This movie, directed by W.D. Richter, is about a man, played by Robocop Peter Weller, who is a genius scientist, rock guitarist, neurosurgeon, adrenaline junkie, and samurai, and who is supposedly half-Japanese and half-American but really only looks very Aryan (if I were an Asian guy I would be mad that this awesome role went to a not-half-Asian guy from Stevens Point, Wisconsin).Banzai and his team of cool scientists (all guys, except for the love interest) travel around the world pushing the edges of knowledge and are the subject of comic bookery. In this movie, Banzai has figured out how to get into the eighth dimension; it comes to light that there are aliens living there, on a parallel plane with humanity; then there's some stuff about how the bad aliens want to take over some distant planet and Banzai's action has given them an opening, while good aliens try to help close the gate, blah blah.
Watching this movie reminded me yet again of how my media exile during the 1980s rendered my tastes irrevocably different from those of the rest of my peers. I can see how it would be appealing and nostalgic to watch this so that you could revel in the funny suits and the short-haired, wide-shouldered love interest, and the sort of cheesy production values and the funny synth music etc etc, but I just find it kind of grating. Am I still bitter that I got left out, so many years ago? Maybe.
Dude! Not only is Peter Weller weirdly an art historian (though not a PhD), but he plays in a jazz band with Jeff Goldblum sometimes! If Wikipedia is right, anyway.
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