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The Double O Kid (1992)


Cast:

Corey "One of the ubiquitous Coreys from the teen idols" Haim is Lance Elliot
Brigette "From starring with Stallone in Cobra to this...." Nielsen is Rhonda
Wallace "Grand Nagus Zek from Star Trek: Deep Space 9" Shawn is Cashpot
Nicole "Why won't Scott Baio make Charles in Charge: Voyager?" Eggert is Melinda
John "Falls so low from being in Indiana Jones movies to this?" Rhys-Davies is Rudi Von Kseenbaum


What the box says:

The vicious criminal mastermind Cashpot has the plans to exterminate the world's greatest scientists by unleashing a computer virus into the flight network of their airplane. He nd his icy henchwoman Rhonda are ready to take over the world unless the Double O Kid, the youngest secret agent of all time, can stop them! Aided by a beautiful roller-skating waitress named Melinda, he has got to stop the virus, save the world and get home before Mom notices he's missing!


Plot:

Two janitors enter a secret lab prowling about. That automatically makes them evil. They copy some top secret documents when the alarm sounds. The security guards chase after our espionage minded custodial engineers. The janitors finally are able to kill the guards and escape.

The credits roll as we see a computer generated chess game being played.


Great computer graphics of a chess board...

Morning at a typical suburban home, Lance awakens. Grabbing his spy glasses, he thinks an enemy agent is about to attack him. His little brother tackles him and Greco-styled wrestling ensues. Quickly, Lance gains the upper hand.

Little brother runs off, letting the air out of Lance’s scooter. Mom tries calling Lance to breakfast. But, he’s so cool to not eat with his family. Is this to show how wily he is by skulking away? Finding the scooter’s flat, he takes his little brothers bike as more cheezy spy narration ensues.

Mom chases after Lance who manages to escape.

Lance gets to spy headquarters. Pamela the boss is pleased that the summer intern program is working so well.

Lance keeps having spy fantasies about meeting chicks in Paris.

John Rhys-Davies is met by Cashpot and Rhonda. An international report to protect the environment will cause the international consortium to lose profits. Cashpot is hired to create a computer virus to make the scientist disappear.

Cashpot takes John Rhys-Davies to a video arcade wired into his computer system. John Rhys-Davies tries a driving game. This game is a car with a video screen in front of it. The brakes don’t work. Each crash batters him even more before finally he is killed.

Lance is running errands at the agency. Trout has forgotten to send an important package to Weinberg in Los Angeles. He has Lance deliver it.

Stock footage of a plane landing is followed by stock beach footage with bad generic rock blaring tortures us.

Tyler and Rhonda, Cashpot’s hench people, are disguised as priest and a nun. They meet Weinberg, demanding the FFA security keycard. Lance delivers the package and is passed the keycard. Tyler threatens Weinberg after Lance leaves.

Outside of the building, Lance discovers the keycard and heads back to return it.

Rhonda pulls a gun on Weinberg. She realizes the delivery boy has the keycard. Tyler shoots Weinberg and his secretary. Lance manages to escape from the nefarious pair.

At a drive-in with roller skating car hops, Tyler tips Melinda. Rhonda is finding out about Lance.

Lance contacts Trout who doubts everything the kid says.

Cashpot is working on the virus. He learns Lance has the keycard. The plan will continue.

That night, at Lance’s hotel, he is about to take a shower when we are saved by the delivery of room service. Suddenly, Tyler and Bruiser break into the room. Lance is hiding. Tyler asks for the keycard. A cheap stunt later, Lance is battling the henchmen with a pillow. Would a pillow biter reference be appropriate?

Rhonda leaves the limo and heads upstairs. Tyler gets the keycard from Lance who is thrown out the window. He manages to climb back inside and retake the keycard. Rhonda gets to the room finding the unconscious Tyler and Bruiser.

Lance drives off in the limo.

A cruising Corey Haim on a stock night driving in Hollywood ensues with bad generic rock.

The next morning, Lance awakens in the limo at a parking garage.

Rhonda has hired a group of inline skating tough youths to attack Lance. We’re coasting into territory of the Prayer of the Rollerboys.


Prayer of the Rollerboys: The Quickening

Lance discovers a bag of money in the back of the limo. He leaves the limo and suddenly is surrounded by the hockey stick wielding inline skaters. Lance climbs down the parking garage onto a car that is driving off. The skaters are in hot pursuit. High sticking ensues.

Lance runs into Melinda (remember her from the drive-in 15 minutes ago?). She pushes him away in a shopping cart as the inline skaters chase them. Lance keeps throwing Melinda’s groceries at the skaters.

Melinda and Lance have found a hiding place but the inline skaters are close by. Lance turns a super soaker into a flamethrower. We get to see the skaters crash for about the 147th time. Lance and Melinda escape them. Farewell, inline skaters perhaps you could battle the Solarbabies next….

Finally, Lance and Melinda have time to introduce themselves to each other. Lance gives her some money for her trouble. Melinda wants to know what is going on. A sickly vaguely-romantic instrumental ensues.

They head to the zoo for the meeting Lance learned of.


Those fashions couldn't have ever been considered popular...
Searching for the contact, they find a dead man who had a thumb severed. A man is following our teenage heroes. It is Trout.

Bruiser, Tyler, and various other disposable henchmen are patrolling the zoo searching for Lance and Melinda.


Call the Crocodile Hunter to save me....

Trout who claims to be zoo security stalls Tyler. They get picked up by a limo.

Lance begins explaining what is happening. Lame romance is stopped by the chauffer Rhonda who uses a dart gun to knock the teens unconscious.

Trout calls Pamela. Things are to be handled quietly.

At Cashpot’s mansion, the virus is being developed. Lance and Melinda awaken in the dungeon.

Observers from the consortium have delivered the down payment to Cashpot. Lance and Melinda are brought to meet the criminal mastermind. This is the big scene to explain the plan to our hero. A computer virus will cause the plane carrying the environmental scientists to crash. Apparently, the virus will cause other planes to crash, too. But, Cashpot doesn’t care about innocent lives. Actually, there is another big flaw in this evil plan. Is there only one copy of this environmental report?

Lance and Melinda are taken to Murderworld; opps have to any Marvel Comics Arcade reference I get. Lance is to play a game to guide a mummy through a pyramid. Razor sharp blades on pendulums are swinging around him. Melinda is returned to the dungeon.

Cashpot continues to ready the virus.

Each level of the game Lance is playing has that danger he must contend with too. A lowering ceiling with spikes is the next danger.

Cashpot uses the keycard to initiate the virus.

Lance must deal with poisonous gas.

Bruiser comes into the dungeon hoping Melinda might need a little companionship. She can wait for Scott Baio or even Willy Ames to rescue her. She knocks Bruiser out with a shovel and escapes.

Melinda manages to rescue Lance from the poisonous gas. Good thing this movie was filmed in smell-a-vision.

In the control room, the plane’s computer is overridden. Somehow, they lose contact with the plane. Lance is destroying the satellite uplink. The consortium observers are getting distraught over how things are falling apart. Cashpot begins his backup plan.

Lance and Melinda are running from the henchmen. Tyler finally catches up with them. But, they are able to get the drop on him and lock themselves into Murderworld. Lance activates the chess game to gain access to Cashpot’s computer system.

The virus is still being transmitted.

Lance accesses the main system. Cashpot discovers Lance is using the system. The virus may backfire into Cashpot’s system unless they get rid of Lance. Apparently, each move transfers the virus to the opponent. Lance quickly has Cashpot in check. The system is now infected. Though, I’m not sure how a computer in a mansion can crash into the ocean.

Trout and several other agents are outside the estate.

Cashpot, Rhonda, and consortium observers run off. The agents get in a gun battle with the henchmen.

Cashpot and Rhonda are able to escape in the helicopter.

Trout is looking for Lance and Melinda. The agents capture everyone except Cashpot and Rhonda.

While Trout is searching for Lance, he spots Lance suckin’ face with Melinda on a monitor. More than that, apparently, the virus has been sent to the helicopter.

Rhonda and Cashpot are panicking before crashing.

Lance and Melinda leave the estate as a crappy rock love song assaults us.


What I say:

Before Spy Kids and Catch That Little Pest or whatever it's called, we had the teen spy movie. Well, fate at least kept Richard Grieco, star of If Looks Could Kill, was sent into the realm of low-budget action movies. But, Corey "Prayer of the Rollerboys" Haim played the teen spy in this movie. The mid-80s saw John Stamos spy epic, Never Too Young to Die, where he had to battle the evil hemaphroditic Gene Simmons. And, why does that sound more believable then a Corey Haim as a spy?

My biggest though not my only complaint has to be the continuous spy narration by Corey Haim (sorry, when doing some proofreading I originally typed Feldman, instead). Well, the numerous fantasies and women that don't mind suckin' his face ranks up there, too. Most spy movies at least have the spy who is an experienced espionage agent. But, Corey Haim is an intern capable of defeating numerous enemy agents? The stunts he’s pulls seem to be pulled out of Home Alone for being lame. The super soaker converted into a flame thrower. Years ago, there was a cartoon of James Bond Jr. If it were good, I’m sure I’d have a better recollection of it.

Wallace Shawn is known for his distinctive annoying voice. Grand Nagus Zek is remembered by Star Trek fans. He was also the guy who had the battle wits with Wesley in the Princess Bride. Remember “Never get involved with a Sicilian in matters of life and death”? I can't really complain about him as a wacko criminal mastermind. His performance was on automatic just act manic and collect the paycheck. I would like to know why he has the low-rent version of Arcade's Murderworld. That will be X-Men reference for this review.

Nicole Eggert, something nice should be said about her. She looks great in her car-hop outfit. It is hard to say your best performance was on Charles in Charge. Now, there is a great idea for a television show. A guy in college lives with a family to take care of their teenage daughters and son. If you have a dirty mind, I'm sure the bow-chikka-bow music is playing in your head or on your stereo. Granted, she did get on Baywatch eventually. But, was there a blonde actress in the 90s who wasn't on that show?

John Rhys-Davies is proof that you can fall from costarring with Harrison Ford to direct to video with Corey Haim(Sorry, had to removie Feldman here again). I can't say anything bad about his performance is what is at most a glorified cameo if anyone would recognize him. He coasted through a number of numerous B-movies such as the Trial of the Incredible Hulk playing the Kingpin. But, at least, the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy gave us him as Gimli the dwarf to redeem a lot of these movies.

Brigitte Nielsen is proof of how long being married to Sylvester Stallone will allow you to coast as an actress in Hollywood. For a while, she never had many starring roles besides Red Sonya. Unfortunately, her career didn’t last long enough to keep her out of Galaxis. Most movies have to have the evil hench woman with a terribly thick accent like Famke Jansen’s accent as Xenia Onnatopp in Goldeneye. At least, Brigitte wasn’t walking around with a German accent so thick it could cut bratwurst. Really, an accent just make it foreign enough to know it isn’t American.

Why is there a group of inline skating street hockey players? The Warriors had the mimes clad in baseball uniforms as a street gang in New York. Maybe, it is some sort of athletic connection to bizarre gangs. If New York has baseball and Los Angeles has hockey, would that mean there is some sort of football based gang in Chicago in some movie? Another thing, I will have to research....

Spy movies have been ripping off the famous "Double Oh" moniker. Perhaps, the one more well known would be Operation Double 007 starring Neil Connery. Yes, there is James Bond rip-off starring Sean Connery's brother. Even better, the actress playing Moneypenny is in it, too. This is a fairly warped movie. At least, that was what I picked up from the MST3K episode. Evil guy has blind workers working at his nuclear plant or something, like that. Neil apparently is a doctor of hypnotism.



1 1/2 NINJAS

Quotable Dialogue

“Prepare to exterminate that enemy agent with extreme prejudice.”
“Eagle Dawn joins forces with Charlene.”
“The church will pay generously.”
“Can you hold all calls please, we’re gonna be prayin’ for a while.”


Morals of the Story

Quality ensues when the DVD misspells language as laguage.
Corey Haim makes an acceptable chess piece.
Janitors that wax floors can create poisonous gas.
Women are attracted to Corey Haim?
In a fight, a pillow always beats a switchblade.
If you pour mustard on a bald man that will make him drop you.
Alligator bites are flesh wounds.
Severed thumbs are best served on ice.