This movie looks like it was made ten years ago. The special effects were horrible. At times, the movie was interesting, but the ending was awful. The story became predictable at times too. Nothing was unique about the movie, it was the same old Alien wants to destroy Earth type of story, and only these chosen few can save Earth. The music was horrible, it made the movie even worse and even more corny.
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steer0pike28 July 2002
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WritelySo12 January 2002I saw this movie totally expecting it to be unwatchable... my family rented it during our movie gag-a-thon, where we screened lousy films for a horrible sort of fun. It was very lo-fi... but we all really enjoyed it for what it was. We have a separate category around our house for this sort of film... and within that category it rates right up there with lo-fi movies like Supernova, Python, and Komodo. If you are renting 5 for 5, or if you see it come up on TV... it's not bad. Kind of "Red Dawn" meets "Independence Day" but never graduates from High School. Mark Hammil's presence and performance are redeeming qualities, but don't expect pure genius, I gave it a 5. Enjoy.
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Watching Laserhawk with low expectations, I found it to be a surprisingly tolerable movie. It is far from great but could have been much worse. Sure, the movie was much too rushed, we never really get much time to properly connect with the characters and I think the pacing was the main reason why that was. The dialogue will make anybody laugh at how awkwardly cheesy it is, the big battle is lazily choreographed and makes no real impact other than perhaps unintentional humour and the story starts off interestingly but meanders badly into total and senseless nonsense. Laserhawk however doesn't look too bad from a visual point of view, the sets are detailed and colourful, the costumes are fitting and the special effects were surprisingly decent. The photography and editing while nothing inventive or extraordinary at least doesn't look amateurish either. The music is not too generic and does fit the movie while not plodding too much, while the sound is not overbearing or murky. The acting is better-than-average, Jason James Richter is a likable enough lead and Melissa Galianos matches him and is quite cute and fiery. Mark Hamill's appearance is brief but still memorable, while Gordon Currie and Ivan Rogers acquit themselves well albeit with rather clichéd characters. All in all, not great but could have been far worse. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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ripple_style11 April 2007My brother has a tendency to buy DVD's of the $1.00 rack. Needless to say we've seen some real gems. "Laserhawk" is, and I think this is being kind here, the absolute worst piece of crap film I have ever seen, and I've sat through "Glen or Glenda"!! The acting was worse then awful, the special effects were completely lame (we actually thought this was from nineteen eighty something) and the story was every lame Sci-Fi Cliché that has ever been used. EVER!! "Dolemite" is better then this. And do you know what the worst part is? People on this site actually said it was GOOD!! For your own sake, and the betterment of humanity as a whole, save the buck, buy a cup of coffee.
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Runner up at Cannes in 1997, this sci-fi masterpiece is a film that any cinema aficionado should have in their collection. Part Cinéma vérité, part Neo-noir, the aptly titled "Laserhawk" is a movie that has changed the face of cinema, and for that matter the art of story telling as we know it.
Set in mid-western America at the turn of the millennium, "Laserhawk" stars Jason James Richter, who the academy has egregiously passed over numerous times after his Oscar worthy performances in "Free Willy" and "Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home". Richter's character borders a delicate balance between adolescent angst and brimming masculinity. Richter frames this duality between boy and man with incredible poise as he valiantly saves the world from a species of invading alien spiders. His acting clearly raises the bar for his accompanying cast, who help mold "Laserhawk" into a pinnacle of thespianism.
The story follows three teenagers (two of which are inhabited by alien spirits) who defend earth from a race of evil alien spider invaders who have returned to harvest their crop: humanity. Their tale, spanning from suburban America into the cosmos, is brilliantly interlaced with twists and turns, including a run in with a human inhabited by a 250 million year old alien played by Mark Hamill (who also happens to be the best star-fighter in the galaxy). Sadly he meets his death when he crashes an army supply truck at 15 mph (cue explosion).
The brilliant plot is supported by exquisite dialog weaved by the maestro screenwriter himself John A. Curtis ("Xtro II: The Second Encounter"). Characters transcend their very own existence and evolve almost into living beings that the audience cares and feels for, like when the trio's third wheel, M.K. Ultra aka Rodney Terence Stanko, questions his own existence by asking, "Am I only here for comic relief?" Yes, M.K. Ultra aka Rodney Terence Stanko, sadly you are.
People may question "Laserhawks" quote un-quote similarities to other sci-fi movies, such as the fact that the evil alien's mother ship looks very close to the one in "Independence Day" and that the heroes have to fly into the ship, dock with it and blow it up from the inside; the fact that Mark Hamill is cast as a star-fighter from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and takes part in leading an "intergalactic rebel force"; that the story slightly resembles various episodes of the "X-Files" and the movie "Alien"; or even that the concept of evil alien bugs was used in "Starship Troopers" and "Men in Black". There are so many movies out there that any film will have a coincidental similarity here and there. However, if you look deeper into the intricate story, "Laserhawk" is the precipice of originality.
Much can be said about "Laserhawk": a modern day epic with plot that rivals "The Godfather" in quality, with "Citizen Kane" caliber cinematography shored by "Matrix"-style special- effects, but for "Laserhawk" there is no comparison. This pièce de résistance or magnum opus if you will, could enter into the annals of cinema as the greatest movie ever made (that is until "Laserhawk II"). Let us thank director Jean Pellerin for leaving us with an open ending, so we may be privy enough to witness a possible sequel in our lifetime. -
Vang00028 July 1999Teens battle Aliens for the sake of the earth. Enough said.
I found no redeeming qualities in this movie, except for Mark Hamill. I was surprised he was part of a less than mediocre film like this one. But I guess it pays the bills.
The plot is along the lines of Teen-X-Files meets The Last Star fighter.
Too many terrible moments to list them all. And as for good parts ....I don't remember any. -
MetalGeek26 June 2007The Dollar DVD Addict returns, with 1997's LASERHAWK, a movie that was surprisingly decent (when compared to some of the other one-buck wonder DVDs that I've sat through in the past year, anyway)... I will admit, the only reason I picked this one up at the local Wal-Mart (aside from the irresistible price!) was because I saw the name of Mark Hamill, (Luke Skywalker himself!) above the title. I really feel bad for poor Mark, because he's a fine enough actor, yet aside from his celebrated cartoon voice-over work, he's been trapped in direct-to-video sci-fi Hell for going on three decades now!! LASERHAWK is basically a low-rent mish-mash of ideas borrowed from bigger budget movies like "Men In Black," "Independence Day," and "The X-Files," to name just a few. It starts off by telling us that the planet Earth was "seeded" by a race of aliens called "Arachnoids" 250 million years ago as a potential food source, then jumps to present day and introduces a midwestern teenager (the kid from "Free Willy," whatever his name is) who at the beginning of the movie creates a stir with a "UFO hoax" video that he whipped up in his garage, and who then comes into contact with a REAL U.F.O. just a few nights later (what are the odds?). These giant space ships start appearing out of nowhere and kidnapping all the townspeople till none are left but UFO Boy and his sorta-cute-but-by-the-same-token-kinda-annoying Gothic girlfriend, who points out that his "hoax" UFO and the real-life ones all bear a startling resemblance to space ships featured in a comic book drawn by a guy called M.K. Ultra. Off they go to track down Mr. Ultra, who as it turns out based the entire alien-invasion story line on the ravings of a mental patient named "Bob" at the hospital where he used to work before he took up cartooning. Before you can say "so he's NOT crazy after all, is he?" M.K. and the kids race to the hospital to break "Bob" (Hamill, in a mostly thankless but pivotal small role) out of the pokey. Seems that "Bob" is actually a reincarnated alien good-guy from 250 million years back, who's been waiting for the "Arachnoids" to return so he can battle them and save Earth. Oh, and Free Willy Kid and Goth Girl just happen to be reincarnated good-guy aliens too, but their memories of it were repressed till the alien invaders arrived. Got all that? Well, from there our heroes have to sneak onto an Air Force Base (which oddly enough is filled with vehicles marked "U.N." as in "United Nations," not "U.S. Air Force") to recover their spaceship called "Laserhawk" (thus justifying the title), which had been hidden for the last 250 million years until the military stumbled across it. Eventually they get the Laserhawk ship into space and there's a (rather underwhelming) battle royale to destroy the Arachnoid mothership. I could go on but what's the point? If this sounds like your bag it'll cost you a dollar at a Wal-Mart or Just-A-Buck near you to find out how it ends. I'll say that the special effects, though dated now, are better than expected considering this movie's el-cheapo origins, and the decent acting performances and some unintentional humor make up for its many flaws. LASERHAWK turned out to be a dollar well spent. Since this movie is now ten years old, I assume I shouldn't keep my hopes up for a sequel continuing the saga of Free Willy Boy, Goth Girl, and Comic Book Artist Guy, even though the ending seems to be trying to set up Part II.
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freakfire-12 September 2008Well it looks like the Anti-Christ (Gordon Currie) did have movies beyond Left Behind and Puppet Master. Well, I guess its a role. But as a movie, this movie was not only strange, it pretty much sucked.
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) went insane in this film. Talking about the knowledge of an alien invasion, he is sent to the 'loonie bin'. I would have sent him there years ago, but I don't have that kind of power.
Anyway, the day is saved and the ship was there too. Gordon Currie played one strange cat in this movie. But at least he got paid. Maybe next time he can take the Laserhawk for a test spin. With all the misguided special effects and bad casting, it couldn't get much worse. "D-" -
ShortCuteBlonde17 August 2002this movie was so good!!! i dont even know how to describe how great it was!!! my parents loved it and so did i, we bought like 8 copies for all of our friends, they loved it too so i dont understand why it has so low of ratings
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azflybaby3510 May 2007This was the best movie I have found in the Wal-mart DVD for a $1 bin. I expected a lot worse and was pleasantly surprised. The effects were pretty good, the plot was okay, most of it believable for a sci-fi plot, the acting was very even. (Mark Hamill didn't look like the teacher in drama class around a bunch of beginners)I hadn't seen most of the actors before but they did a nice job. (Minus the parents)
Not sure why I never heard of this movie when it came out. I wasn't in the cave then. So pull that spare change out of your couch and take a take a ride on the wild side. It all will be worth it.
On a scale of 1 to ten I rate Last Starfighter a 10.5 and Megaforce a 2 (but still love it) so a 7 isn't all that bad. -
ComicDiva15 January 2007This movie was so bad, it was funny. The acting was terrible, except by M.K. (Gordon Currie)...oh, it was so bad. The special effects were of no real effect. The plot is predictable. There is a scene where they must read an alien language and the boy from Free Willy figures it out in like one minute. I mean, he was writing it down and everything. One minute...hello, let's try to make it believable. Well, as much as can be expected from any Sci-Fi flick. This is a good Sci-Fi movie for a 5 year old. Perfect to introduce them to the genre. The whole cast, except for M.K., doesn't seem to be too bothered by the fact that the world is going to be destroyed. The cheesiness is over the top! Do not see it. Do not even 'think' about buying it from the Dollar Tree...walk on by!
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I liked this movie. It felt a lot like The Last Starfighter (which, as far as I'm concerned is a classic). Wait 5 years and it will become the next Last Starfighter. It just needs time to age and be eclipsed by more movies that play off the same theme.
I don't see why most people didn't like it. The fight scene is so cheese-tastic, it gives Star Trek a run for its money. That is the only bad thing i saw in the movie. But it was really really funny, so its not entirely bad.
This isn't a Mark Hammill movie. He is only on screen for 20 minutes tops. To compare this movie to the Matrix, he plays the Trinity. Completely necessary and entangled in the plot, but is ultimately only a delivery boy for the ending. -
madav19 February 2007Laserhawk was one of the $1 specials at a dollar store. Previously I bought old Western's (Bonanza, etc) and some good luck at that price before...
I'd never heard of Laserhawk before, but enjoyed Mark Hamill in the Star Wars Trilogy, in 2 episodes of "the Flash" (as the Bizarre Trickster), and other film appearances over the years. Laserhawk seemed potentially promising, so for a dollar - I gave it a shot!
I like high tech SciFi films, ones with great story lines, but also enjoy some of the low tech "B" films with often half written plots.
This film lies somewhere between. The background music and effects work with the mood of this film. The story line has a lot of quirky twists. It's not a totally predictable plot. And, though not modern high tech effects - think of the classic War of the Worlds (1940's), not state of the art, yet it still works well today! For those who enjoyed the original Star Trek Series - effects are at least on a par with that.
3 teens are the main characters. I won't even hint of how Mark Hamill fits in. His part isn't the biggest, but it is critical. (One insider joke easy to miss is when they pick Mark up in "Sunnydale", which is where "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" came from!).
If you like the offbeat, this will likely keep your interest, and be entertaining. If you only like state of the art effects and academy award performances - this may not be your film.
The introduction of this film announces a great menace to the Galaxy, a 250 million year old alien race. There is an unraveling mystery, drama, suspense and action. It never gets gross or "too" intense.
I enjoyed it. Will give this one a "7", for fun and interesting plot twists. -
Vomitron_G17 April 2011Well, this alien invasion sci-fi quickie tries really hard, but it's sure not on par with movies like "The Last Starfighter" (1984) and similar efforts. If you're a ten-year-old, you'll probably think this is one of the coolest flicks you'll ever see. And since I can get with that, I'm being very generous with my rating too. The special effects are entertaining and the film tries to maintain a decent pace. But the story is a heap of nonsense, really. Oh, and Mark Hamill stars in this film. Who would have thought that the Mighty Luke Skywalker would end up in a looney-bin on earth? Watch "Laserhawk", if you don't believe me.
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mrslee200818 February 2007This movie, in a word, sucked. I mean, the graphics were terrible, the acting was atrocious, and the plot was nonsensical. The only reason we laughed our way through it was because of the comments we were making about the plot holes. For instance; the guy that they knocked out in order to get onto the air force base looked nothing like Mark Hamill. And the fact that his friend is stoked about the whole hoax and then randomly ditches him... it just doesn't make sense. None of it made sense... especially them breaking Mark Hamill's character out of the institute. It's really not possible. This movie is so freaking dumb that I'm glad that we only spent a dollar on it. That is why it got such a bad rating.
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Burnie10 October 1999Worst excuse for a movie I have ever seen. While the concept itself is relatively interesting, the execution is beyond pathetic. I can't believe that someone was paid good money for any part of this film. What's worse, I can't believe that Sci-Fi is so bad off for content that they'd agree to release it as a Sci-Fi original. If you're flipping through channels and happen upon this movie, keep on flipping.
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lord_konan13 September 2007INTRO: The thought of this movie should be removed from the brain of every person the planet. This movie is so bad that if Barney had his own movie, you'd think Barney was a cultural phenomenon. I have to admit when I got the movie I thought it would be awesome just because Mark Hamil was in it, but I was sadly proved very wrong. Mark's part was very short, he popped up in the middle of the film and died 2 minutes in a very stupid fashen. When I saw him I was sure the movie would get better from then on but I was wrong again. The film gives you some great exsitment and quickly takes it away.
PROS: Mark Hamil's acting was good. Surprisingly good special effects. It ended.
CONS: Too quickly paced. The story was bad. Seemed like a lower budget moronic version of Star Wars Episode IV. -
brentage500025 February 2005I don't know why so many people are saying that this was a bad movie. I saw it 5 years ago and I still remember it, which to me makes it seem like at least an okay movie. The costumes were pretty good, and it always struck me that the way the characters behave in this movie is exactly how me and my friends would behave if we ran into something like that. I'm a little disappointed that there was never a sequel or spin-off miniseries, since the three lights at the end saying that there's another attack happening elsewhere kinda suggested a possible series that would be right at home on the Sci-Fi Channel. All in all, I enjoyed this movie and would love to get it on DVD...you wouldn't happen to know where I could find it, would you?
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scifinikki3 January 2003I thought it was a very good movie! I don't know why so many people hated it. I got very into it and I felt like i had to watch it a zillion times. It's not every movie I have an urge to watch over and over again, but this was one of them.
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Spen-210 September 1999Although 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.