MEGAFORCEEEEE!

There are movies that are so bad that they are actually good. In the case of Megaforce, it would be better to say silly than bad: it’s so silly that it’s great. If you’ve seen Matt Stone’s Team America: World Police, Megaforce will seem quite familiar because it was a great inspiration for the making of Team America. Before going into details, I’d like to say that Megaforce was made by Hal Needham, a stuntman turned director. He made fantastic movies such as Smokey And The Bandit and The Cannonball Run.
Of course, here and there happens a lemon like Megaforce, a movie worth 20 million dollars, that didn’t bring back that money or even got close to that.

The story is set in the near future in which a super-army called Megaforce exists. An army formed of the best soldiers in the world, financed by the best countries of the free world, and equipped with the best possible equipment. The army is lead by Commander Ace Hunter who is the best in the universe… ever. Now that we have established that they are the best ever, we can move on. Megaforce is sent with the assignment to overrule a dictator… there isn’t actually a decent plot; nothing is more important than the fact that they are great, super, fantastic and the best… but, OK. So, the army is sent to overrule a dictator and given super-powerful motorcycles and vehicles equipped with machine guns, lasers, rockets, spears, clubs, dry muffins and everything else that is the absolute best to fight the war with. And then they do the job. The end.

You may have thought I’ll mention a substory, analyze the relationships between the characters, talk about the suspense that keeps us on edge… NO. They are sent to do a job and they do it because they are the best and that’s it. Usually movies with macho men contain a moment when they are injured, and when their power is in question, when a doubt rises, the suspense grows… Nothing like that happens in Megaforce. The bad guy, a mercenary, says: „We got you surrounded and now you are screwed“, and our Commander Ace Hunter turns to his men, says: „I have a plan“ and smiles.

Did I mention that their motorcycles fly? Now you understand why I find this movie fabulous. A huge amount of money was spent on wide desert shots that would have looked fantastic if my Laser Disc hadn’t oxidized. A significant effort was put into making combat motorcycles and armored vehicles of which, allegedly, even the real army later wanted blueprints. Since the film director began his career as a stuntman, all the stunts are fantastic – but with, absolutely, the worst blue screen effects ever. They are so bad that whoever watches those scenes can’t stop laughing. Besides that, all the characters are so stereotyped and over the top that the whole movie is, in fact, a great comedy. The highlight of the film and sort of a trademark is the romantic scene when the main character kisses his thumb and gives the thumb up to his babe… of course, she does the same, because she is the one. This is extremely silly and odd, but original! I don’t remember seeing it anywhere else, whether in a movie or in real life. That’s quite a thing to come up with!
All in all, the movie is fantastic for watching in company. Because a movie that doesn’t offer anything to talk and think about, isn’t a good movie.