Negative comments and criticisms of the Taarna Sequence:

- "Taarna, the blade-brandishing heroine of the final, 27-minute segment, is almost as likable: She's beautiful without suffering the rampant Partonism inflicted upon her fellow cast-members, and she rides a cute, kozmik Big Bird in her quest for Good over Evil. But the sequence drags on too long, and bloody (even though it's green blood) to hold one's interest in the foregone conclusion." - B. Browning, "'Heavy Metal': Zap the Orb!" The Washington Post, 7 Aug. 1981, Weekend Sec., p.17.

- "[Heavy Metal's] landscapes tend to be barren and otherworldly, its characters stern and mighty. Superhuman fierceness is at the root of this kind of fantasy, but there are also enough sympathetic touches to make the material involving. A very good bird in the last story is one. This bird is the chief transportation of the film's one heroine, who ruins her chance of counteracting the wild misogyny of 'Heavy Metal' by wearing a kinky black outfit and getting herself involved in a sadomasochistic fix. Animated or not, this isn't a movie to take children to, unless you'd like them to develop an early interest in bondage." - J. Maslin, "Film: 'Heavy Metal,' Adult Cartoon," New York Times, 7 Aug. 1981, Sec. C, p.14.

- "The finale is probably the best episode, though like the others, it is somewhat shallow emotionally, about a female warrior taking revenge upon a group of barbarians who have destroyed a civilization. The narrative linking device, about a green orb that represents evil in each story, is fairly pointless." - DVDLaser.com

- "'Taarna' has some fun action and voice characterizations . . . , but none of it can make up for the lumbering, awkward pace of the thing which starts and stops with no real flow. It's probably the longest story of the bunch, and it sure feels like it . . . . Scenes of flight (and she works that bird no matter how badly it gets hurt) seem to go on forever; they're quite impressive considering the time when this was made, but likely to be tedious to most people who aren't specifically looking to see how a shot like this would've been done in 1981 as opposed to now. The ending also bends over backwards to give some resolution to the wraparound story . . . ." - B. Wright, Cavalcade of Schlock, http://www.geocities.com/tyrannorabbit/heavymetal.html

- "The first five stories are quick and casual enough to be brain-dead fun. But the final half-hour bogs down with 'Legend of Taarna.' It's an excruciating epic wherein the universe is saved by a babe who rides a bird and goes to battle armored in the sort of thongs and garters you'd expect from the S & M branch of Victoria's Secret. The Chick Factor is already so high by this point that feminists (for that matter, all women) will have fled a good half-hour earlier. That's not the problem. The problem is, the piece is interminable and pretentious." - S. Murray, "'Heavy Metal'--An animated feature," The Atlanta Journal & Constitution, 8 March 1996, Preview Sec., p.9.

- "While most of the episodes try (sometimes desperately) to be outrageous, a few stand out for their pervasively peculiar qualities. An example is the tale of Taarna, a sword-swinging babe in S & M gear astride a flying thing that looks part bug, part chicken. Like many of the creations in 'Heavy Metal,' Taarna occupies a surreal universe that has its violent side. She dispatches baddies with aplomb, looking hot (for a cartoon character) even when the story turns silly." - M. Smith, "Sci-Fi Has Raunchy Appeal For Those Drawn To 'Heavy Metal,'" Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 1995, Sec. OC Live, p.14.

- "This story was originally designed as the framing sequence instead of the green ball but once production started on the film it was felt this story should not be broken apart. Taarna is the lass you see riding a bird (quite unlike the bird in the film) on all those movie posters advertising the film. She is a legendary defender who is out to avenge the massacre of an entire race. This is the longest sequence and supposedly was included to show that the film is not totally sexist. However, Taarna spends an inordinate amount of time in various states of undress and/or bondage. The story is too long and regretably the most believable personality in this sequence is the bird." - Jim Korkis, "A Girl and Her Bird," The Comics Journal, No. 69 Dec. 1981, p.96.