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Laserhawk

Threat advisory: Low - Low risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The battle for the future is about to begin!

250 million years ago a carnivorous super-species known Aractoids introduce life on a new planet - Earth - planning to return in the future to harvest their human crop. Intergalactic peace keepers board their ship, Laserhawk, and attempt to stop the aractoids but are ambushed. The ship plunges into the Earth's ocean and the crew perish. Destined to defeat the evil aractoids, their souls travel forward in time and inhabit the bodies of human beings.

Present day... Zach (Jason James Richter) and Cara (Melissa Gallianos) are eccentric high school students obsessed with UFOs. Brought together when their town is supposedly abducted by aliens, the two begin to have memories of their earlier mission and the crashed Laserhawk. With encouragement from a prophetic comic book writer, MK Ultra (Gordon Currie), and an eccentric mental patient, Bob (Mark Hamill), the four set out to find their ship.

With only a day left before the Aractoids return, Zach and Cara steal Laserhawk and fly into battle as they did some 250 million years ago. Set against stunning visual effects and a pulsating, cutting edge soundtrack, the teenagers take to the sky for the ultimate, final confrontation - a spectacular aerial duel with the future of the planet at stake.

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Groundhog day 4.

Laserhawk is a mish-mash of B-movies from the 50s through to the 90s, thrown together without thought to logic, reality, forethought of good taste. Four white, middle class Americans get together and save the Earth from extinction by a race that is 250 million years more advanced than the technology the heroes are using. Hello? Anyone else see a wee plot hole in there?

Jason James Richter is a cute teen hero type, but he'd do better to get into teen high flicks like American pie. Melissa Gallianos is a mall goth (just unusual enough that middle-America will think she's a weirdo, but not at all into the gothic movement). Gordon Currie has a future playing slightly wild good guys, as long as the character doesn't have to do anything serious. Mark Hamill... well... he's the only lead actor from Star wars that hasn't made it as an actor. That's not to say he's bad, he's actually quite good, but no-one has yet found a role that he can do in film. Laserhawk does nothing for his résumé.

Laserhawk is a Molly Ringwald kind of science fiction film: bad and bland, but you can't stop yourself watching. A free piece of advice: beware any film with a lead character called Zach. Trust me on this one.

Security censorship classification

PG (Medium level violence, medium level coarse language)

Not for public release in Australia before date

VHS rental: 8 December 1999