ROOSTER TEETH TAKES A BITE OUT OF SCI-FI
Movie Review – “Lazer Team”
Review by Ray Schillaci
The comedy troupe known as Rooster Teeth, the internet phenom that has over 20 million subscribers to their YouTube network, have aimed their talents at a bigger screen with their first feature film, “Lazer Team”, delivering a sophomoric, dumb and giddily enjoyable piece of entertainment. Their efforts do not always hit the mark, but when they do, it ends up being a very fun 100+ minutes that does not wear out its welcome. The film manages to come closest to the joyful silliness of another beloved sci-fi comedy classic, “Galaxy Quest”. It may not be as smart or sharp as that movie, which skewered the whole “Star Trek” galaxy, but it does manage to capture the wide-eyed innocence of some beloved science fiction of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
Since the inception of the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute, the government has been secretly preparing for a visitation, but this time we’re prepared with a battle suit. We’ve been warned that we could be visited by hostiles, and it’s been suggested that we prepare our finest warrior to go to war once the suit is ready. One problem, four small-town yahoos happen to stumble onto the suit first, and through some inadvertent silliness our less than fantastic four end up acquiring each piece of the suit, including our would-be dashing hero, who has trained all his life for this mission and ends up having his plans thwarted as Earth’s savior. The world is stuck with these morons in the hopes that they can be trained in four days for an impossible mission.
The rest of the movie has our less than heroic group tackle the odds against them while always suited up (they cannot remove the weapons from their bodies unless they’re amputated off). This looks like a wise suggestion when they prove to be absolutely useless with their new-found abilities. Each has been given a power with the suit – a remarkable force shield, a type of laser cannon, boots that make you move like The Flash, and a helmet that makes even the dumbest person smart (and talk with a British accent). Just the idea of the boots having you move so fast it makes you involuntarily throw-up is novel and funny at the same time.
Rooster Teeth manages to skewer the whole super hero mythos with charm and gusto. It’s a fun romp that has lifted all sorts of elements from “Mars Attacks” to “Chronicle,” but not in an overt way. Do all the jokes make us laugh? No. But a good deal of the story is so joyfully played out that we are won over by its enthusiasm. Compared to the recent internet sensation “Kung Fury”, it may not play out as fast and furious, but it’s just as amusing, and well worth the viewing.
Writer/director Matt Hullum and his team of writers, Burnie Burns (billed as ‘screenplay by’), Chris Demarais and Joshua Flanagan keep the liveliness at a brisk pace. If one joke falls flat, one of the several others is bound to tickle your funny bone. Those on the “Lazer Team” play wonderful off each other, and have a great deal of fun with the wannabe intended savior of the world, Adam, played with smarmy, brat/frat vitality by Alan Ritchson. With this being Rooster Teeth’s first endeavor into feature filmmaking, there’s a good chance that they have a lot more hilarity to come, and I’m sure their audience will welcome it.
Directed by: Matt Hullum
Release Date: January 27, 2016
Run Time: 102 Minutes
Country: USA
Rated: PG-13
Distributor: Rooster Teeth Productions
