Imagine a no-brainer mixture of THE TERMINATOR and PREDATOR 2 and you have the basis for DARK ANGEL, a cheesy but mildly entertaining buddy-buddy cop thriller with a sci-fi edge. Despite the clichéd plot, the film delivers the good with a non-stop barrage of action. Huge explosions, heavy weaponry, a high body count and plenty of action man heroics from the tall, high-kicking Dolph Lundgren equal a worthy viewing experience in my opinion and as such the film's basic formula is a success. Lundgren proves his worth as a no-nonsense hero in what was still a fun time for the American action film and he easily fits into his hard-man persona like a glove. Acting alongside Lundgren is young, geeky FBI man Brian Benben, and the script offers plenty of comic banter between the pair as their relationship develops from hatred into respect and eventual like. Yes, I know the buddy-buddy friendship idea is as old as the hills, but thanks to Lundgren and Benben's acting it works well here and never seems dull.Matthias Hues is the big, blond evil alien, complete with white contact lenses and a PREDATOR-style wrist box through which he sucks out people's brain fluids. Hues is an imposing menace despite only getting a single line of dialogue ("I come in peace") and the final battle in the deserted factory is highly engaging. The film also has its share of hi-tech weaponry, including a deadly killer frisbee (which looks like a CD and cuts people's throats) and a super-powered gun that just seems to make everything explode. Add on to this a government conspiracy, a gang of drug dealers out for blood and another alien out to get Hues, and what you have is an action-packed movie with plenty of comedy, blood, car chases and testosterone to recommend it. In a few instances the film manages to reach the giddy, destructive heights of an action classic (the four-way street battle between Lundgren, the alien, the cops and the drug dealers is such a moment) and with a few more scenes like these it could have been a classic itself, but instead just misses the mark.

I first watched Dark Angel in the eighties - which was impressive as it came out in 1990. However, the reason I keep telling myself I saw it about five years earlier was (a) because I was about twelve at the time and (b) because everything about Dark Angel says EIGHTIES.It's about a nasty old alien who comes to Earth to steal people's endorphin straight from their brains. However, luckily we have tough, no-nonsense cop Dolph Lundgren to sort the rotter out.It's no masterpiece by anyone's standards. When I first decided to watch it again after over twenty years, I worried that it might spoil the memories of my childhood favourite. I'm pleased to say that it didn't. Dark Angel is as ludicrously daftly enjoyable today as it was back in the eighties (sorry, nineties).It treads a fine line between being really dark and serious, and slightly tongue-in-cheek and self-knowing. Not many films can get away with this, but somehow Dark Angel pulls it off.The dialogue may be corny, the special effects aren't really that special, the acting is questionable (and the over-acting from the 'mad scientist' is truly a joy to behold) and you could spend longer listing the plot holes than actually watching the films, but, at the end of the day, Dark Angel is enormously silly fun.If you really don't want to think about plot, story or characterisation the why not immerse yourself in this 'Terminator-esque' action flick from the eighties +1? I defy anyone not to cheer when Dolph finally delivers his cutting put-down to the bad alien near the end of the film!

This is another childhood relic of mine and believe it or not it's one of my favorite films of all time, it's also my favorite film with Dolph Lundgren in it, he's always been one of my favorite if most underrated action stars which is something were becoming seriously scarce of.I really like the plot I think it's really unique for the alien invasion subgenere. Instead of the cliché approach of trying to take over the world, here this is an alien that is a drug runner and wants to kill humans not to take over their planet but to harvest humans to produce an illegal drug out of them. And I thought that was a wild but cool idea, it almost seems like it could of been a plot line for another "Men In Black" sequel, and this film was years before that movie. Let alone there really aren't that many films that deal with aliens and drugs except the movie and TV show "Alien Nation" but that's a different story.It also has the typical buddy cop format, it's nothing new but it's everything done right. I really like the back and forth between both Dolph's character Det. Jack Caine and Larry Smith (Brian Benben TV's "Dream On"). Jack is the cop that done't go by the book and Larry is the one that is technical and a higher up in a way but a bit inexperienced since he hasn't seen a lot of action. So it's a bit of an experienced cop and rookie relationship. I like that it does develop both have great lines and warm up to each other, even liked seeing some growth on Larry's part when slowly but surely he begins to become disillusioned with certain things he believes.The music is just excellent. I mainly love that theme song which is one of my favorite theme songs of all time.And of course in this film were here for both the action and effects and they are just excellent. The evil Alien (Mathias Hues) is one of my favorite fictional villains. It's true this alien doesn't say much except the line "I Come in Peace" probably the only English he knows which makes sense he's a alien after all but that line always gives me a bit of a chill because you know he doesn't. And this alien really doesn't need to say much of anything at all because he's a doer, he's just got such colorful and fascinating weaponry and gadgets to play with much like the "Predator" alien which is ironic since it's second film came out the same year and also takes place in the urban city. Let alone the size of this alien which makes him intimidating.He's got some drill wire to pump his prey with heroin and some spike on his wrist to extract the chemical he needs. But of course two of the most memorable are his powerful hand gun which is a bit like with the Lawgiver in the film/comic "Dredd"; because with this gun you can adjust the frequency of the gun to any intensity you want it to. It's awesome seeing him use it as ever single controlled burst shot just blows up a car, could possibly blow up a tank. Let alone the sound it makes, I wanted one of those guns.And of course the discs of death, the cinematography shot of those is just beautiful making them seem like a character of their own. As we those discs just bounce off walls or just seeing them zero in on their targets silting or thrusting at their throats.These features really give this alien an edge and really make both protagonists have to go for broke to win. The action sequences are well done and well choreographed, like a sequence where Jack Kane struggles with one of the Bad Aliens weapons the drill wire, it was almost like watching a tug of war.Overall "I Come in Peace" is awesome and I feel if your a fan of the action, sci-fi genre or even both then check it out. Not every alien coming to town is friendly.Rating: 4 stars

An alien humanoid is murdering citizens of Houston to gather stocks of a rare drug only found in the human brain. With the help of a FBI Agent a Vice Cop sets out to stop the killer, whatever the cost.Director Craig R. Baxley's Dark Angel or Stateside known as I Come In Peace is entertaining and of its time. Written by Jonathan Tydor and Leonard Maas Jr. Dark Angel is surprisingly above average for a sci/fi thriller for the time. The character of Jack Caine played by Dolph Lundgren is partially fleshed out and tries it's hardest to go against the 80's stereotype macho cop.The other characters are well rounded but it's the delivery and how the actors realise some of the characters that skewer the production including Lundgren. That said, aliens Azeck (the Good Alien) Jay Bilas and (Bad) Talec played menacingly by Matthias Hues steals the show. With his size, white eyes and hair Hues' composure Talec is particularly creepy. The unlikely pairing of Caine and FBI Agent Smith add that buddy cop element synonymous with action films, similar to Red Heat and Alien Nation and although worn adds some humour. There's an over powering sometime misplaced and intrusive score, that said the lasso extraction and insertion/extraction spike effect are basic but effectively done and sci-fi fans will get a kick out of the spinning blade reminiscent of Predator 2. There's lots of explosions, gun-play, chases and clichés aside, the partner murdered, cop suspension, no one believes to name a few there's a good science fiction tale.