DARK ANGEL (AKA I COME IN PEACE) REMAINS ONE OF THE UNDISCOVERED GEMS IN DOLPH LUNDREN'S CINEMATIC CAREER
Every now and then, there’s one of these older B movies that escapes me ... or maybe it's better to say that it simply escapes my timely attention.
It isn’t that I ignore films like Dolph Lundgren's Dark Angel; rather it’s that I’ve always had far too many films in my queue to watch, so some of the fluff -- good, bad, or ugly -- just gets brushed aside in the interim until I actually force myself to make time for them. That’s the case here – I wasn’t putting it off for any legitimate reason other than the fact that I had to make time for it. To be perfectly honest, I’ve always looked at Lundgren as one of those actors of a certain era who – if it had a weekly TV show – I’d probably watch mostly because he seems so damn charming in interviews. Sure, maybe his films weren’t all that grand … but give me a guy with his level of charisma and I’m there. Always.
Such is the case here as I finally made an appointment to enjoy one of his SciFi projects, the one better known as I Come In Peace.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
"Detective Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) thought he’d dealt with every kind of crime on Earth. But now, someone is using human bodies to manufacture narcotics. Someone – or something – not of this world. To the alien that has arrived on Earth, human represent ideal drug factories because of our endorphins. To detective Caine, the alien represents mankind’s worst threat. If the alien’s mission succeeds, our planet will be destroyed. Together with his straight-arrow FBI partner (Brian Benben) and his girlfriend, the city coroner (Betsy Brantley), Caine is going to send this alien home in pieces!”
It isn’t that I ignore films like Dolph Lundgren's Dark Angel; rather it’s that I’ve always had far too many films in my queue to watch, so some of the fluff -- good, bad, or ugly -- just gets brushed aside in the interim until I actually force myself to make time for them. That’s the case here – I wasn’t putting it off for any legitimate reason other than the fact that I had to make time for it. To be perfectly honest, I’ve always looked at Lundgren as one of those actors of a certain era who – if it had a weekly TV show – I’d probably watch mostly because he seems so damn charming in interviews. Sure, maybe his films weren’t all that grand … but give me a guy with his level of charisma and I’m there. Always.
Such is the case here as I finally made an appointment to enjoy one of his SciFi projects, the one better known as I Come In Peace.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
"Detective Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) thought he’d dealt with every kind of crime on Earth. But now, someone is using human bodies to manufacture narcotics. Someone – or something – not of this world. To the alien that has arrived on Earth, human represent ideal drug factories because of our endorphins. To detective Caine, the alien represents mankind’s worst threat. If the alien’s mission succeeds, our planet will be destroyed. Together with his straight-arrow FBI partner (Brian Benben) and his girlfriend, the city coroner (Betsy Brantley), Caine is going to send this alien home in pieces!”
Now, let’s be perfectly clear: Dark Angel is a B-movie.
The way I see it, in order to be effective B-movies need to have a few ingredients in good measure.
For the hero, director and stunt choreographer Craig Baxley brought in Dolph Lundgren at the height of his career.
Additionally, he brought in a young Benben as the comic relief.
David Koepp’s script (never mind the screen credits as Baxley has long credited Koepp’s rewrite as being the film’s saving grace) – based on the story from Jonathan Tydor and Leonard Maas, Jr. – cleverly brings in some dueling alien baddies with their own high-tech weaponry and highly compact drug-making technology.
So there's easily three out of the four cited above.
Lastly, there’s the stuntwork.
As Baxley was highly experienced in the stunt business, he delivers a singularly epic Dark Angel that’s definitely worth a view if for no other reason than one of last truly theatrical showings of practical stunt effects.
Actors – not stuntmen – are captured in-camera actually running away from the explosions and pyrotechnics. Actors are caught performing their own fisticuffs, so much so that an obvious failure to miss the mark by both Lundgren and a screen extra results in an actual screen kick to the head. (Lundgren has confirmed this in interviews throughout the years.) Though one could argue that the pacing to this 91 minute epic leaves a bit to be discovered, there’s no arguing that Dark Angel remains an epic of practical stunts; all of this was rendered in the days well before widespread CGI, making it an impressive assortment of high-octane action if ever there were one.
So, yeah, don’t try to convince anyone that the acting and dialogue is a bit hackneyed or hammy in Dark Angel. Hell, that’s part of its charm! This is Dolph Lundgren, after all, and Dolph isn’t exactly revered as any master Thespian. Clearly, this is all meant to be an old school-style thrill ride, meant to be enjoyed with one’s brain on ‘pause,’ and – on that level – the film is one of the best you’ve probably never heard of nor had any overwhelming desire to seek out.
Granted, Hollywood may not be clamoring for a reboot, but they could do with a healthy dose of realization that classic stuntwork never ever goes out of style … and Dark Angel has swagger in spades!
The way I see it, in order to be effective B-movies need to have a few ingredients in good measure.
- An action hero
- An interesting premise
- A respectable dose of wisecracks, and
- Plenty of eye candy theatrics.
For the hero, director and stunt choreographer Craig Baxley brought in Dolph Lundgren at the height of his career.
Additionally, he brought in a young Benben as the comic relief.
David Koepp’s script (never mind the screen credits as Baxley has long credited Koepp’s rewrite as being the film’s saving grace) – based on the story from Jonathan Tydor and Leonard Maas, Jr. – cleverly brings in some dueling alien baddies with their own high-tech weaponry and highly compact drug-making technology.
So there's easily three out of the four cited above.
Lastly, there’s the stuntwork.
As Baxley was highly experienced in the stunt business, he delivers a singularly epic Dark Angel that’s definitely worth a view if for no other reason than one of last truly theatrical showings of practical stunt effects.
Actors – not stuntmen – are captured in-camera actually running away from the explosions and pyrotechnics. Actors are caught performing their own fisticuffs, so much so that an obvious failure to miss the mark by both Lundgren and a screen extra results in an actual screen kick to the head. (Lundgren has confirmed this in interviews throughout the years.) Though one could argue that the pacing to this 91 minute epic leaves a bit to be discovered, there’s no arguing that Dark Angel remains an epic of practical stunts; all of this was rendered in the days well before widespread CGI, making it an impressive assortment of high-octane action if ever there were one.
So, yeah, don’t try to convince anyone that the acting and dialogue is a bit hackneyed or hammy in Dark Angel. Hell, that’s part of its charm! This is Dolph Lundgren, after all, and Dolph isn’t exactly revered as any master Thespian. Clearly, this is all meant to be an old school-style thrill ride, meant to be enjoyed with one’s brain on ‘pause,’ and – on that level – the film is one of the best you’ve probably never heard of nor had any overwhelming desire to seek out.
Granted, Hollywood may not be clamoring for a reboot, but they could do with a healthy dose of realization that classic stuntwork never ever goes out of style … and Dark Angel has swagger in spades!
Dark Angel (aka I Come In Peace) is produced by Vision PDG, Epic Productions, Trans World Entertainment (TWE), and Vision International. DVD distribution for this Blu ray release is being handled by Shout Factory.
As for the technical specifications, I suspect this film has possibly never looked better than it does on this disc; the sights and sounds are exactly what one needs to enjoy this well-intentioned Science Fiction thriller.
Lastly, if you’re looking for special features, then you have not only the theatrical trailer but also a nice 25-minute retrospective, a set of interviews with director Baxley, Lundgren, and Benben reminiscing about their time in the action-film trenches together.
RECOMMENDED.
Hey, make no mistake: Dark Angel is no perfect movie.
What it is, however, is a practically perfect B-movie, serving up equal amounts of glorious old school theatrics, practical in-camera stunt work, and brainless dialogue, characters, and circumstances … the perfect recipe for cinema fun! Dolph Lundgren is at his peak here in the tale of a cop on the edge, his partner without a clue, and an alien drug dealer whose “jonesing” for the juice!
As for the technical specifications, I suspect this film has possibly never looked better than it does on this disc; the sights and sounds are exactly what one needs to enjoy this well-intentioned Science Fiction thriller.
Lastly, if you’re looking for special features, then you have not only the theatrical trailer but also a nice 25-minute retrospective, a set of interviews with director Baxley, Lundgren, and Benben reminiscing about their time in the action-film trenches together.
RECOMMENDED.
Hey, make no mistake: Dark Angel is no perfect movie.
What it is, however, is a practically perfect B-movie, serving up equal amounts of glorious old school theatrics, practical in-camera stunt work, and brainless dialogue, characters, and circumstances … the perfect recipe for cinema fun! Dolph Lundgren is at his peak here in the tale of a cop on the edge, his partner without a clue, and an alien drug dealer whose “jonesing” for the juice!