T-Force (1994) – Review

Where to watch T-Force

4 Stars

Terrorists have seized the U.S. Embassy, killing hostages. Five super-soldiers known as the T-Force are dispatched and within minutes all thirty terrorists are dead. In the process of the rescue, Adam (Evan Lurie) the alpha leader of the robotic law enforcers makes a decision that leaves innocent people in the crossfire. After a public outcry the political brass decides to pull the plug on the T-Force program. Sensing a conflict in directives that demand self-preservation, the robots turn renegade and begin to execute authority figures.

Caught in the turmoil is veteran cop Jack Floyd (Jack Scalia), forced to partner with Cain (Bobby Johnston) the only loyal robot on the T-Force squad. The pair must set out to stop Adam and his gang of killer robots before they assassinate the Mayor. At first the partnership is rocky as Cain faces all forms of prejudice from those unwilling to trust cyber-cops. Eventually the duo work out their differences while bringing down the rogue bots.

Faithful readers will recognize the abundance of B-movie titles in my review column. Having grown up during the height of the Martial Arts cinema craze, I feel a kinship with the genre. I comb the sea of schlock exploitation flicks in hopes that I will stumble upon a gem like T-Force. For all my years spent in front of a screen as the latest title from PM Entertainment or Nu Image un-spools, I had never seen lead actor Jack Scalia in anything. The funny thing is T-Force plasters his name over the title like it’s household recognizable, obviously it’s not. However, Scalia is a charming rouge and instantly likable-imagine Pierce Brosnan with a Brooklyn accent and you start to get the picture.

As this is a PM Entertainment production the usual stunts and gun play are a aplenty, while also borrowing story elements from other better films. Die Hard, Universal Soldiers, Alien Nation and Blade Runner are just a few that spring to mind. None of this matters because the scripting from writer Jacobson Hart is actually good. Not going to win major accolades good, but far better than is the norm for the genre and production company. Not only do we have the ultra-slick Jack Scalia, we have the ultra-slick Evan Lurie. Lurie only appeared in a dozen flick during a six-year span, the movies typically aren’t’ very entertaining but Lurie always is. The B-movie T-Force is superior to most of the big-budget action films I’ve seen lately.

Director: Richard Pepin
Stars: Jack Scalia, Evan Lurie, Erin Gray