Verdict
Summary
It’s not as savvy or cool as the follow-up Sidaris hits like Hard Ticket to Hawaii and Picasso Trigger, but Malibu Express is a nice start to the 12-entry franchise that Sidaris spearheaded into the ’90s.
Plot: A smooth-talking private eye is assigned the task of investigating who is behind the hi-tech computer technology leaks to the Russians.
Review: Ladies man private eye Cody Abilene (Darby Hinton, who must have had a great time working on this movie) takes a case involving international espionage, but he gets sidetracked on a murder case while staying over at a swanky house where some literal backstabbing and blackmail have been going on. Cody’s allies include a sexy countess (Sybil Danning), and a taut and hot policewoman (Lori Sutton), but his enemies seem innumerable as he’s shot at, beat up, and thrown around. With his bad aim (a recurring joke that sometimes works), and his great taste in women, Cody is bound to hit the bull’s-eye eventually.
If Magnum P.I. were a T & A hit parade, then it would look a lot like Malibu Express from Andy Sidaris. The hero is a chick magnet who drives around in a red Delorean, and it skirts the razor’s edge of a porn parody, but with its ’80s swagger and good ‘ole boy enthusiasm it’s a winner. It’s not as savvy or cool as the follow-up Sidaris hits like Hard Ticket to Hawaii and Picasso Trigger, but it’s a nice start to the 12-entry franchise that Sidaris spearheaded into the ’90s. Too bad we never got another Cody Abilene film.
Mill Creek’s brand new 4K widescreen restoration transfer Blu-ray of Malibu Express is the best the movie has ever looked or sounded on video. Every previous video release was presented in a full frame presentation, so watching this version was like watching it for the first time all over again. There’s an archival intro by Sidaris and a topless Julie Strain, plus a behind the scenes feature, a commentary, and trailers.
