Megaforce

This howlingly absurd futuristic sci-fi actioner stars Barry Bostwick ("The Rocky Horror Picture Show", 'Spin City'), absolutely nobody's idea of an ideal action movie star. He plays the charismatic "Ace Hunter", leader of an elite fighting unit that is deployed whenever freedom is threatened. And this unit is set into motion when a fictional country begins to be terrorized by a flamboyant mercenary (Henry Silva, who's a hoot as usual). Among the people on Aces' team is easygoing Southerner "Dallas" (Michael Beck of "The Warriors" fame), who shoots at errant reptiles and delights in showing "holograms" to people.

This is the kind of movie you enjoy for its utter cheesiness and ineptitude. While it may not be quite as terrible as some reviews will lead you to believe, it sure ain't much good, either. Still, stunt expert turned filmmaker Hal Needham ("Smokey and the Bandit", "The Cannonball Run") and his merry crew do have some fun here. A lot of their set pieces are quite simply chaotic and over the top, as they just go for broke and refuse to worry about it ever making much SENSE. There are explosions and vehicular stunts aplenty, as well as some sky diving. Although there is a gorgeous leading lady in Persis Khambatta ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture", "Nighthawks"), romance is not really in the air, since Ace doesn't want to involve an "outsider" like her in his mission. He says his men are like a machine that moves and acts as one.

Bostwick is amusing, his miscasting be damned. He does seem to be enjoying himself. Silva, while not at his absolute best, is still in fine form as a smiling villain whom you can't really hate at all. The movie co-stars Edward Mulhare ("Our Man Flint", 'Knight Rider') as a military man and George Furth ("Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Blazing Saddles") as a Q-style gadget, weaponry, and vehicle designer.

Despite the ropey "Introvision" effects, this utterly goofy entertainment does possess a certain oddball charm.

Five out of 10.

Ok, I will admit the special effects are cheesy and the acting really isn't that great. However this movie has some good qualities I have come to love in action movies. A hero who's hair stays in place no matter what hell he's been through. An absent minded genius who makes neat toys. And how can we leave out the beautiful woman who catches our hero's eye?

This movie does have some nice things. I liked the dune buggies and motorcycles that change color to match the terrain. I liked that the hero, Ace, was best friends with the villain. I liked the crazy character played by Michael Beck, especially the goofy thing he did with the holographic mission planner. This movie has some high tech things that militaries use today. Including the dune buggies. They're used by Special Forces and Navy SEALs. The room where conversations are monitored is like today's Echelon Dictionary Project. This movie has some good things that foretell future military advancements. Not to mention that this movie is meant for kids and shouldn't be seen as an adult movie. There isn't any profanity in it and it's funny.

I must not be the only one who liked this movie back then. I remember all the lunch boxes and action figures this movie sold. People who say this movie are bad must not have seen it when they were kids.

Rayvyn

In 1982, you could not read a comic book without seeing the ad for Megaforce. It's the first hype I can truly remember, save for the similar ad strategy for 1977's Orca. As a ten-year-old chubby geek, I needed to know all about Ace Hunter and his crew of super soldiers.

I wondered, "As a small child living in a small town, could I truly be ready to join Megaforce?" The answer was no. I was too small for the bikes, too rotund for the jumpsuits. But it was a dream. A dream I have refused to give up on.

The Republic of Sardun is peaceful. Gamibia, a neighboring country, is not. So they send General Byrne-White (Edward Mulhare from TV's Knight Rider and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) and Major Zara (Persis Khambatta, Star Trek: The Motion Picture) to ask Megaforce for help. The conflict will bring their leader, Commander Ace Hunter (Barry Bostwick from The Rocky Horror Picture Show), into conflict with his former friend and now rival, Duke Guerrera (Henry Silva, Killer Kane from 1979's Buck Rodgers, Chained Heat, Fists of Steel, Amazon Women on the Moon).

That's alright, though. Megaforce has incredible motorcycles, dune buggies and a big RV. Things will all work out.

Zara decides to try out as Hunter falls in love with her. She passes, but he cannot allow her to join them in combat -- she'd throw off the rest of the guys. That's right -- an empowered woman success against the odds but can't make it to the team because these guys wear spandex and headbands and need to just be guys, alright? It was 1982. The glass ceiling for Megaforce was ankle level.

Megaforce attacks Gamibia and blows up the base, then have some trouble getting out of the country. Seems that all these tanks are in the way. No worries -- the boys all make multicolored smoke come out of their vehicles, which self-destruct and they leave on foot, except for Hunter, who flies his into the cargo plane. Even then, he gives Guerrera the thumbs up, which the bad guy returns. Again, this was 1982. America was back, baby, and if we wanted to blow up all the vehicles instead of saving them, no matter how great and unique they were, we were going to do it. Who are you to deny Ace Hunter? Does he come down on the corner and knock the dicks out of your mouth? Don't presume to tell this bandana-clad gentleman how to lead Megaforce.

Barry Bostwick was all in on this movie. And why not -- he had a three picture deal in case things picked up. His interviews at the time are so wonderful, like when he said that the Pentagon tried to stop the movie because of how close Megaforce was to covert CIA strike teams (one only wonders if they all had flags on their bikes and crazy collared dress uniforms, too). Or when he opined that the world needed a real-life Megaforce.

Megaforce came to us from Hal Needham, a former stuntman who went on to direct Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, The Cannonball Run, Stroker Ace and 80's BMX megafilm (seriously, it ruled the video stores of my teenage years) Rad. He even had his own toy -- the Hal Needham Western Movie Stunt Set! You don't even have to guess if I had it as a kid.

Barry Bostwick and Hal Needham weren't alone, though. There were other members of the team, like Dallas (Michael Beck from The Warriors and Xanadu), who has a Confederate flag on his uniform, because we didn't understand racism in 1982. Other team members have one name and are one note, like Ivan, Suki, Sixkiller, Anton and Lopez. All of their clothes were designed by Mattel, who saw big toy potential in the film, but only ended up making a playset and some Hot Wheels. My brother and I had them, even if he would not allow anyone else to play with his Megafighter dune buggy. There was even an Atari game!

That said -- the film flopped hard. It's been forgotten by nearly everyone, save the ridiculous folks like me that kiss their thumb and give people the "Megaforce salute."

In fact, two of those people were Matt Stone and Trey Parker. There is no way to watch their Team America: World Police without seeing echoes of Ace Hunter's hard work.

And the government itself got really interested. After the military refused to aid the production, they asked Needham for the plans for the Megaforce vehicles. He happily handed them over and claimed that Desert Storm's hardware came directly from this film.

I cannot stress how completely dumb this film is. No one is ever in danger. No one ever appears to be a real human being. Therefore, it is wonderful and I also recommend that you seek it out. Deeds not words!

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This movie was definitely a big, fat, fun time...If you're on a low protein diet, watch out, 'cause this movie is chock full o' cheese, cheese, cheese. I really enjoyed watching this movie. The special effects are ok, especially given that the movie was made in 1982. But the gadgets are way,way cool(I want them all!), and the people who made this movie never take themselves or the movie too seriously. If you can imagine Barry Bostwick w/blond hair, then this is the movie for you! As previously stated, the cheese factor is high, but that's the best part of this movie. If you're looking for ground-breaking cinema, don't look here. But, if you want a good laugh & a good time, this film provides you with both.

One of the first jobs I ever had was with a catering company. Imagine our excitement being hired on for the desert-location filming of MEGAFORCE! Everyone involved with this production seemed quite confident that it was going to become a smash summer hit(*snicker).

Watching the filming at Nevada's dry lakes, it did feel like something monumentous was in the making, but nobody could have imagined just how negative a reaction this movie was going to receive. I almost didn't want to see it, but curiosity got the better of me. Truthfully, I don't think it's nearly as horrible as many have made it out to be, but nobody in their right mind would call it legitimately "good", either. There's enough vehicle stunts, random explosions, and weapons futurismo to keep average 12-year-olds very entertained, and I think that may be exactly what Hal Needham intended for this project.

I still have a box filled with t-shirts, ball-caps, and other promotional crap emblazoned with "DEEDS, NOT WORDS". It may not have the iconic carriage of, say, "MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU", but I'll keep these things for posterity, anyhow...

...and I hope everyone on the set enjoyed the food...

**EDIT, 7/28/23 I watched this again last night, for the first time in nearly 30 years. Amazingly, MEGAFORCE has ripened on the vine. The passing of decades has blessed it with an almost rapturous camp appeal...a big ol' wheel of cheese that entertains for (mostly)all the wrong reasons. I was smiling a mile wide.

Rest in peace, Mr. Needham...looks like you've succeeded despite yourself.