Dollman

Tim Thomerson stars as Brick Bardo (No relation to the same Brick Bardo who beat up tons of people in Bloodmatch)an alien cop (Not unlike the cop from Trancers) who follows one of his adversaries to earth only to stumble onto earth where he is only a foot tall, it's here he joins forces with a ghetto woman to protect her from gang violence. Jackie Earle Haley (Before his Oscar nod) is the gang-leader who is Thomerson's main enemy. Believe it or not, Jackie Earle Haley could always act and his Oscar is no fluke, as he delivers a not too shabby performance and Thomerson of course as usual is enjoyable to watch (Of course) this is a perfectly watchable B.movie, with a good sense of humor, some good action sequences and for once Pyun's disjointed and over the top directing is appropriate. So all in all this is one of Pyun's better efforts and a distinctive B.movie.

* *1/2 out of 4-(Pretty good)

You will have a campy good time watching Dollman. It's about a guy from another planet who comes to earth, but due to earth's gravity, he is about the size of a GI Joe Doll. He is chasing down a criminal (or just the head) from his home world and the criminal is also small. What makes this a classic B film is that over acting of the main character. The lines are cheesy, the plot is stupid, the concept is ridiculous and it all works gloriously together in one insanely stupid and laughable film. This is the type of film you get together with buddies and do your own version of Mystery Science Theater 3000 commentaries. So I give the film a 5 in my book.

When, upon watching this movie and hearing some of the negative feedback, I'm reminded of that adage that "one man's trash is another man's treasure". "Dollman" may indeed be silly, cheesy, low budget nonsense but it IS fun on that level, damn it. Maybe not as much fun as it could and should have been (It would have been more amusing if everybody else besides star Tim Thomerson hadn't taken themselves quite so seriously.).

The high concept story is a time honoured one, having to do with the idea of seeing a tiny individual interact with giant surroundings. That individual is Dirty Harry type cop Brick Bardo (Thomerson, in fine form), who's from a distant planet rather similar to Earth. After chasing his nemesis Sprug (Frank Collison), a living severed head whose other body parts have been eliminated by Brick, to Earth, Brick realizes that by normal Earth standards he only stands 13 inches tall. Brick befriends a hot young South Bronx resident named Debi (Kamala Lopez) and her son, while Sprug aligns himself with local gang members led by Braxton (Jackie Earle Haley). Sprug has with him a deadly bomb, but Brick's own lethal gun is absolutely nothing to be laughed at.

The director is Albert Pyun, the man behind so many other low budget genre flicks, and the supporting cast features some of his regulars like Vince Klyn (the villain of "Cyborg"), Michael Halsey, and Nicholas Guest. Other actors you'll undoubtedly recognize are Frank Doubleday (a heavy in the John Carpenter favourites "Assault on Precinct 13" and "Escape from New York"), Luis Contreras ("After Midnight"), Eugene Robert Glazer (TV's 'La Femme Nikita'), and Judd Omen ("Pee-Wee's Big Adventure"). Great, grim 'n' ugly urban decay production design, decent pacing (it's NOT deadly slow), amusing music by Anthony Riparetti, entertaining gore, and ENJOYABLY unconvincing visual effects add to the diverting package that is this little B flick. Even at just over 82 minutes, however, one can see some padding, especially in the end credits.

Overall, it's a hoot, and recommended for Thomerson fans.

Seven out of 10.

The effects are cheesy and the story is ridiculous but this is an entertaining flick nontheless. Tim Thomerson is great as the 13 inch Brick Bardo. (Love that name!) Brick crash lands in the South Bronx after chasing some criminal (actually just a head attached to some sort of board) into an energy field outside his home planet of Arturus. Brick arrives just in time to save a young woman from some hoods who take to calling each other homeboy. These tough punks with mullets to spare, are terrorizing the neighborhood. Leave it to Brick to clean up the mess with the help of his handgun("the most powerful weapon man has ever seen").

The film is filled with some hilarious material. The scene in which Brick jumps through a third floor window and catches onto a moving car below is classic. Needless to say if you go into this film with the right attitude you'll have a good time. Tim Thomerson should get more and better work.

Dollman (1991) was a cheesy science fiction/action film that didn't try to pretend it was anything but. Tim Thomerson stars as Dollman, a diminutive alien who's travels through space and time to capture a galactic fugitive. The low budgets of this film shows through when the film maker uses a lot of bad trick photography and repeated use of film stock in several places to pad out the film's running time. Does Dollman get his man? How will he adjust to Earth's strange people and planetary environment? To find out you'll need to track down a copy of DOLLMAN.

Recommended for cheesy film fans.