1990 action movie
Rating: 3/20 (Jeremy: 1/20; Josh: 6/20; Johnny: 4/20; Ozzy: 3.5/20; Fred: 3/20; Libby: 4/20)
Plot: The titular cop takes on some bad guys!
I'm just glad that the hat is featured prominently on the poster. With that oversized cap and the sunglasses, not to mention the huge explosion in the background, the action hero seems insignificant which sounds about right to me since Ronald L. Marchini doesn't really scream action hero or anything. And that hat is really important to the guy. I'm talking really important. Like, plot-diverts-insanely-because-of-the-hat important. Of course, just look at that thing. That's a nice fucking hat.
I would have suspected that this movie was just a few friends rounding up some money and deciding to make a sci-fi action movie, plotted extemporaneously, after convincing a pair of attractive wannabe actresses that they were legit. But Meg Thayer is a legit actress. I mean, she played "Party Girl" in Road House right before playing Lena in this, and she also played "Girl in Kitchen" in something called Nudity Required which is a movie about a couple guys who "use the casting couch to seduce women while pretending to be producers" (from imdb) which sounds exactly like what I thought was going on with Omega Cop. And Jennifer Jostyn was in both House of 1000 Corpses and Deep Impact, and they didn't let bad actresses in those movies. Anyway, a ploy by the producers of Omega Cop to get women wouldn't explain how Adam West got involved anyway. Unless--and this is a strong possibility--Adam West just happened to be in the neighborhood, was thirsty, and did this for some alcohol. West hilariously seems to be more and more inebriated as the movie goes on, and watching Adam West phone it in under the influence of alcohol makes this whole thing worth. It's more entertaining than the barely-existent plot (something about solar flares and slavery) or the incoherently-choreographed gun fights. As Josh said, "Hearing West say 'whore house' is absolute music." There is something about that voice, and you get the added bonus of seeing West in a bolo tie if that's something you've always wanted to cross off your bucket list. So see this for the drunk Adam West, the lame action hero (Marchini, by the way, does have 12 acting credits, half of them containing either the word "karate" or "warriors."), and the soundtrack, most of which is diegetic, provided by a "mix tape" of all things.
This gem was followed by Karate Cop which also has Marchini but lacks an Adam West but tries to make up for it with a David Carradine who was also probably promised all the alcohol he could drink to be in the movie.
Marchini certainly isn't the action hero we'd expect, but it says right on his hat that he's "Special." So, I'll cut him some slack.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice the type of people our "hero" surrounded himself with? They're all incompetent. The women were constantly arguing with each other, West couldn't keep the bad guys out, and the doctor friend couldn't even kill himself. I mean, YOU'RE A DOCTOR! You're entire profession is built on making difficult, time-sensative decisions and following through with them.
You should definitely watch Karate Cop. The puns are worse, the action is more poorly choreographed, and the hat makes a come back. Travis is still not only the last cop on Earth, but also the last eunuch, as well. He refuses to accept any female advances. The sound track to the sequel is less noticeable, but blows twice as hard in one part of the film. If you watch it, I'll let you guess where they historically and royally screw up the genre of whiney country music.