Action superstar Brandon Lee portrays rebellious government agent Michael Gold who is sent on a desperate mission to a Soviet-controlled African nation in order to uncover a top-secret laser... Read allAction superstar Brandon Lee portrays rebellious government agent Michael Gold who is sent on a desperate mission to a Soviet-controlled African nation in order to uncover a top-secret laser weapons operation and destroy it.Action superstar Brandon Lee portrays rebellious government agent Michael Gold who is sent on a desperate mission to a Soviet-controlled African nation in order to uncover a top-secret laser weapons operation and destroy it.
- Alissa
- (as Debi Monahan)
- Manuel
- (as Pierre Knoessen)
- Customs Official
- (as Ramalao Makhene)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDavid Hasselhoff was originally considered for the role of Michael Gold.
- GoofsWhen the timer is set for the bomb in the desert cave at ten minutes (10:00), the countdown starts at 9:99 instead of 9:59 like a normal clock would.
- Quotes
Alissa: [sarcastically, referring to Michael] Oh, such a gentleman.
Michael Gold: [under his breath] Oh, such a bitch!
- Alternate versionsThe German and British VHS releases features an extended decapitation scene and a bit more violence than other prints of the film.
- ConnectionsEdited into Ninja the Mission Force: Ninja Begininator (2012)
I'm not endorsing "Laser Mission." From the opening credits I could tell that it was very cheaply done. And, at least on this DVD, the audio is about a full second behind the visual! The movie is about a maverick government agent named Michael Gold (played by Lee), who goes on a mission to save a scientist named Braun (Ernest Borgnine), who is being forced by the Soviets to build a nuclear weapon, combining a laser with a huge diamond. Great stuff! Brandon's acting is okay, as is Borgnine's. I like Brandon's sarcastic wit. But much of the rest of the acting is pretty amateur, especially that of his character's love interest, Alissa (Debi Monahan) who might pass for a decent porno actress.
The action scenes aren't bad for a low budget movie but the script is weak and loaded with '80s action movie clichés. And it's especially humorous to see Alissa - who looks and acts like a typical blonde, air headed bimbo - joining Michael in blowing away dozens of bad guys! She also does some pretty impressive driving - in a peace wagon, no less - while Michael blows away still more bad guys from the back seat!
But there are two things that make the movie worth the dollar for me. One is that parts of it are so bad that they're hilarious, including one time when Brandon and a guy who he's fighting both fall off of a building about 30 feet high and Brandon lands just gets up and walks away! The other guy wasn't so lucky, falling on the spikes of a fence and dying.
And the other thing I love about the movie is the music, done by none other than David Knopfler of Dire Straits. He has one straight ahead rocker that is played during the opening credits, closing credits and several times in between. I guess they were either on a tight budget so they could afford little music or they really loved that song! I think it's played six times during the movie!
I'm pretty sure that's the only vocal song in the movie. The instrumental stuff is great, too. I detect a little Pink Floyd influence in David's music.
One other note of unintentional humor from "Laser Mission," in the movie, Brandon's character wants the mission so bad that he's not doing it for the money. Yet the aforementioned song that's featured over and over is titled "Mercenary Man!" 3/10
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,300,000 (estimated)
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![Ernest Borgnine, Brandon Lee, Debi A. Monahan, and Werner Pochath in Laser Mission (1989)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzJlNDEwZWQtMDBkZS00YjU5LTg1YjUtMGRhNGM4NmRkMDAwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjY3MjUzNDk@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,3,90,133_.jpg)