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  Light Blast Laser Quest
Year: 1985
Director: Enzo G. Castellari
Stars: Erik Estrada, Ennio Girolami, Michael Pritchard, Peggy Rowe, Bob Taylor, Massimo Vanni, Louis Geneva, Thaddeus Golas, Robert Paul Weiss, Sheldon Feldner, John X. Heart, Brad James, Steven Kravitz, Julie Conners, Cyril Clayton, Michelle Kwok, Nancy Fish
Genre: Action, Thriller, Science FictionBuy from Amazon
Rating:  5 (from 1 vote)
Review: At this quiet railway yard there's a young couple who have slipped away from everyone else for a romantic liaison in one of the empty freight carriages, but what they don't know is that there is someone else in the vicinity with a device to test. Part of the yard includes a large digital clock, and if a certain scientist, Dr. Yuri Soboda (Ennio Girolami), aims his latest invention at the liquid crystal display it can detonate the clock and create a huge explosion. Which is what happens, melting the couple where they stand and devastating the yard - with San Francisco held to ransom who can stop this new menace?

How about Officer Francis Poncherello himself, Erik Estrada? Got any better ideas? Thought not. The concern of what an actor does after his or her hit series is cancelled and he's looking for a paying gig as a leading man or lady has troubled many a performer, and for every George Clooney who makes the move from their TV show to optimistically strike out as a movie star, there were seemingly tons of Erik Estradas cashing in their CHiPs who made efforts such as Light Blast their natural home. The low budget, and these days likely straight to video, landscape of the thrillers where our star would do his best Clint Eastwood impersonation were numerous.

And Light Blast is as good as any, especially if you were seeking unpretentious entertainment with at least one cast member you would recognise, though maybe no more than that. With director Enzo G. Castellari at the helm you knew you were not going to be bored, mainly because his obsession with keeping the film moving played out as yer man Erik clambered into as many vehicles as he possibly could and zooming off in them, all because he's a police officer and that's what they're allowed to do, don't argue. How this helps track down the mad scientist with the Flash Gordon-esque death ray turns out to be due to his henchmen being just as keen on a chase as Erik is.

We are introduced to Estrada, in the role of Inspector Ronn Warren (but we know he's Erik Estrada really), where he's taking down a hostage situation in his underpants. Let me rephrase that: the criminals at the bank holding members of the public captive demand food, and to make sure there's no funny business these scum order it to be delivered by someone wearing no clothes. Erik is more than capable, and has hidden a gun in the roast turkey which he succeeds in overpowering the bad guys with, thus we now know what a badass he is, as well as noting his magnificent physique (did he make his own demands on the script, we wonder?). Anyway, credentials proven, we can get down to the business of beating the baddies.

There's a line in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy about a race so primitive they still think digital watches are a neat idea which could very well apply to this film, except it's big diigital clocks which are the main focus of Soboda's mayhem, attacking a car race meeting and panicking the crowd when he blows up the stand - is there no end to his villainy? However, our Erik is on the case, for when Erik eats a banana, an amazing transformation occurs... No, wait, wrong hero, this bloke is more able in the driving department, or his stunt double is, as Castellari was so dead set on providing thrills that the film barely stops for breath, there's literally a car chase or gun battle every five minutes or so. Briefly pausing to shoot the odd lackey, including a crazed female mortician, Estrada throws himself into the finale which involves, you guessed it, another pursuit, with an amazing jumping speed buggy this time and a twist ending you can see coming from the second you notice Sodoba checking his watch. Groovy music by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis.
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

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