Monday, February 27, 2012

I COME IN PEACE....Wait...DARK ANGEL? WTF?

Why is the U.S. release of I COME IN PEACE titled DARK ANGEL?  This isn't nerdy anime.  This is a badass cops versus a drug dealer from outer space movie whose organs are made of cottage cheese.  The alien is a really tall guy who pumps people full of heroin and the spikes their brains and extracts the endorphins that are produced so he can sell them in space.  If Dolph doesn't stop him more will come and it will be this big time slaughter.  Coolest thing of all is the alien only knows one phrase in English.  That phrase is "I come in peace". 

So Dolph is an undercover cop trying to bust a local big time drug lord.  We are introduced to his character listening in on a conversation from his car.  His partner is inside doing a drug deal with the boss himself.  But across the street some not nice guys rob a liquor store forcing Dolph to leave his post and kick some butt.  Unfortunately this happens as his partner is exposed as a cop and murdered.  The boss leaves laughing actually enjoying the moment.  Now I just wanted to point this scene out because the rest of the movie is the standard two cops paired together who don't like each other story.  We already have seen this kind of story before.  Obviously these two will hate each other but eventually find themselves friends after saving each others life once or twice.  I COME IN PEACE should be noted as one of those rare action films that leaves a big loose end.  Dolph never avenges the death of his partner.  I guess big alien trumps that story.  You see the drug boss goes on vacation.  We never see him again.  In fact he sends Dolph a Christmas card with a picture of the boss in Hawaii or some place tropical with two hot chicks having the time of his life.  He never gets his comeuppance.  He gets away with murder and gets to boast about it.  I find that kind of shocking.  There should have been this big scene at the end where all the bad guys get together to do a really big drug deal but the alien shows up with Dolph and his new partner following closely behind to start a big shoot out between goons, cops and alien.  The whole thing should have ended with all the bad guys dead.  It kind of bothers me that it didn't.  I figure the writers forgot all about that guy and they were like "Whoops" when the film was done.

This is still a really good movie.  The tall alien is pretty badass.  He likes to shoot what I assume is his collection of Celine Dion Cd's into people's throats.  I guess liking Celine Dion was just a passing phase from back in the day.  Now he looks more like he is into Norwegian Death Power Metal.  He is a formidable foe for Dolph to say the least.  Dolph has to rely on the alien's own technology to blow him up at the end.  There is a cop alien who shows up to die and give Dolph his gun that is really good at blowing up cars.  It fires and stuff just explodes.  That is it.  I could use something like that in CALL OF DUTY.  I can't help but notice how similar this movie is to Rutger Hauer's SPLIT SECOND.  Both are about two polar opposite cops who come together to bring down a strange creature.  Also both movies have that mousy gnome faced actor Michael J. Pollard in them.  Both have an exploding monster at the end of them too.  It is just kind of weird.

I don't have much to say about this one.  It is good and you should watch it.  Just don't call it DARK ANGEL.  This isn't a film for the Nerd-o's.  THE END.


Jason

2 comments:

  1. i loved this film, i think the line that was used a couple of times was "i come in peace", you go in pieces.... dolph is one of those actors you either love him or hate him... i love him in a totally manly way... can i recommend this

    http://youtu.be/jMDXLrTs6Lo

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  2. I haven't seen this in so many years, I remember seeing it on Cinemax back in the early 90s and liking it.

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