LUNAR COP (1994)
Directed by: Boaz Davidson
Screenplay: Terence Pare
Starring: Michael Pare, Billy Drago & Walker Brandt
Cop. Beverly Hills Cop. Robocop. Manic Cop. Psycho Cop. Omega Cop. New York Cop. Cyborg Cop. And, yes, even…Lunar Cop. Yep, the moon has only gone and got itself a police force in this mega barmy mid-90s Nu Image action-fest. It’s the future, the earth has been scorched and a portion of the human race (mainly rich douche bags!) live on the moon hoping to one-day return to earth. This dream may just be around the corner with the development of some kind of special formula/serum (I forget what it was called!) that can make the earth habitable again (or was it destroy it?). Anyways, the rich douche bag’s pack off their best moon cop (Pare) to earth to find said serum (once he’s kicked some ass on the moon thwarting off some terrorist types!) and when he gets there he discovers there are many humans already living and sustaining life on the once destroyed earth. However, there is also an evil biker gang causing trouble, led by the always manic Billy Drago, and as this is a 90s Nu Image sci-fi flick, the evil moon guys send down a cyborg (Nu Image sure loved their cyborgs in the 90s!) to make even more trouble for our lunar cop hero.
Now only a small portion of the film actually takes place on the moon (which includes some hilariously groovy miniature work) as Lunar Cop is basically just an excuse for another Mad Max rip-off/rampaging motorcycle gang action flick. Sure our cop hero is from the moon and dispenses knuckle-busting justice but this flick is your standard post-apocalyptic sci-fi nonsense. Well it’s better than standard as, while it is nonsense, it’s actually a lot of fun, decently made and stuffed to the gills with stunt heavy action goodness. Along with Billy Drago bringing his usual loony brilliance (he kills several people, attempts to rape the heroine and gets set on fire all within his first few minutes on screen!) and Michael Pare delivers one line of dialogue at a time before punching someone in the face or blasting them with his trusty sawn-off, Lunar Cop is jammed with all kinds a vehicular mayhem, stunt packed action, and gunfire that rarely lets up.
Decently shot (in the African desert) and with some impressive production values for a low budget film, Lunar Cop hardly ever lets up in its action goodness. Since it’s basically a Mad Max action film/post apocalyptic biker movie, the flick has a heavy dose of impressive motorcycle stunt mayhem. The stunt crew are certainly put through their paces and when folks aren’t crashing or falling of motorcycles they’re gunning down everyone and everything in sight. In fact, the action reaches an exciting crescendo when Drago and his gang make their final attack on the heroes compound in an impressively sustained onslaught of action. Then, the cyborg shows up and we get plenty of bone crunching, being thrown through walls, fist fighting action, as Pare has to kill it over and over again. Awesome.
Subtle it ain’t but Lunar Cop does have a cop from the moon, a shootout set on the moon and enough done-for-real-no-CGI motorcycle mayhem and gun-toting action (that Nu Image did so well in the 90s) that it’s an absolute hoot.
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