Le mini-flic de l'espace

I love this kind of movie.

It's one of those things you either love or hate, and a lot of the venom getting tossed at it isn't needed. It's just a movie folks.

Innocent fun.

It's about this alien cop who winds up crashed on earth only to find out he's the size of a ken doll, here.

Lucky he's got his "Ruger," the most powerful handgun in the universe (don't ask). This little thing blasts holes in his foes as if it was a .357 magnum (and, as i recall, it literally blew people apart on his home planet).

It's not Citizen Kane, but it's clever and tongue in cheek. I can actually see a silver age comic book like this.

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.

Dollman is not the greatest movie, but it is also not the worst. It's cheesy, it has one-liners, and it's low-budget. The movie has obvious problems, but it has a certain quality that makes it watchable. Most of it's problems stem from bad acting to cheap effects. I found the movie with a pack of others, including The Gingerdead Man( Made by Full Moon, who made Dollman).The movie definitely stood out from the others, being the best of the other movies( which isn't saying much). Some sites consider the movie to be horror. I wouldn't consider the movie horror, it's more sci-fi/action. Best to watch this movie with a few friends. It can be a good, one time cheese-filled experience.

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.

Despite some gruesome and bloody scenes, this movie keeps your interest due to Thomerson's tongue-in-cheek humor and his almost Eastwood-like presence. This is a strange and unique science fiction that keeps you giggling just enough to keep you watching.