The Minion (1998)

Director:

Jean-Marc Piché

Writers (WGA):

Matt Roe (screenplay) and
Ripley Highsmith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 September 1998 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

A modern day warrior trained in the ancien arts to defeat the ultimate evil.

Plot:

New York, Christmas Eve, 1999 - at the dawn of the new millennium - a subway construction crew unearths...

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Millennium | Archeologist | Relic | Occult

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Lukas Sadorov
Françoise Robertson	...	Karen Goodleaf
Roc LaFortune	...	David Schulman
David Nerman	...	Lieutenant Roseberry
Allen Altman	...	Dante
Jean-Marc Bisson	...	Bernard
Don Francks	...	Chief Michael Bear
Michael Greyeyes	...	Gray Eagle
Andy Bradshaw	...	Photographer
Anik Matern	...	Police Lieutenant
Tony Calabretta	...	Dispatcher
James Bradford	...	Captain
Tedd Dillon	...	Stranger
Matt Holland	...	Parking Lot Cop
Dennis St John	...	Gregor

Also Known As:

Armageddon (USA) (working title)
Fallen Knight (Canada: English title)
Guerrier des ténèbres (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

UK:95 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:14A | France:U (video premiere) | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | UK:15 (video premiere) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

Taurus 7 Film Corporation

Trivia:

Michele Soavi and Avi Nesher were attached to direct.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Towards the end of the movie, when they came out of the tunnel thing at the nuclear plant, Lundgren asked where the nearest International Airport is. The response was to the effect if they crossed the border at Cornwall, then Montreal International was the closest. First off...the airport at Montreal, at the time the movie was made was called Dorval not Montreal International. (It has since been renamed Pierre Elliot Trudeau International) Secondly, if they crossed the border at Cornwall, the nearest International Airport would be Ottawa International, about 1 - 1 1/2 hours from the border.

Movie Connections:

References Red Scorpion (1989)

Lazily made passable filmaking

The Minion is about... well, a minion. A servant of Satan and whose goal is to get the key that will unlock the door where his master is trapped. He is some sort of demon who possess human beings and when the body dies will possess another. Anyone who happens to be possessed will go on some berserker rage. Dolph Lundgren plays Lukas, a member of a secret order of Templars, who is tasked to keep the key away from the minion. The movie begins a thousand years ago, in the Middle East where a couple of knight templars flee from the minion. Then flash forward to 1999, where the key winds up somewhere underground in New York. An archeologist is assigned to study/dig the place where the key was found. Needless to say, the minion is after the key, and the movie becomes a long winded chase scene between the minion and Lukas and archeologist.

The movie, is just that, a low budget B-movie flick. The movie lacks energy, and just trods along. You'll follow the chase but you won't ever feel involved in the story which willfully takes ideas from previous movies (especially The Terminator films). The fight scenes with the minion is troublesome, in that you never get the sense of how good or how bad a warrior this demon is. It "skillfully" becomes a one-man army when fighting a squad of templars but sucks when it comes to one-on one. And it's supposed to be around for a long time. All this goes to show that any sense of logic is just thrown down the drain for convenience. The whole idea of a secret order of Templars, a door to hell, and the key isn't well explained. We are merely to accept that they just exist. The movie seems to have been made with the feeling there's not much potential to the story but only enough to make a few bucks. Dolph Lundgren sure looks like he wish he were somewhere else.

The verdict: 2 of 5 stars.