Reviews

What an absolute classic. The fight scene was notorious in my school playground. The premise that something is going on that the common folk are not privy to is all too real to those who have worked among the upper classes - just what planet are they from? Well this film goes a long way toward explaining why they are so different. And for good measure Carpenter chucks in some great one liners, the best hammed up acting for ages and some original concepts, which, coupled with his atmospheric, almost hypnotic, score, really draws you in to the story. Next time your colleague gets promotion at work, just take a second, harder look - are they all they seem?

The film that inspired a million overhead kicks and also lead to thousands of youngsters believing they could play in goal after watching Sly Stallone's woefully pathetic attempt in between the sticks. This sporting 'Great Escape' mixed the stars of film and soccer (mainly Ipswich's Europe conquering side but also Pele and Ardiles) and produced a satisfactory effort. The acting is better than I am sure they hoped and the cast looked like they were enjoying themselves. The subject matter was serious though and you would come away with either a sense of triumph and enthusiasm for the human of spirit or, at the very least, the appreciation that Saturday's big game isn't against a crack team of army players!

Well ahead of its time in many respects, the subject matter, script and camera work must have been extremely stimulating for audiences at the time. Superbly crafted and with a real depth and eye for detail, the film slowly simmers along until at all comes together for the pulsating and unexpected finale. You can see many films since have only managed to poorly imitate some of the finer points and qualities of this film. It really takes you inside the subject matter with a real sense of the bewilderment experienced by the protagonists. The shifty characters, shady lighting and edgy music all adds up to a stylish take on the spy genre. The film is both polished and innovative.

Although Laserhawk had a promising start with a interesting concept, it rapidly went downhill. The film started slowly and needed to pick up pace but sadly it just petered out into and sorry collection of recycled cliches and over the top acting. Hamill indeed added some depth but the other characters were hamming it up left, right and center. The film ended abruptly after one of the poorest and least exciting space battles known to modern man. The actual action sequences were no better than the those seen in the Eighties series 'V' while the jerky animated aliens were not especially convincing either. It could have been so much better.