Laser Mission

Laser Mission is a 1989 American action film directed by BJ Davis, starring Brandon Lee, Ernest Borgnine and Werner Pochath. The film was released under the title Soldier of Fortune. This was Werner Pochath's final film appearance before his death on April 18, 1993.

Laser Mission
Directed byBJ Davis
Produced byHans Kühle Sr.
Written byDavid A. Frank
Phillip Gutteridge
StarringBrandon Lee
Ernest Borgnine
Music byDavid Knopfler
CinematographyHans Kühle Jr.
Edited byE. Selavie
Robert L. Simpson
Bob Yrtuc
Distributed byTurner Home Entertainment
Release date
  • November 20, 1989 (1989-11-20) (West Germany)
  • August 22, 1990 (1990-08-22) (United States)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The plot concerns a mercenary named Michael Gold (Lee) who is sent to convince Dr. Braun (Borgnine), a Laser specialist, to defect to the United States before the KGB acquire him and use both his talent and a stolen diamond to create a nuclear weapon. Dr. Braun is captured by the KGB and Gold is sent on a mission to rescue both him and the diamond. He has to enlist the help of Dr. Braun's daughter Alissa (Debi A. Monahan), whom he eventually falls for. The pair confront Col. Kalishnakov (Graham Clarke), whom they kill by hitting him with a truck in the climax of this story.

Cast
  • Brandon Lee as Michael Gold
  • Debi A. Monahan as Alissa
  • Ernest Borgnine as Prof. Braun
  • Graham Clark as Col. Kalishnakov
  • Trevor Williamson as The Foot

Home media

In the United States the film was released on home video in 1990 by Turner Home Entertainment, and was a financial success.[1][2]

After Brandon Lee's untimely death in an accident on the set of The Crow, movies such as Laser Mission saw a surge in video sales.[3]

The film was released in Australia directly on video in 1994.[4]

Reception

Australian release

Jon Casimir of The Sydney Morning Herald didn't like the film finding the acting poor, with the plot and action scenes unconvincing.[5]

Pat Gillespie of The Age found the direction clumsy but said that Lee's and action films fans would find the film entertaining.[4]

Retrospective

Ben Platt of Something Awful said the movie is decently shot and moves along, but is overall poor.[6]

Jim Vorel and Kenneth Lowe of Paste Magazine didn't like it and found the continuity disorienting.[7]

Dan Colón of Talk Film Society said the film is great for those with the appetite action orientated B movie.[8]

Parodies

Despite the name of the movie, there are not that many scenes in the movie depicting lasers. At least two scenes feature lasers, as Michael Gold sets off a laser guided motion detector. The film was also featured on the third episode of the second season of This Movie Sucks! with Ed the Sock, Liana K and Ron Sparks making fun of it, most notably making reference to Borgnine's advanced age and the ridiculousness of the plot.

It was also featured on Rifftrax in 2011.[9]

References
  1. Hartl, John (17 August 1990). "Chong's 'Far Out, Man!' is en route to rental stores". York Daily Record. 229: 55 – via Newspapers.
  2. Tribune, Max J. Alvarez Special to the. "BIG NAMES LOOK FOR BRIGHT LIGHTS IN VIDEOLAND". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  3. "'Gang' Is Ex- 'CHiPS' Star's Weirdest Vehicle Yet". Daily News: 921. 18 May 1994 – via Newspapers.
  4. Gillespie, Pat (28 July 1994). "Basinger and a bevy of bad guys". The Age. 43, 416: 53 – via Newspapers.
  5. Casimir, Jon (1 August 1994). "Sly gets the joke in action spoof". The Sydney Morning Herald. 48, 957: 51 – via Newspaper.
  6. "Something Awful - Laser Mission". somethingawful.com. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  7. "Bad Movie Diaries: Laser Mission (1989)". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  8. "Schlock Value: Laser Mission (1989)". Talk Film Society. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  9. "Laser Mission". Rifftrax. October 3, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
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