Plot: A scientist working in a top-secret government weapons technology research becomes so disillusioned that he destroys his latest creation: an ultra-sophisticated flying attack laser. Soon, terrorists who want him to re-create the invention kidnap him. A shady government contact recruits two veteran Special Forces operatives Ron Morrell and John Slade who soon find themselves in a frantic race against the clock to rescue the scientist and keep his deadly knowledge a secret.
Before Project Shadowchaser, Frank Zagarino starred in Project Eliminator proving that he really enjoys working on movies with the word “Project” in the title.
Project Eliminator is a sequel to the 1988 film Striker with Zagarino reprising his role as the amazingly named John “Striker” Slade, who is essentially a badass drifter who helps people in need. The film starts off with Slade at a gas station in the desert trying to get some peace to shave but, then some robbers using masks from Point Break try to rob it; they are of course foiled by Slade who beats them up, then he beats up the cops for making fun of his girly hair. He’s a man of few words but still super cool and not someone to trifle with as he has a particular set of skills which he learned in the military.
Slade meets up with his old buddy Ron (David Carradine) who takes him to a weapons demonstration which doesn’t go quite the way we expect with the creator Dr. Markson (Joshua Bryant) destroying his new laser weapon and stating that he is no longer in the weapons manufacturing business. This doesn’t sit well with people who like weapons, so they decide to kidnap him and it’s up to Slade and Ron to save the day.
Our main villain is called Elias (Brett Baxter Clark from Delta Force Commando) and he is mostly surrounded by incompetence as only the best villains can be. I love how Elias spends most of the film shouting at them all for being dumb as it just adds to the entertainment factor.
Admittedly, the story does seem to lack urgency and at times you may find your attention drifting elsewhere, but there is still enough action to keep things moving. We of course get several fight scenes, shoot-outs, chases and explosions. David Carradine gets a decent final showdown with one of the main henchmen and he really gets his ass kicked, for the most part only winning at the last second. We also have the added bonus of the movie being set in the desert and I just love anything that takes place there.
Overall, Project Eliminator is hardly classic action cinema, but it’s still a fun time with David Carradine and Frank Zagarino making for a cool duo with Carradine even singing at one point and it’s hard not to be jealous of Zagarino’s fabulous hair. There is enough action to keep things moving even if the budget isn’t massive, but I do love these lower budget action flicks from the 90’s as they are just made to entertain and that’s precisely what this does.
