Review: Back in the 80's and early 90's Dolph Lungren was all over the place
doing one film after another it seemed and surprisingly this is the film
of his work during that time period that I had yet to see until now.
Dark angel also has another alternative title which was "I Come In
Peace" which is just taking one of the main villains lines and making it
the film title which is kinda lame. Now I first watched the trailer to
see what I was in for and about half way through I stopped it and had to
just watch the film. I got something I didn't quite expect and that was
a really entertaining film!
Now if you have not seen Dark Angel before please don't go into it
expecting everything to be completely original and mind blowing, instead
go into it with a clear mind that's ready to be entertained. The plot
of this film follows detective Jack Caine who is one of those cops who
doesn't always follow things by the rules and after his partner gets
killed he is determined to take down who ever killed him but things go
crazy after a string of odd murders start happening and Jack is paired
up with an FBI agent to solve who and what is doing these killings.
As you would possibly suspect Dark Angel does use the classic "straight
laced & rogue cop" premise and mixes it up with a sci-fi horror plot
to make a great mix-up. Now what makes the story unique and not too
cliche is that the evil alien in this film is actually an intergalactic
drug dealer who came to earth to get the endorphins from humans to take
back to where he came from and sell them, but he does have a cop from
his planet out to hunt him down as well. Yes that does seem so over the
top but trust me it makes this otherwise run of the mill film into
something a bit more special and fun. You do still get all the elements
of a film like this from that era, pleanty of explosions, violence,
gore, and T&A.
The violence and gore can be at times pretty graphic but it's not overly
graphic. The methods that the evil alien does to get the endorphins is a
little graphic but they don't even show him stab a victim in the head
from a front shot until about the 3rd or 4th person, most the other
violence is gun shots or neck slices from a flying disc the alien uses. I
wouldn't say that this film completely relies on fast action because
you do get a little character development that will have you hoping Jack
comes out on top. There is a little bit of a love interest that does
get touched on but it doesn't take forefront much at all but is there to
add a little to the story.
When it comes to the video quality of this Scream Factory release it simply looks awesome! The detail is fantastic and the film is very well cleaned up. The audio is very clear and quite robust. Now the only thing this release lacks is just that it only has one special feature that is interviews with director Craig Baxley and actors Dolph Lundgren & Brian Benben. Now that is not to say that it's not a good featurette because actually it's quite awesome to hear what went on while making the film from the view of those involved. In the end this is a damn good release and is worth the upgrade!
Overall this was a really entertaining film and it's definitely one of Dolph
Lundgren's best films and should be seen by alot more than what it
probably has! Go pick this one up if your into Action Sci-fi flicks!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Craig R. Baxley
Lead Actor/Actress: Dolph Lundgren
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 1990
Time Length: 91 mins.
Rating: R
Region Code: A
Release Company: Scream Factory/Shout Factory
Website:
www.shoutfactory.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
Review: Back in the 80's and early 90's Dolph Lungren was all over the place
doing one film after another it seemed and surprisingly this is the film
of his work during that time period that I had yet to see until now.
Dark angel also has another alternative title which was "I Come In
Peace" which is just taking one of the main villains lines and making it
the film title which is kinda lame. Now I first watched the trailer to
see what I was in for and about half way through I stopped it and had to
just watch the film. I got something I didn't quite expect and that was
a really entertaining film!
