Zone Troopers (1985) Review

Zone Troopers is a 1985 "sci-fi" movie set in jolly old World War II. It follows a bunch of American soldiers serving in Italy trying to fight off the Nazis in the area. While two of them are captured they encounter an alien that the Nazis have also caught and help it escape with them. the alien and her fellow bretheren then help the soldiers fight off the Nazis and return home to their planet. Yeah it's a very simple film with a very light tone that is arguable comedic but I didn't find much to be funny here, in fact I found the whole movie to be kind of boring.
I just really didn't connect to it all,the main alien looks pretty good but he brethren are literally just green men, since she's the only female among them(which of course is a joke in the film). The film is only 85 minutes long but the plot is so basic that it's stretched out in a rather dull way, there is alot of shooting in the movie, but there's no blood or effects here, so it's just a bunch of people fake dying to the ground and it's all a bit pants.
I feel like the movie would have worked way better if it was more hard edged with lots of blood and gore every way, instead what we get is a rather limp movie that does have an odd charm about it, but nothing much else going for it all. oh Well. **

Mad Max 1-3 (1979, 1981 & 1985)

In preparation for the newest Mad Max film (review coming soon), I watched the first three in the series for the first time. So here are my thoughts on each one.

Mad Max (1979)

the first Mad Max is a solid and fun low budget action flick. It's low budget may have somewhat marred it's dystopian vison from being fully realised, but it definitely does as good as it can with it's circumstances and though it's a little messy and has a strange obsession with dissolves, it's still a very enjoyable and solid first film.
***

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

Mad Max 2 greatly improves on it's predecessor, with it's bigger budget helping the films post-apocalyptic vision really come through with it's punk visual aesthetics and desert land setting. The story is kept simple and some good moments of humour, but of course the film really shines through with it's enthralling and well executed action sequences, making this a really solid and thoroughly enjoyable action film, that does everything it should, to be better than the first film. Good Stuff.
***1/2

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

The third film in the Mad Max series is the one that is known to divide people. Many peoples problems with it stemming from the kids from the second half being reminiscent of the lost boys from Peter Pan completely messing with the tone of the rest of the film. I myself prefer this film to first two films(yes even Road Warrior), this is mainly due to the films greater ambition to be something more. I also really liked the lost kids and and had no issue with them, aside from some of their scenes dragging a little. The action is still really well executed, there are some great moments of humour and again the films dystopian vision is beautifully pulled off. The standout sequence of course thought is the one inside the Thunderdome which I thought was wonderful and absolutely adored. Overall it may be a little rough around the edges but this is another really solid action film, that manages to stand above it's predecessors with it's greater ambition.
***1/2

 

Bliss (1985)

Here's an interesting Australian flick that starts off great but then turns a little messy and ends up just being decent. I appreciate its intentions and there are some funny and mad moments here and there, but overall, I found the structure to be inconsistent, so even though it had the potential to be great, it just turns out to be rather decent. ***