I found this film on VHS while milling around on the Internet. I had come into a little cash, and what better way to spend it than on DTVC Hall of Famer Wings Hauser's movies, especially when they have the ridiculously huge faced Robert Z'Dar in them.
The Killer's Edge is about Wings Hauser as an LA cop who likes to shoot first and ask questions later, and is also a great detective. Go figure. While trying to turn a corner in his life and settle down, a huge counterfeiting ring is ambushed by Robert Z'Dar, forcing Wings to ditch the women he wants to settle down with, which makes her so angry she does things like throw fruit at him and have sex with him. This isn't Wings' only issue. Z'Dar, who I may have forgotten to mention above has a huge face, was an old buddy in 'Nam that saved Wings' life. Also, the 90s have arrived, and Wings and the rest of the cast are fighting this fact vehemently, insisting on dressing like the year was 1984. Eventually Z'Dar kidnaps Wings' woman, and then tries to shoot Wings and his woman from a helicopter with a rocket launcher. Luckily Wings put a remote device on the helicopter before it took off, and somehow when he hit a button from another remote device, the helicopter exploded.
When seeking out a film where Wings is the star, not just a bad guy on an action series like Walker, Texas Ranger or a TV movie like Kevin Sorbo's Avenging Angel, as the movie watcher, you're venturing into dicey territory. This film is indicative of that. We're talking pretty lousy stuff here. Yet my friends and I really liked this one. It's a fairly rich mine of material. The script is horrible and implausible: things like rocket launchers pop up out of nowhere, and a drunk Wings visits his fiancee's 6th grade class on a field trip to the skating rink.
Did I mention this film has the huge faced Robert Z'Dar? I must start by giving credit to the site where I got these pics of him from. If you want to see more of this gargantuan face, check out: http://members.tripod.com/~bmovies/zdar/zdar.htm This face thing is not something that's funny to look at once. It's a major scene stealer throughout the movie. I've seen other Z'Dar films, and no matter what, it's always the same: I can't get over that face. It rules.
The body count in this is rather substantial. Pretty much everywhere Z'Dar or Wings go, four or five people are shot to death. My buddy's wife, who's from Canada, asked if a cop can kill that many people without going up on review. In real life, I guess it just depends on who you kill, but I got the impression from this film that when Wings does get suspended, it's because the chief doesn't like him, not due to the body count, and even then the chief's overruled when the FBI chick investigating the counterfeiting recognizes him as the detective savant he is.
Another great aspect is the clothing. My friends were convinced this film was made in 1984. Me, being a veteran of bad films, knew how bad film makers are usually 7 to 10 years behind on fashion trends. This movie was actually cutting edge, because it was only five or six years behind. I loved Wings' woman wearing a long sweater and black stirrup pants to the skating rink. I was turned on.
The Wings Hauser movie is a bit of an acquired taste, but once you've acquired it, there's really no going back. What's great about this one is the Z'Dar factor. He's so hilarious on his own, that you don't need to be a real pro at mocking movies to be able to handle it. For me, it's a great introduction to the Wings Hauser category of bad action, perhaps even better than Mind, Body, and Soul. I'd rent it if you see it at your video store, and you may want to buy it for like $2-$4.
For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102211/
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