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Alien Agent (2007) DVD Review
Alien Agent (2007) DVD Credits:
Alien Agent (2007) Directed by:
Jesse Johnson
Alien Agent (2007) Written by:
Vlady Pyldish
Alien Agent (2007) Cast:
Mark Dacascos, Amelia Cooke, Emma Lahana, Kim Coates, Billy Zane
Alien Agent (2007) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Alien Agent (2007) DVD Release Date:
7th April 2008
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Alien Agent (2007) Synopsis:

From a dyiing planet they've come: a rogue band of killers led by ruthless Saylon and sexy Isis. Their mission: Build a wormhole portal between our two worlds to facilitate a full-scale invasion of Earth and the ultimate extermination of the human race. Mankind's only hope for survival is Alien Agent Rykker, an unrelenting warrior, a weapons expert and a master of hand-to-hand combat. Together with a courageous young heroine, Rykker takes on this army of assassins from beyond the stars in an explosive, titanic battle that will decide the fate of the world.

Alien Agent (2007) DVD Review:

Alien Agent feels like a Jean-Claude Van Damme film that doesn’t have Jean-Claude Van Damme in it. I’m almost certain that the film must have been offered to him as a starring vehicle, only to have him turn it down. Either that or he’s just getting too old for these types of films. Whatever the case may be, a Van Damme movie just isn’t the same without Van Damme in it, and while I’m only half-joking that the film was written with him in mind, his goofy presence is still sorely missed.

Alien Agent contains the usual recycled plot about a dying alien race that is invading earth in order to make our planet their new home. However, one of the aliens sees things differently than the rest of his race and fights against his own kind for the good of humanity. The plot really isn’t paid much attention in a film like this and is only used as a means for connecting disparate action sequences together into a semi-coherent, semi-enjoyable movie.

Although the film sounds like it falls under the genre of science fiction, it is actually much more of an action movie. Presumably due to budget constraints, the aliens take the form of humans for the entirety of the film. Of course, they don’t look like any old humans; they take the form of good-looking, butt-kicking humans. As such, the film is more about action and less about sci-fi conspiracies, which only provide the backdrop for all of the on-screen mayhem.

The film opens with a riveting action sequence filled with neat cinematography, breathtaking stunts, and over-the-top explosions. During the first ten minutes I thought I had unfairly judged Alien Agent as a sloppy, straight-to-DVD movie prior to viewing it. After all, the first action sequence is on par with a lot of the A-list blockbusters currently hitting mainstream theaters. Unfortunately, the opening is so good that it sets the bar too high. It seems the filmmakers play all their best cards in the beginning and the rest of the film continually struggles to match its opening sequence. While the opening features a variety of stunt choreography including car chases, shoot outs, and hand-to-hand combat, the rest of the film consists almost entirely of fist fighting with a bit of gunplay here and there to mix things up. If the film as a whole could have displayed the variety featured in the opening scene it would have been a lot more successful as an action film.

Looking beyond the action sequences, Alien Agent features the usual weakness that you find in most straight-to-DVD action flicks. The acting is pretty wooden and sometimes laughable. The computer animated special effects look like they would be right at home in a film made 15 years ago. The romantic elements feel tacked on and cheesy without any character development to support them. And of course there’s an obligatory shower scene featuring some superfluous female nudity displayed by an obvious body double.

However, all of these things don’t necessarily have to result in an unwatchable movie. Sometimes a “bad” action movie can be an undeniable amount of fun to watch because of its weaker and sillier elements. Alien Agent borders on being a stupidly fun time, but doesn’t quite succeed mainly due to the blandness of its lead actor. As I mentioned earlier, the film feels like a Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie, minus the presence of Van Damme, and the film suffers for it. I won’t pretend for an instant that I think Van Damme is a good actor, but he has a certain charisma that gives his movies that extra B-movie charm. If anything, the lead actor in Alien Agent (Mark Dacascos) plays the part too realistically, thereby sucking all the fun out of it. After all, this isn’t a serious police thriller; it’s a goofy action flick about aliens that look like humans, and the film would have been more enjoyable had the lead role been played with the same level of cheese.

There are zero extras on the DVD besides a theatrical trailer.

Alien Agent had the makings for a stupid, fun, B-grade action movie. Unfortunately, due to some problems with the execution, it ends up only being a stupid action movie. The first ten minutes of the film are worth watching on their own, but as for the rest of the film, I can’t suggest anything more than a late night viewing on cable when there’s nothing else on.

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Alien Agent (2007) DVD review written by: Anthony Berk

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