Famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a story in which inhabitants of future Moon colonies think of their artificial low-gravity home as much better alternative to natural yet savage Earth. Lunar colonists in Lunar Cop, 1995 science fiction film directed by Boaz Davidson, might argue with that, but they don't have much of a choice - twenty-seven years ago Earth suffered ecological collapse that turned entire surface into inhospitable desert. The lucky and privileged few that had found shelter on the Moon managed to develop "Amaranth" - serum which might change the climate of Earth all over again. The stuff has fallen into the hands of dangerous fanatics and lunar policeman Joe Brody (played by Michael Paré) is being sent to Earth to stop the disaster. On the surface of ravaged Earth he finds small communities of survivors who are constantly threatened by motorcycle gangs, the meanest of them being led by evil Kay (played by Billy Drago). Brody decides to set his mission aside for a time being and protect the villagers.
Plot that doesn't make much sense, Terrence Paré's script that employs too many overused cliches from Mad Max and Terminator movies, and, finally Michael Paré in the lead role - all those are the reasons why Lunar Cop doesn't look very good at the first glance. Director Boaz Davidson, who used to make Israeli sex comedies in late 1970s and early 1980s, obviously can't cope well with the genre of science fiction and his abilities are further constrained by tiny budget, painfully visible in the scenes that feature poor special effects. On the other hand, some action scenes are impressive, and Billy Drago is very entertaining in another of his many over-the-top villain roles. In the end, Davidson manages something that many other more talented filmmakers failed to do - surprise audience with twist ending. Because of that, Lunar Cop, although far from being recommendable, is a much better film than it was supposed to be.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on September 25th 2001)
==
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ Cent profile https://beta.cent.co/@drax Minds profile https://www.minds.com/drax_rp_nc
Brave browser: https://brave.com/dra011
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/60079-lunar-cop?language=en-US
Critic: A
