Interceptor Force (1999) User Reviews

It`s Not That Bad

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 10 September 2003]

!!!!! SPOILERS !!!!!

Yeah okay INTERCEPTORS isn`t a great film , but I don`t think it`s as bad as many of the people on this page are saying . Yes it`s highly derivative with some severe gaps in logic but it`s also fairly entertaining in a dumb sort of way . Check out the opening scene with Sean Lambert ( Strange name for a Frenchman ) kickboxing . You know that scene in MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL where John Cleese rescues the damsel in distress by massacaring the wedding guests ? Well we see something similar here

It should also be remembered that the same company made the abysmal SHARK HUNTER and unlike that film the money for this seems to have been spent wisely . The movie is well lit and the FX are passable , though it`s painfully obvious the alien is a CGI effect , but at least the alien is a truly ugly critter that made my flesh crawl . It should also be pointed out that this is a film that`s not scared to kill off its main characters . I thought at least Jena Goodwin - And I`ve got to disagree with Michael Corleone 2002 , Jena is hot - would survive untill the end of the movie so it came as a complete shock when the alien pulled out a blaster and fried the poor girl .

I give this 5 out of 10 . Check out SHARK HUNTER if you want to see a really bad movie by this company

Better than what I was led to believe but a long way from great

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 13 February 2013]

I was expecting something awful from what I read about Interceptors, but actually it wasn't that bad. Granted it is far from great but there are much worse movies out there. Okay there are a lot of problems, the story is highly derivative with little that comes across as really believable, there are frequent logical lapses all over the place and they are not mild ones, Olivier Gunnar is much better in action than he is as an actor where he is unintelligible and wooden, there is little interesting about the characters and the script is bad enough to make the toes curl. However, it does look as though some effort is made with Interceptors. You can at least see what's going on, the settings are quite good and the photography and editing while not award-worthy are more polished than usual. Likewise, the special effects are not what you call great, a little drab and awkward in movement, but they actually do look finished. The soundtrack is great, it is very energetic and driven with some catchy moments, while there is much fun to had in the action and how its choreographed, and in the entertainment value provided with the attempts made to make the many implausibilities credible. Apart from Gunnar, the acting is not too bad. Interceptors is never what I call dull either. All in all, not great but not terrible either. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Mindless Fun!

[retrogames · 4/10 · 17 April 2002]

I normally hate these action by numbers movies, but for some reason I quite enjoyed this one. It's all done with it's tongue firmly in its cheek with a few one liners that I actually found quite funny. Very well made with some nice effects that wouldn't look out of place in a movie with a lot bigger budget. I would never have seen this movie if it were not for me finding it in a Bargain Bin of DVD's for less than the price of a pack of cigarettes. Glad I did and would recommend to anyone who can get a hold of it cheaply or catch it on TV. Just don't expect a classic!

In Space, No One Can Hear You Laugh

[degracia · 16 October 2000]

There seems to be an interesting correlation between cheesy military/science-fiction movies and the F-117A fighter bomber - practically every movie that has this type of plane in it turns out cheesy. "Interceptors" is no exception. Basically this is the story of an incompetent, clumsy, immature Department of Defense contracted mercenary team sent into Baja California to recover (supposedly) a crashed F-117A. When the team is deployed into Mexico, they discover that this is no recovery operation - it's an extraterrestrial manhunt. The low budget nature of this film makes it incredibly cheesy, but particularly hilarious. The mercenaries run around in a black sport utility vehicle, wearing Walkman earphones which are actually supposed to be a radio communications system. Even better, at the end of the movie, we're to believe that it's possible to 'run' from the blast wave of a thermonuclear explosion. The list of oversights and flaws is incredible - but somehow "Interceptors" doesn't seem quite as intellectually insulting as most of its contemporaries, most likely a result of the humorous nature of the film (either by accident or design of the directors). It's hard to watch this film without breaking down into fits of wild laughter. The stupidity and haphazard flow of the movie is almost akin to the Hong Kong style of comedies. (The ending scene, in which the mercenary leader 'mistakes' a village woman for the alien entity is classic.) It's a shame "Interceptors" is one of those direct-to-video movies...it would have been an absolute riot in theatres. If viewed as a sci-fi or action flick, "Interceptors" fails horribly. But as a (accidental) comedy, it's priceless. The good point is the fact that most of the action is computer generated (albiet, the low budget CGI looks like something you'd see while playing on an Nintendo64). The directors don't use stock footage, and the aerial battle action is somewhat interesting. It's a good film to watch if you have time to waste, are home sick, or want to throw a popcorn party with your friends. The outtakes at the end of the movie are a plus.

Turkey Shoot...# 4

[fmarkland32 · 2/10 · 4 December 2006]

Olivier Gruner continues to put out trash, this time the evidence is essayed in this Predator rip-off. The movie finds a group of commandos stranded an a Mexican town complete with western atmosphere, along the way the alien creature takes over the body and minds of the commando unit (Because what better way to rip off Predator, when we can add a dash of The Thing to it, Now that's creativity!) the production values are unbelievably cheap, the acting is horrid and Olivier Gruner manages to somehow make worse and worse movies. Indeed I was extremely let down by the fact that the box cover promised Ernie Hudson and Brad Dourif, only to give very minimal screen time to the two only actors in the film. However we do get see William Zabka (Back To School and Karate Kid)give hands down one of the most embarrassing performances to ever be featured in an Olivier Gruner flick (No small feat considering Gruner) and his badness provides what entertainment value there is to be had. As for Gruner, he kick-boxes tons of people, grapples with a cheap looking monster and never once changes his facial expression. All and all what we would expect from the worst actor. on a professional level. So in other words the perfect bad movie to laugh at. Indeed this is a perfect movie to watch drunk, due to the surreal badness on view here. So fans of hilarious badness, enjoy!

* out of 4-(Bad)

I thought the Gary Daniels was the worst actor...

[CQKRIS · 1/10 · 12 December 2005]

You would assume that film-makers faced with the problem of a low budget would strive to make a type of film that required as little funding as possible, for example a film about the abortion debate - all you would need would be a studio dressed up like a courtroom.

Well the makers of the travesty that is 'Last Line of Defence' have done the complete opposite and attempted to create an action racket along the lines of Predator and Terminator. In fact thats a bit light, what they have done is blatantly copy these movies.

The alien takes the predator form to begin with, camoflaged as it stalks its victims. What this really means is a green cloth placed over a camera and the camera shook about to give an impression as if from the aliens viewpoint. 1 out of 10 for improvisation.

It gets even worse later, when the alien takes the terminator form when it can transform itself into any one of the characters in the movie. We are then subject to farcical fighting scenes and whats worse we have to witness more of the horrible acting of what must be the worst cast ever to grace film.

Especially bad is the Gruner who the makers see as this film's Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not only is he a worse actor than Schwarzenegger, which when you think about it is an achievement in itself, but he is even 10 times more annoying than Arnie.

There is some really pitiful acting here. I mean really bad - only someone with multiple honors degrees in English literature could find the words to describe how bad it really is.

I used to think that the Gary Daniels was the worst actor in the world, but the tide has turned. The mantle has been handed over to the Gruner. Absolutely no doubt about it.

Nothing exciting and nothing new...

[Jos. · 1/10 · 7 January 2000]

The US government sends in a team of ex-military people and two scientists to a small town in Mexico. Their object is to retrieve a black box from an airplane which got shot down over Mexican airspace. What first seems like a walk in the park, turns out to be a whole different thing. It wasn't an ordinary airplane that got shot down, it was a UFO and the pilot of the UFO starts killing people... Their object is now to kill the ALIEN (UFO pilot).

The beginning is good, I thought this movie could really be something. After that, the movie got more and more ridiculous. You notice that the producer of this film is influenced by Predator, the X-files and Jackie Chan movies. This film is not worth watching, maybe if you really have nothing to do as entertainment, but I doubt that. The special effects are low budget ones, the story is bad and you can see how the producer has taken ideas from other movies without doing something creative with them, mostly from Predator. I rate this movie as 3 of 10.

Nothing like the Predator Films

[Cycoziz · 1/10 · 20 January 2000]

This film is a "Predator wanabe movie". But it totally lacks everything that made the first two predator movies, and especially the first, appreciated. The acting is lousy and the plot is predictable and unoriginal. The few effects that are there don't blend into the environment (except maybe for the big crater supposedly made by an alien escape pod). If you have seen the predator movies you will have high expectations... don't.

Highly Derivative - May Be Spoilers (as if that were possible for this flick)

[CyberSp00k · 1/10 · 12 May 2002]

Possibly the worst action/scifi flick I've ever encountered.

Alien viewpoint drawn from "Predator".

Weaponry from "MIB".

Alien animation from "Mars Attacks!"

Fight-fu stunts from "* Power Rangers *".

Oilians from "X-Files".

TV Pilot production values.

Continuity discontinuous.

Plot absent.

Hokey "out takes".

Avoid.

Spiritus ex Machina -- The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we CAN imagine.

Not a bad film for such a low budget

[rhino-37 · 7/10 · 5 July 2000]

This was obviously very low budget, but saying that it wasn't too bad, the plot was fairly obvious but isn't that what action movies are about. The ending may have been a bit cheesy but that can't be helped. The Lead actor Olivier Gruner has a future in action movies if he can keep that level of action up in his movies, he's Van Damn-esq right down to his accent. The alien was a bit like the predator but it was still quite a fun film.

One of the worst movies ever.

[MichaelCorleone2002 · 1/10 · 6 February 2003]

I saw this movie on late night Sci-Fi. This movie sucked. It's hilarious, but it's not a comedy. The leader of this group has the most laughable accent changes. First he has a German accent, then an American accent and the surprise twist, he's from FRANCE! And the actor who is supposed to be French can't even muster a good accent of his birth country. And then there's the guy who yelled in order to portray a Mexican accent and shot people for the hell of it. And they had the "hot chick programmer" who wasn't hot. The black dude who's dead before he's even seen on the screen (another insult.) And the most random ending ever. Jumping into a well is the best way to avoid being hit in a nuclear blast.

A refreshing action flick

[earth460 · 10/10 · 13 March 2000]

This film is not for those who expect Big Budget actors or great special effects. This is a limited budget well done film that entertains and surprises. Coming into the film with an open mind will go far to the adding fun to the film.

hilarious

[tatooinekenobi · 6/10 · 1 March 2003]

it was a while ago i saw this, but it will always stay in my memory as one of the funniest films i have ever seen, and its not even meant to be funny. if u havent seen it, i reckommend it, and watch out for when our hero is interrogated in a chair, or the fly kick japanese fella. top quality comedy

Bad acting, bad direction, bad script

[hphilpott · 1/10 · 1 April 2006]

So bad it's almost funny. If it showed the slightest amount of self-awareness, it could be very funny. Instead it's just the worst piece of politically correct (hero team: white man, black man, Hispanic man, white woman) science fiction (an insult to the genre) action film (again, an insult to the genre) I've ever watched. Fortunately I caught it free on cable. I hate to think people ever paid money to see this. Was it direct-to-video or made-for-TV? It even gives those categories a bad name. My favorite part is when the hero walks out of a nuclear blast site (having survived by hiding in a well?!) and punches the first woman he sees in the face. Amazingly bad!

Good for a low-budget alien flick

[DarkPhoen1x · 2 December 2002]

This movie is pretty good for what it is: a low budget, predictable alien movie with horrible acting. Really people, the acting was better in the American Godzilla. However, they do manage to make one of the best aliens I have seen in a movie of this type. People compare Predator and this movie, and yes it's true, it is a complete rip-off of Predator. However, it is a low-budget monster flick, and it is a lot better than a ton of movies I could mention.

A Fun Little B-movie Mix Of MIB, Predator & The X-Files

[lukem-52760 · 6/10 · 19 July 2023]

I'm a sucker for B-movies, especially low-budget sci-fi action thriller ones & that's what The Last Line Of Defence is.

This film is also known as "Interceptor Force"

This fun sci-fi thriller stars B-movie action star Olivier Gruner (Nemesis, Velocity Trap, Automatic) as the leader of a small team of secret government interceptors that are "The last line of defence" against extraterrestrial threats. I like Olivier Gruner as a cheap Van Damme type, pretty much a made-for home video action star, but he's actually decent. Gruner was truly excellent in the cult classic Albert Pyun sci-fi action-packed thriller NEMESIS.

I enjoyed the fun mix of bigger sci-fi stuff like MIB & Predator & the mega hit t.v show The X-Files. Low-budget sci-fi films were the absolute craze during the late 90's & early 2000's because of the huge success of The X-Files t.v show & because of the blockbusters MIB, Independence Day & The Matrix, to name a few. This cheap & often tacky sci-fi genre was strictly made for the home video market & i remember seeing the case of this film in Blockbuster!!! So there's a nice Nostalgic feel to this B-movie, it's a product of its time & the sci-fi extraterrestrial craze of the era.

The story is simple about a a small specially selected government team that are sent to a small ramshackle old border town where a UFO crashed. The CGI of the alien creature is of course fairly cheap & tacky, but it's expected for the small budget & the film is actually alot more fun than some big budget Blockbuster movies of the sci-fi genre.

I like small films like this as you know what your getting, action, a little humour & crazy creature fx.

There's plenty of gun play, a cool kick-ass bar fight where Gruner gets to show his fighting skills & a fun who's next to get got by the Predator type Alien. The creature isn't great but not terrible either, just cheap looking c.g.i of course. The alien is insect like & has a space gun, pretty cool in a low-rent kinda way. The extraterrestrial is a shape shifter that kills its victims & can then turn into them as a disguise, pretty cool creature to be honest. I would've liked more alien action & more backstory of it but of course that's the most expensive part creating the creature on screen. Leader of the elite soldiers Olivier Gruner does get to fight the shape shifting being but it's abit underwhelming because he just gets thrown around alot. It's definitely not a legendary fight like Schwarzenegger had with the Predator. But with all that said the film is a fun with some cheese & another solid lead part for Gruner.

There's a little "Desperado" tossed in to the action too, as the little dusty & crappy town our elite team are investigating in is full of Mexican bandits or outlaws or criminals or whatever that are very reminiscent of the types found in Robert Rodriguez films. Those bandits make for more body count for the cool alien invader & for Gruner to smack about lol. B-movie Sci-fi action thriller maker Roth includes the types of films he likes & that were big hits at the time & mixed it all together to create a fun, neat & entertaining little Sci-fi thriller. Yes there's some shoddily made bits, like the little dusty town looks like it's ready to fall down but it's fine in its earthy look. The contrast is nicely done actually with this team of smart looking government inforcers tracking a hi-tech Alien being with a space gun all happening in a very old-fashioned western type town.

The supporting cast is damn good too with Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters 1&2, Congo, No Escape), Brad Dourif (Alien Resurrection, Death Machine, Child's Play), Glenn Plummer (Trespass, Saw 2, The Substitute) & William Zebka (Python, Dark Descent, Epoch).

This is fun late-night vibe B-movie I've watched many times & just dig it's fun vibe & cool set-up of a town with an Alien problem. Nice cinematography too & a real easy-watching bit of Escapism.

Well directed by Philip J. Roth, a guy that made some great low-budget sci-fi flicks of the video store era with Total Reality, DarkDrive, A. P. E. X, BOA, Dragon Fighter & more!!!

I've become a Roth fan to be honest, i like his sci-fi action thriller's as they really do make for easy late-night viewing & are genuinely fun.

So many aliens have invaded the earth, but this one is different.

[dainton9 · 10/10 · 15 August 2006]

I've watched the movie and I can tell you that this is the most coolest alien invasion I've ever seen. At first it's not wet-annoyng movie like the others, it's very fun, there lot of action and the Alien looks just great. The characters are also cool, in particularly Lambert the team leader, the music is also awesome, unlike hollywoodian music, the are some techno-music throughout the movie. The story takes place in Mexico, El Despanzo, alien ship has been blasted and fallen on small town, where inhabitants thought that this was some sort of sign. Lambert and his team, as a mercenaries has been sent there to investigate. And there everything begins... Though the ending is also very cool and very original, but I'll leave you the surprice. This movie is really cool, but if you don't like action-sci-f movies, don't watch it. Note that the real name of the movie is "Interceptor Force" as the titles describes.

'The Last Line of Defense' provides some unexpectedly fun, Sixer-ready, B-Movie brain-melt!'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 9 December 2022]

One sure-fire way to effectively combat PAMD (Persistent Awesome Movie Depletion) is to liberally self-medicate with the conspicuously 'awesome-overload' of amiable late 90s Sci-Fighting fare like, Philip Roth's Extra Terrestrially titillating DTV actioner, 'The Last Line of Defense'. Granted, no previously undiscovered midnight movie masterpiece, it's competently made, and is enlivened with a suitably heroic performance by the frequently overlooked action star, Olivier Gruner, robustly supported by a groovy cast of familiar genre faces: Brad Dourif, William Zabka, and the effortlessly engaging actor, Ernie Hudson.

Following a largely one-sided dogfight betwixt a trio of stealth bombers and a dazzlingly quicksilver UFO, this ferociously fugly alien crash lands on earth, but clearly DIDN'T reckon on the persistent push back from handsome high-kicking pugilist, Olivier 'Nemesis' Gruner! Gruner's audaciously slick Kickboxing prowess providing a number of bellicose Alien vs. Alpha ass-kicker beatdowns! While plainly derivative, Roth's pacey,'The Last Line of Defense' is some unexpectedly fun, Sixer-ready B-Movie brain-melt, operating in the same adrenalized martial arts milieu of DTV gems, 'Cyborg Cop' or PM Entertainment's curiously underrated Sci-actioners,'Dark Breed' & 'T-Force'. Zestily imbued with a funky techno score, 'The Last Line of Defense' has more than enough eccentricity to keep psychotronic freaks amused!

How did they nab Dorrif?

[jaywolfenstien · 2 February 2004]

I'm still scratching my head over that. Brad Dorrif is an intelligent man, but this is not an intelligent script. Enter a series of my pet peeves - a film that can't show its material, rather has to announce it all (the dogfight scenes, anything having anything to do with technology); reducing scientific speak/theories/inventions to middle school buzzwords; Dourif's character explaining the mission to the expendables in such obvious/idiotic terms. Very seldom has the script made that much effort to make it clear a character is lying. So clear that every other character should smell it and walk the other way, but they don't because that would be the intelligent thing to do and we wouldn't have a movie.

When a machine gun barely phases an alien, what would you do? Keep shooting or run? How ‘bout fight it barefisted? In Predator, Arnold knew he could hurt the creature when those two went head to head, they made it bleed and the guns could kill it but the problem was seeing it and hitting the damn thing. Back to Interceptor Force, when a gun isn't even making it blink, you can keep shooting, but I'll be in the next time zone.

CG is not the way to go for alien creatures for low budget films. This film makes it clear why HG Geiger and Stan Winston are atop their class, and why puppets/suits/makeup is still superior to CGI for many effects. Last comments on the alien: it has the ability to walk through walls, but only seems to use that ability for the bad guys. The good guys it'll face in wide open. Discrimination?

Whew, sound effects, from what I heard, are mostly stock that have been used in video games (Doom) and other movies (Predator). The creature's POV shots – nice green tint and way too many cuts to the alien's perspective. It gets nauseating to watch. The characters - unbiased stupidity all around. Everyone gets a bad rep in this film. From the Mexicans, to the Americans, the men, the women-everyone has maybe one intelligent line. Maybe. Why didn't the alien stop and give a speech about Solaranite and end with `You humans and your stupid minds! Stupid! STUPID!'

Even as a comedy it fails. There is a point when the lines get too cheesy, too stupid, the situations get too unrealistic and too unbelievable to sustain even a silly picture. Even though I'm not that big a fan of the Death Machine I will say that at least that film knew what it was doing. Interceptor Force has no clue.

Entertaining, but lousy "leading man"

[FountainPen · 6/10 · 21 October 2011]

My expectations were low as this was one of four low-budget films in a DVD pack I bought (part of a bulk purchase on eBay), but I was pleasantly surprised for this film was pretty entertaining, spoiled only by the lousy "leading man" who has an accent (apparently French) that is almost unintelligible and an acting style that is wooden & robotic throughout. HE is the spoiler here! Overall, it is a fun flick and a reasonable way to pass a little time, especially for those of us who like action and sci-fi. There is the added bonus of Angel Boris, a Playmate actress: she stays clothed! Silly plot, but that's true of even many blockbusters, isn't it? CG alien is an unintentionally comical character. Objectively, I cannot rate "Interceptors" higher than 6.

Nice try, shame about the plot.

[vkn · 12 October 2000]

Ho-hum. It's shape-shifting aliens time again. There's nothing in here you haven't seen dozens of times before, which pretty much wipes out any suspense and surprises in there. You've seen it all before, you -know- what's going to happen next. Every plot element has been done to death, and often done much better. The only standout feature of this film are some pretty hard-hitting fight scenes (who may seem needlessly over-the-top for some), and that's it. The rest is just a dose of rather dull same-old, same-old cheapo sci-fi. Not worth your money, in the end.

Last Line of Defense

[pwavesl · 25 August 2001]

I'm afraid this film was very disappointing. I love Olivier Gruner but he could have made this film with his eyes shut - in fact I think he did!

It's a shame 'cos this film could have been so much better. I still like him but I'll be more careful in future which films I buy. It's a shame 'cos I thought any film he starred in would be good! Wrong again.

* OUT OF FIVE

[bronsonskull72 · 26 October 2003]

Olivier Gruner stars as a mercenary who finds himself wiped out by a creature who is mutilating his team of mercenaries in this low budget rip off of the vastly superior Predator. Poor as these things go, plus Dourif, Gruner and Hudson seem bored by this unexciting caper.

You could do a lot worse

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 11 February 2004]

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Lt. Sean Lambert (Olivier Gruner) leads his team of mysterious government agents against a mysterious alien force that has taken over a small town.

This is directed by Philip J Roth,who helmed Digital Man and A.P.E.X.,two other low-budget,DTV sci-fi actioners that I enjoyed,and this is pretty much on their level.Sure,like those films,it's low budget and direct to video,and as such,it must have the production values that would indicate this,but very rarely do they seep through.

It opens with a neat,energetic soundtrack that plays throughout the film,adding excitement to the numourous action sequences,in the shape of some fine explosions and Gruner's very impressive kickboxing prowess.It's a good job that the guy can kickbox with the best of them though,because if it was his acting ability we had to concentrate on,the film would be a dead cert loss.Seriously,anyone who ever considered Jean Claude Van Damme the worst thing ever committed to celliloid,I say,just look at this guy.His unemphatic delivery,shoddy execution and lack of panache render his performance nothing less than nauseatingly wooden,as he cheerlessly bites off his bland lines of dialogue the script wisely allocates him.He's complimented,however,by some weak supporting characters that ultimately expose weaknesses in,well,the script itself.

Generally speaking,though,it is of superior quality for a film of it's ilk,with some nice lines of dialogue that flow thick and fast and plenty of what the audience came expecting to see:action.

I enjoyed it.Chances are,you might too.***

Apologies to any one who likes the film don't read this.

[littlelisseman · 3 February 2004]

Let me start with saying this is possibly the worst film I've ever seen, and yes I've seen Titanic. The plot is extremely flat, there is no depth to the film's content and I feel I must stress the serious lack of character development. The packaging was painfully misleading and the ending would have been a serious let down if the rest of the film hadn't been so bad. The ending was one of the most random endings it has ever been my displeasure to witness. In short if you've seen this film already I sympathize, otherwise steer well clear.