Deadly Weapon

The only reason I rented this flick, was because it starred "Joey" from "A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors", as well as "Heather Chandler" from "Heathers". And that is the only reason to watch this crud. You want to see an actor do their worst job, then rent this one.

Like many other people, I only bought this movie because Joey (Rodney Eastman) of A Nightmare On Elm Street Part's 3 and 4 was the lead in it. And, erm....It totally sucks!! Occasionally you can get some pretty good "b" movies, but its movies like this wich make all "b" movies look crap.

Lets start of with "the gun". What the hell was its cable lead made out of? Tin foil??! It was extreamly fake looking and looked like a rejected quazer lazer gun.

And the acting was terrible! I'm sorry Rodney fans, but this movie is deffanitly made for you. There is no other reason to watch it unless you like Rod. Its very badly written. I wish I didn't buy this junk! Whoa, really. If Rods reading this (hmmm, a bit unlikeley) but I'm sorry man, the movie bites. And youve been in way better.

DO NOT EVEN RENT THIS MOVIE

My review was written in July 1989 after watching the movie on TWE video cassette.

"Deadly Weapon" is a failed attempt at a high-concept picture from Charles Band's late fantasy factory, Empire PIctures. Story of a bullied youngster who goes high-tech for revenge went unreleased, inherited, as a video, by TWE.

Debuting helmer Michael Miner exhibits technical skill but does not establish a consistent tone for this mishmash. Rodney Eastman is Zeke, a 15-year-old in the small town of King Bee, Arizona, who thinks he's a visitor from Outer Space, waiting for the Mother Ship to come for him. He finds an anti-matter pistol belonging to the army, lost in a train wreck nearby.

Zeke proceeds to blast his enemies (including his mean daddy) with the formidable revolver and comically rounds up the town preacher, sheriff and mayor, locking them up in the car trunk as he goes joyriding in the thrill-seeking Kim Walker's pink Cadillac convertible.

While the army mobilizes to carefully put Zeke out of commission (the gun's power source can explode like a 200-kiloton bomb), pic turns maudlin en route to a tragic finish.

Eastman displays convincing angst in the central role, with Walker, a beautiful blonde who was one of the "Heathers" in the recent New World release, making a solid impression in an underwritten part. Special effects and other the credits are fine.

Initially I also was reminded of Joey From Nightmare on Elm street part three but having seen it it was pretty good. I guess the movie was moving to me because I myself was a rebel when I was a kid. With the obvious exception of picking up a high powered plasma gun and blowing away all the bad guys, I was quite a bit like the main character in the movie. A definite two thumbs up, a must rent at least once.

The first twenty minutes of this film are rock-solid. It's delves into bullying, abuse, isolation, family drama, alcoholism, and so much more. Then, the tone of the film changes. It becomes less serious and puts the hero into some almost laughable circumstances, but Rodney Eastman, to his credit, plays it serious throughout. He's an amazing talent and this film is all about him. It's worth watching mainly for his performance.