still has the contact lenses. She gives them to Cora, and Cora and Axel get on the plane to Canada while Willis and Barb remain on the rainswept tarmac.