onsdag 8 april 2020

Deadly Skies ( Force Of Impact ) - A Quarantine Pick For B Movie Lovers

All over the world, we are seeing how the Corona virus strike against every country. And in a diffucult time like this, a lot of people have to stay home. So i decided to do something, that might cheer some people up while they are looking for something to read, and that is to give you a B movie review of actor Antonio Sabato, Jr´s film catalogue. You may ask yourself, who is this guy ? Well, if you were young during the 90´s ( like i was at that time ), then you might remember a popular TV series known as Melrose Place. I did not see many episodes of Melrose Place, simply because it was not really good. But i do remember actor Antonio Sabato Jr, since he was in a couple of episodes in the TV series. He was not the best actor, but he clearly could charm the ladies underwear off. My next encounter with him was in the 1997 TV movie High Voltage. Not an action classic in any way, but as an action actor he did know how to deliver some action scenes. Director Isaac Florentine, must have been inspired by John Woo when he made High Voltage, since you can sense that there are influences from his films. If you love 90´s B movie action films, High Voltage is worth checking out. Since i have not seen a lot of Antonio Sabato, Jr´s films, and he have made a lot over the years, i went through a list of the films he have been in since the late 90´s up until now. And trust me, he seems to have worked really hard to deliver us  some real quality films. After going through a lot of titles, i decided to pick out a film known as Deadly Skies, released in 2006. This film does not only have Sabato Jr, but you also find actress Rae Dawn Chong here ( who was in the classic Schwarzenegger film Commando ). Is this film better than most TV films that i have seen in a long time, or is Deadly Skies so bad that you could possibly start crying out of frustration ?

Madison ( Rae Dawn Chong ) and her assistant Hockstetter ( Dominic Zamprogna ) are astronomers who track near-Earth objects in space. They are not taken serious by the scientific community. When they locate and track a massive asteroid on a collision course for Earth, Madison takes her finding to government scientist Dr. Michael Covington ( Rob LaBelle ). Intially he pays her some attention but, under pressure from Air Force General Dutton ( Michael Moriarty ), dismisses her. In desperation she takes her research to Richard Donovan ( Antonio Sabato, Jr. ), a former Air Force officer who was discharged under Don´t ask, don´t tell ( DADT ). Joining  with Donovan´s active duty-lover, Mark ( Michael Boisvert ), the four hatch a plan to infiltrate an Air Force base that houses a massive laser weapon to destroy the asteroid.


Have you been wondering what DVD film you should have in your living room, to make your home look a bit more modern ? Then look no further, because Deadly Skies ( Force Of Impact ) is the DVD that will make all your wishes come true. This is that kind of TV film that has everything you need, such as big special effects on asteroids, very serious dialogue and of course acting on a very proffessional level. Sounds good right ? I would say that this is the kind of film that falls in the category so bad that it is fun to watch. I am sure Antono Sabato, Jr. have done even worse films than Deadly Skies ( i did seee some films on his list that looked really bad ), but if you wanted a massive asteroid disaster film, then you might be disappointed. There are some scenes where you get a sense that there will be some big disaster scenes, but they don´t really kick off the way you would expect. I have seen a lot of disaster B movies in the past. Some are actually fun to watch, and some are just horrible. I would not say that Deadly Skies is one of the worst disaster films i have seen, since this film takes itself too serious and becomes funny to watch instead. So in that sense there is entertainment value here to be found. Is this a good film in any way ? No, and the biggest problem for me are the asteroid scenes. They look really bad, so i guarantee you will laugh. If this was the best they could do with the design of an asteroid coming towards Earth, you understand that they must have had a very limited budget. How about the acting ? Antonio Sabato, Jr. does what he knows best, look very serious and bring out the acting level that only he knows how to do, Sabato style. So you know it is going to be bad. Actress Rae Dawn Chong brings at least some kind of acting level into this film. But she can´t save this film either way, since there are too many problems to be found with the source material. I will say though that legendary actor Michael Moriarty ( who i remember from the Clint Eastwood western classic Pale Rider ) is pretty cool as the character General Dutton, the bad ass character we should have had in the Swedish musical action film Dyke Hard. Director San Irwin probably wanted to make a cool disaster film, but without the budget and CGI effects that seems to have been stuck since 1992, it does not matter what cast he has, unless he fixed a lot of the problems first. Deadly Skies is one of those films you should own on DVD, to reward yourself with a unintentionally funny film. This is one of those films you will remember, that cheer you up on any bad day. I don´t think i need to explain anymore why you should see Deadly Skies, it is the perfect film to watch during these Corona days. 

Rating: D

If you want a physical DVD of the film, you can find the film here both on Region 2 and Region 1 DVD releases, for a good price as well, if you want a bargain. Especially now during quarantine worldwide.

UK DVD release known as Ultimate Limit:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Limit-DVD-Antonio-Sabato/dp/B000QUEJOW/ref=tmm_dvd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1586247562&sr=8-27

American DVD release:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Skies-Antonio-Sabato-Jr/dp/B000FZEU38

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