Laser Mission

2025-05-12T06:38:05Z

174.228.99.70: /* Reception and legacy */

{{Short description|1989 film by BJ Davis}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Laser Mission
| image = Laser Mission poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name = 
| director = Beau Davis
| producer = Claus Czaika
| writer =
| screenplay = Phillip Guteridge
| story = David A. Frank
| based_on = 
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Brandon Lee]]
* [[Ernest Borgnine]]
* Debi Monahan
* [[Werner Pochath]]}}
| music = David Knopfler
| cinematography = Hans Kuhle Jr.
| editing = E. Selave
| production_companies = {{plainlist|
* Zimuth-INterfilm
* IMV Vertrieb Intl.
* Medien & Karat Film Intl. }}
| distributor = 
| released = {{Film date|1989|11||West Germany}}
| runtime = 84 minutes
| country = West Germany
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
'''''Laser Mission''''' is a West German [[action film]] directed by Beau J. Davis.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/414905/laser-mission#overview Turner Classic Movies]</ref> It stars [[Brandon Lee]], [[Ernest Borgnine]] and [[Werner Pochath]] in his final film role. The film was released under the title ''Soldier of Fortune''.

==Plot==
The plot concerns a [[mercenary]] named Michael Gold (Lee) who is sent to convince Dr. Braun (Borgnine), a [[laser]] specialist, to defect to the [[United States]] before the [[KGB]] acquire him and use both his talent and a stolen diamond to create a nuclear weapon. Dr. Braun is captured by the KGB and Gold is sent on a mission to rescue both him and the diamond. He has to enlist the help of Dr. Braun's daughter Alissa (Debi A. Monahan), whom he eventually falls for. The pair confront Col. Kalishnakov (Graham Clarke), whom they kill by hitting him with a truck in the climax of this story.

==Cast==
* [[Brandon Lee]] as Michael Gold
* Debi A. Monahan as Alissa
* [[Ernest Borgnine]] as Prof. Braun
* Graham Clark as Col. Kalishnakov
* Trevor Williamson as The Foot

==Release==
In the [[United States]] the film was released on home video in 1990 by [[Turner Home Entertainment]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Hartl|first=John|date=17 August 1990|title=Chong's 'Far Out, Man!' is en route to rental stores|work=York Daily Record|volume=229}}</ref>

The film was released in [[Australia]] directly on video in 1994.<ref name=":0" />

== Box office ==
In the US the film was a financial success.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Alvarez|first=Max J.|title=Big names look for bright lights in videoland|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-12-30-9412300287-story.html|access-date=2019-04-23|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

After Brandon Lee's untimely death in an accident on the set of ''The Crow'', movies such as ''Laser Mission'' saw a surge in video sales.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hunt|first=Dennis|date=May 9, 1993|title=A Resurgence of Interest in Films of Brandon Lee|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-04-09-ca-20800-story.html|access-date=2010-12-03}}</ref>

== Reception and legacy==
From contemporary reviews, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' described the film as a "lively, well-made actioner with humor" that had both Brandon Lee and Debi Monahan left to "struggle with a mediocre script."{{sfn|Kind.|1991}}
Jon Casimir of ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' did not like the film, finding the acting poor, with the plot and action scenes unconvincing.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Casimir|first=Jon|date=1 August 1994|title=Sly gets the joke in action spoof|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|volume=48,957}}</ref> Pat Gillespie of ''[[The Age]]'' found the direction clumsy but said that Lee's and action film fans would find the film entertaining.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Gillespie|first=Pat|date=28 July 1994|title=Basinger and a bevy of bad guys|work=The Age}}</ref>

From retrospective reviews, Jim Vorel and Kenneth Lowe of [[Paste (magazine)|''Paste Magazine'']] did not like it and found the continuity disorienting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/06/laser-mission-bad-movie-diaries.html|title=Bad Movie Diaries: Laser Mission (1989)|website=pastemagazine.com|date=18 June 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref> Dan Colón of ''Talk Film Society'' said the film is great for those with an appetite for action-oriented [[B movies]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://talkfilmsociety.com/columns/schlock-value-laser-mission-1989|title=Schlock Value: Laser Mission (1989)|website=Talk Film Society|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-20}}</ref>

[[RiffTrax]] spoofed the film on October 3, 2011.<ref>[https://www.rifftrax.com/laser-mission RiffTrax]</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |title=Variety's Film Reviews 1989-1990 |volume=21 |publisher=[[R. R. Bowker]] |isbn=0-8352-3089-9 |year=1991 |at=There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "November 22, 1989" |author=Kind. |contribution=Laser Mission (West German) |url=https://archive.org/details/varietysfilmrevi0021unse}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0099978}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=414905}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=laser_mission}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyGn5sshm98 Excerpts of RiffTrax's treatment on official YouTube channel]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFwqChmAPpU Official video trailer]

[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:1989 action films]]
[[Category:German action films]]
[[Category:West German films]]
[[Category:Cold War spy films]]
[[Category:English-language German films]]
[[Category:Films about mercenaries]]
[[Category:Films shot in Germany]]
[[Category:Films shot in Namibia]]
[[Category:Films shot in South Africa]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s German films]]
[[Category:English-language action films]]

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Laser Mission