Deadly Weapon

Last updated
Deadly Weapon
Directed by Michael Miner
Written byMichael Miner
Produced by J. Larry Carroll
Peter Manoogian
Starring Rodney Eastman
Robert Benedetti
Arell Blanton
Cinematography James L. Carter
Edited by Peter Teschner
King Wilder
Music by Guy Moon
Production
company
Distributed by Trans World Entertainment
CBS/Fox Video
Release date
August 15, 1989
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million [1]

Deadly Weapon is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Michael Miner and starring Rodney Eastman.

Contents

Plot

A teenager named Zeke, who fantasizes that he is from outer space, is bullied by some other teens at school and deals with a drunken father, runaway mother and a sister who delights in being nasty to him. He finds a lost experimental military weapon in a river near his home. The weapon fires anti-matter X-rays. Zeke uses it for self-defense as a means to deal with his persecutors, both at school and at home.

An army team led by the overzealous Lt. Dalton, responsible for originally losing the weapon, is sent to recover the weapon before its unstable reactor overloads and causes a meltdown. The situation degenerates into a siege.

Cast

Production

Michael Miner wrote the film as an "anti-weapons" film and wrote the film with specific intent on reaching a younger audience. [1]

RoboCop creator Michael Miner was invited by Charles Band to create a sequel to the 1978 film Laserblast , which was also produced by Band, in August 1986. Miner at this time worked as second unit director on RoboCop set. Although planned as a sequel to Laserblast, while writing the script - and partially due to financial constraints-, Band and Miner decided to make an original film, based on the central idea. [2] Adapted from a story by George Lafia. [3]

Deadly Weapon was filmed from May through June of 1987 in and around Southern California. [1] According to Miner, he consulted with a physicist to get their opinion on whether the ray gun in the film looked plausible. [1] Due to the film's low budget Miner made the film more character focused rather than effects focused comparing the final film to a mixture of Badlands by way of WarGames . [1]

Reception

Creature Feature found the movie to be unusually sensitive for a Charles Band production, giving the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars. The review praised the subtle handling of the theme of teen suicide as well its addressing the problems of growing up in a dysfunctional family. [4]

Awards

Rodney Eastman was nominated for a Saturn Award best performance by a young actor. [5]

Home Release

The movie was released on video by Trans World Entertainment on August 15, 1989. While a DVD release occurred in the Netherlands, no plans have been made to release the film onto DVD in the United States.

Related Research Articles

<i>Predator</i> (film) 1987 science fiction action film by John McTiernan

Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. It is the first installment in the Predator franchise. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the leader of an elite paramilitary rescue team on a mission to save hostages in guerrilla-held territory in a Guatemala Central American rainforest, who encounter the deadly Predator, a skilled, technologically advanced alien who stalks and hunts them down. Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Richard Chaves, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, and Shane Black are supporting co-stars.

<i>RoboCop</i> 1987 American science fiction action film by Paul Verhoeven

RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit in the near future, RoboCop centers on police officer Alex Murphy (Weller) who is murdered by a gang of criminals and subsequently revived by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products as the cyborg law enforcer RoboCop. Unaware of his former life, RoboCop executes a brutal campaign against crime while coming to terms with the lingering fragments of his humanity.

<i>Predator 2</i> 1990 science fiction action film by Stephen Hopkins

Predator 2 is a 1990 American science fiction action film written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, directed by Stephen Hopkins, and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Peter Hall. It is the second installment of the Predator franchise, and sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall reprising the title role of the Predator. Set ten years after the events of the first film, in Los Angeles, the film focuses on a disgruntled police officer and his allies battling a malevolent and technologically advanced extraterrestrial Predator.

<i>Road House</i> (1989 film) 1989 American action film by Rowdy Herrington

Road House is a 1989 American action film directed by Rowdy Herrington and starring Patrick Swayze as a cooler at a newly refurbished roadside bar who protects a small town in Missouri from a corrupt businessman. Sam Elliott co-stars as a bouncer, the mentor, friend, and foil of Swayze's character. The cast also includes Kelly Lynch as Swayze's love interest and Ben Gazzara as the main antagonist. A direct sequel, Road House 2, was released in 2006.

<i>RoboCop 2</i> 1990 American science fiction action film by Irvin Kershner

RoboCop 2 is a 1990 American cyberpunk action film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Frank Miller and Walon Green. It stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bauer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. It is the sequel to the 1987 film RoboCop, the second entry in the RoboCop franchise, the last to feature Weller as RoboCop, and the last film Kershner directed before his death in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Neumeier</span> American film director

Edward Neumeier is an American screenwriter, producer and director best known for his work on the science fiction movies RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He wrote the latter's sequels Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Steve Barron

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American superhero film directed by Steve Barron and written by Todd W. Langen and Bobby Herbeck, from a story by Herbeck. It is the first film adaptation of the comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It stars Judith Hoag and Elias Koteas with the voices of Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, Corey Feldman, and Josh Pais. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles follows the Turtles on a quest to save their master, Splinter, with their new allies, April O'Neil and Casey Jones, from the Shredder and his Foot Clan.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2</i> 1987 film by Lee Harry

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 is a 1987 American slasher film edited, co-written with Joseph H. Earle, and directed by Lee Harry. It is the sequel to 1984's Silent Night, Deadly Night, and was followed by Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! in 1989. Its plot focuses on Ricky Caldwell, the brother of Billy Chapman, and his own trauma regarding his parents' Christmas Eve murders, which triggers his own killing spree. The film relies heavily on flashbacks, utilizing approximately 30 minutes of stock footage from the original film.

<i>Laserblast</i> 1978 science fiction movie produced by Charles Band

Laserblast is a 1978 American independent science fiction film directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, widely known for producing B movies. Starring Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith and Gianni Russo, featuring Keenan Wynn and Roddy McDowall, and marking the screen debut of Eddie Deezen, the plot follows an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him.

<i>RoboCop</i> (live action TV series) 1994 Canadian TV series

RoboCop is a 1994 cyberpunk television series based on the RoboCop franchise. It stars Richard Eden as the title character. Made to appeal primarily to children and young teenagers, it lacks the graphic violence of the original film RoboCop and its sequel RoboCop 2 and is more in line with the tone of RoboCop 3.

<i>Parasite</i> (1982 film) 1982 film by Charles Band

Parasite is a 1982 American science fiction horror film produced and directed by Charles Band. The film is set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future in which the United States has been taken over by a criminal organization which unwittingly creates an uncontrollable deadly parasite and sets it loose on the population. The film received negative reviews from film critics, who viewed it as a poorly written B movie with unconvincing special effects. The film features actress Demi Moore in her first major film role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neill Blomkamp</span> South African and Canadian filmmaker (born 1979)

Neill Blomkamp is a South African and Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the co-writer and director of the science fiction action film District 9, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the director of the dystopian science fiction action film Elysium, which garnered moderately positive reviews.

<i>RoboCop</i> (American TV series) Animated television series based on the 1987 film of the same name

RoboCop is a 1988 superhero animated series based on the 1987 movie RoboCop. The cartoon aired as part of the Marvel Action Universe programming block. The series was animated by AKOM Productions.

<i>Alien Arsenal</i> 1999 TV series or program

Alien Arsenal is a 1999 made-for-television science fiction film directed by David DeCoteau. It is a loose remake of an earlier Charles Band production, Laserblast. It is also known as Teenage Alien Avengers.

<i>I Come in Peace</i> 1990 film by Craig R. Baxley

I Come in Peace is a 1990 American science fiction action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, and starring Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley and Matthias Hues. The film was released in the United States on September 28, 1990.

<i>Psycho Cop 2</i> 1993 American film

Psycho Cop 2 is a 1993 American slasher film directed by Adam Rifkin, and written by Dan Povenmire. It is the sequel to the 1989 film Psycho Cop.

RoboCop is an American cyberpunk action media franchise featuring the futuristic adventures of Alex Murphy, a Detroit, Michigan police officer, who is fatally wounded in the line of duty and transformed into a powerful cyborg, brand-named RoboCop, at the behest of a powerful mega-corporation, Omni Consumer Products. Thus equipped, Murphy battles both violent crime in a severely decayed city and the blatantly corrupt machinations within OCP.

<i>Lemonade Mouth</i> (film) 2011 television film directed by Patricia Riggen

Lemonade Mouth is a 2011 American teen musical drama television film, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Mark Peter Hughes. The film was directed by Patricia Riggen and written by April Blair, and stars Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks, Naomi Scott, Hayley Kiyoko and Blake Michael. The film tells the story of five high school students who meet in detention and form a band to stand up for their beliefs and to overcome their individual and collective struggles.

<i>RoboCop</i> (2014 film) 2014 film by José Padilha

RoboCop is a 2014 American science-fiction action film directed by José Padilha and written by Joshua Zetumer, Edward Neumeier, and Michael Miner. It is a remake of the 1987 film and the fourth installment of the RoboCop franchise overall. The film stars Joel Kinnaman as the title character, with Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jennifer Ehle, and Jay Baruchel in supporting roles. Set in 2028, a detective becomes critically injured and is turned into a cyborg police officer whose programming blurs the line between man and machine.

A deadly weapon is a lethal instrument.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Morrish, Bob (March 1988). "Deadly Weapon". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Deadly Weapon (1989)". ideas.rifftrax.com. August 23, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Deadly Weapon (1989)". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  4. ↑ Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition
  5. ↑ "Home". saturnawards.org.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.