The reason I originally watched this film was Tim Thomerson, who plays the lead role of Brick Bardo. I'd originally caught him in Trancers and, liking the kind of movies he appeared in, decided to give this a go. I'd already seen other Full Moon films so knew what to expect.
However, I was happily surprised. this film has better production values than the others I'd seen, this could be down to director Albert Pyun. Even the main cast members were strong. Thomerson, at this time, seamed to be stereotyped as the hard-nosed, no-bullcrap, type of hero and this isn't any exception. Though, it's James Earle Haley as Braxton Red and Nicholas Guest as his sidekick, Skyresh that add meat to the stories bones. These guys are street criminals and they pull off rough, ready, and hard very well. Picking Frank Collison to play Bardo's arch-enemy Sprug was masterful. Even though he's just a head on a flying plate, he's a head you won't forget quickly. Then the glue of the whole story, the character who binds it all together is Kamala Lopez as Debi Alejandro. A single mother, who works hard and fights harder to keep her family safe and well. She's the one who finds Bardo and helps him on his mission.
The special effects also put a smile on my face. Granted, most of the time the Dollman effect is just a question of perspective and camera angle techniques it actually works very well. It's Bardo's gun and the effect its ammo has on their victim that had the most money spent on it. These bullets literally blow the perp to smithereens - good gruesome fun. My favourite scene is the smoking sidekick - gory and funny... awesome. Even Sprugs fake head on a hover plate is close enough to be possible, though they couldn't spring for a fully automated version.
The story is the only thing that lets it down... but not too much. It's your basic good guy chases bad guy scenario. It's the other elements that are used to keep the audience entertained. And they are. Most of the jokes and sight gags work. And Thomerson's deadpan performance, believing all the lines he spouts, is more than humorous enough to keep you giggling.
This is one of the better Full Moon Entertainment titles and well worth a look-see.
However, I was happily surprised. this film has better production values than the others I'd seen, this could be down to director Albert Pyun. Even the main cast members were strong. Thomerson, at this time, seamed to be stereotyped as the hard-nosed, no-bullcrap, type of hero and this isn't any exception. Though, it's James Earle Haley as Braxton Red and Nicholas Guest as his sidekick, Skyresh that add meat to the stories bones. These guys are street criminals and they pull off rough, ready, and hard very well. Picking Frank Collison to play Bardo's arch-enemy Sprug was masterful. Even though he's just a head on a flying plate, he's a head you won't forget quickly. Then the glue of the whole story, the character who binds it all together is Kamala Lopez as Debi Alejandro. A single mother, who works hard and fights harder to keep her family safe and well. She's the one who finds Bardo and helps him on his mission.
The special effects also put a smile on my face. Granted, most of the time the Dollman effect is just a question of perspective and camera angle techniques it actually works very well. It's Bardo's gun and the effect its ammo has on their victim that had the most money spent on it. These bullets literally blow the perp to smithereens - good gruesome fun. My favourite scene is the smoking sidekick - gory and funny... awesome. Even Sprugs fake head on a hover plate is close enough to be possible, though they couldn't spring for a fully automated version.
The story is the only thing that lets it down... but not too much. It's your basic good guy chases bad guy scenario. It's the other elements that are used to keep the audience entertained. And they are. Most of the jokes and sight gags work. And Thomerson's deadpan performance, believing all the lines he spouts, is more than humorous enough to keep you giggling.
This is one of the better Full Moon Entertainment titles and well worth a look-see.