Monster of the Day #1260

Although released in 1990, this is an ’80s action movie deep in its DNA. The villains are evil and monstrous, the kind of guys who after a heist blow up the entire building behind them to remove witnesses. Dolph Lundren is a cop on the edge with died black hair, which amounts to his characterization. He’s teamed up with a (get ready for it) by the book straight-laced FBI agent, played by Brian Benben because it was 1990. Benben was mostly known for getting to see a lot of actresses naked because he starred in an HBO series.

Anyhoo, it turns out that one of the drug dealers Lundgren is after is a towering alien who had an admittedly neat motive behind his deprivations on Earth. Plus, the film takes place at Christmas!

  • kgb_san_diego

    Wow — I had never even HEARD of this little beauty… On my watch list!

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Is this “I Come In Peace”?

  • bgbear_rnh

    So, a re-make of “Santa Clause Conquers the Martians” ?

  • Eric Hinkle

    By the description it sounds more like, “I’ll Leave You In Pieces.”

  • bgbear_rnh

    or “Try Hard”.

  • Carl Eusebius

    Hel-LO, spoilers!

  • sandra

    That looks like Lucius Malfoy after being cruciatused.

  • Flangepart

    Edger Winter’s hair gets a movie gig.

  • Yes it is.

  • Ericb

    and it really seemed that they just threw a dart on a board covered with a bunch of cool sounding titles for all it had to do with the plot

  • ericb

    Damn, I’m getting old, I don’t remember for sure but I think I actually saw this one in a theater when I first came out.

  • The Rev.

    I’ve seen a couple of movies with Matthias Hues here recently (just one of those weird things). While he’s not great, it turns out he can actually act when allowed to; which was more than I would have expected based on this, the only substansial role I’d seen him in up to that point.
    I’d suggest this for our Christmas movie, but I don’t think anyone else would go for it, even though I’m certain none of them have seen it. Besides, I’m already going to suggest the greatest Christmas movie ever: Die Hard.

  • Rock Baker

    I really need to see this one.

  • CaptNemo

    So these are the guys who are giving ” the probe” to the people’s of the earth.

    I believe it!

  • kgb_san_diego

    Apparently also called “Dark Angel”, which at least bears SOME resemblance to the plot. I am guessing “I come in peace” was some producer’s invention?

  • Ken_Begg

    The alien always says that to people, presumably to catch them off guard, or maybe he’s just puckish.

  • Ken_Begg

    Not really. The alien is in the first scene, and the exploding building follows soon after.

    I’ll admit that revealing the hero is a cop on a edge partnered with a by the book suit is a major spoiler.

  • bgbear_rnh

    don’t mention the chief that yells at our hero a lot and call him a “loose cannon”

  • Beckoning Chasm

    So it’s not one of those aliens-learn-about-humans-from-television things?

  • Ken_Begg

    I can’t remember it that well, as I saw it in the theater back in the day. It’s certainly possible.

  • Carl Eusebius

    I meant Eric’s comment. It’s been 20 years since I saw this, but I do believe Dolph says a riff on that line just before he kills the bad guy (oops, sorry).