I'm surprised I haven't talk more about Full Moon Entertainment. I should do a "Puppet Master" retrospective someday. Anyway, why am I talking about "Dollman" which isn't a horror film? A month ago, while browsing through my local Dollar Store, I found the "Dollman / Demonic Toys Box Set" for three dollars. A dollar a movie! I couldn't pass up such a bargain. As soon as I bought it, I knew I'd be reviewing all three for Halloween.
"Dollman" was probably motivated by three factors. It was a superhero movie released in the wake of '89's "Batman." Wikipedia will tell you that this film is unrelated to the Golden Age superhero of the same name but I refuse to believe this. It's not surprising that Charles Band would rip-off a diminutive superhero, considering his love of all threats tiny. Of course, there's nobody Band likes to rip-off more then himself. In Full Moon's long-running "Trancers" series, Tim Thomerson plays Jack Deth, a hard-boiled, sarcastic cop who chases a fugitive from the future to the modern day. In "Dollman," Tim Thomerson plays Brick Bardo, a hard-boiled, sarcastic cop who chases a fugitive from another planet to Earth. The catch? Though normal sized on his world, Brick is only thirteen inches tall on Earth. Armed with an absurdly powerful laser gun, Dollman cleans up the streets of Los-Angles-posing-as–New-York.
"Dollman" has a good sense of humor about itself. The title character is introduced as a bizarre riff on Dirty Harry, tying in fat ladies and laundry with the famous "You feelin' lucky?" sequence. Brick explodes a guy with a single shot, a hilarious special effect. Once on Earth, our hero is badgered by children, slings size-related one-liners and leaps from a building, somehow safely landing on a moving vehicle. The miniature Dirty Harry's new size doesn't affect his abilities much, save for a gag where it takes him several minutes to travel a short distance.
"Dollman," weirdly, reaches for social relevance. After the sci-fi intro, we get a long montage showing the crime-ridden city. Brick's normal sized love interest is a single mom attempting to survive in the ghetto. A post-"Bad News Bear," pre-"Watchmen" Jackie Earl Haley plays the villain, a nasty thug obsessed with the mom. In one of the more clever bits, what appears to be the primary villain is bluntly dismissed, making way for Haley's vulgar, clueless creep. Don't get the wrong idea. This is an Albert Pyun joint after all. As in accordance with all 90s low-budget action flicks, the climax is set in an abandoned warehouse.
Keep your expectations relaxed. "Dollman" is goofy, self-aware, violent, and featuring some solid actors having a good time.
"Dollman" was probably motivated by three factors. It was a superhero movie released in the wake of '89's "Batman." Wikipedia will tell you that this film is unrelated to the Golden Age superhero of the same name but I refuse to believe this. It's not surprising that Charles Band would rip-off a diminutive superhero, considering his love of all threats tiny. Of course, there's nobody Band likes to rip-off more then himself. In Full Moon's long-running "Trancers" series, Tim Thomerson plays Jack Deth, a hard-boiled, sarcastic cop who chases a fugitive from the future to the modern day. In "Dollman," Tim Thomerson plays Brick Bardo, a hard-boiled, sarcastic cop who chases a fugitive from another planet to Earth. The catch? Though normal sized on his world, Brick is only thirteen inches tall on Earth. Armed with an absurdly powerful laser gun, Dollman cleans up the streets of Los-Angles-posing-as–New-York.
"Dollman" has a good sense of humor about itself. The title character is introduced as a bizarre riff on Dirty Harry, tying in fat ladies and laundry with the famous "You feelin' lucky?" sequence. Brick explodes a guy with a single shot, a hilarious special effect. Once on Earth, our hero is badgered by children, slings size-related one-liners and leaps from a building, somehow safely landing on a moving vehicle. The miniature Dirty Harry's new size doesn't affect his abilities much, save for a gag where it takes him several minutes to travel a short distance.
"Dollman," weirdly, reaches for social relevance. After the sci-fi intro, we get a long montage showing the crime-ridden city. Brick's normal sized love interest is a single mom attempting to survive in the ghetto. A post-"Bad News Bear," pre-"Watchmen" Jackie Earl Haley plays the villain, a nasty thug obsessed with the mom. In one of the more clever bits, what appears to be the primary villain is bluntly dismissed, making way for Haley's vulgar, clueless creep. Don't get the wrong idea. This is an Albert Pyun joint after all. As in accordance with all 90s low-budget action flicks, the climax is set in an abandoned warehouse.
Keep your expectations relaxed. "Dollman" is goofy, self-aware, violent, and featuring some solid actors having a good time.