Movie review: ‘Lazer Team’

Anyone who grew up on a steady diet of Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles and Transformers will appreciate the good-natured Lazer Team, a Texas-made, PG-13 goof on all those superheroes-save-the-world kids shows of the ’80s.

Begun as an Indiegogo campaign and now a full-fledged feature film, the Austin-shot Lazer Team is never hysterically funny but manages to capture the Saturday morning, kidvid sensibility.

Set in Milford, Texas, it focuses on two losers — long-ago high school football players Hagan (Burnie Burns) and Herman (Colton Dunn) and two younger losers-in-training — Zach (Michael Jones) and Woody (Gavin Free) — whose fireworks horseplay out in the woods brings down an alien craft. The UFO was on a secret mission from good aliens to bring our government a special suit that a trained warrior would wear to battle an evil alien coming to destroy humankind.

Of course, our dunderheaded quartet finds the suit and each straps on a different part. Woody gets the helmet and experiences increased intelligence. Herman gets the boots and can run at light speed. Hagan gets an arm attachment that turns into a laser shield. Zach gets the other arm attachment that’s a laser gun. Together, they make one superhero.

Since the new gadgets become a permanent part of the person wearing them, they can’t be removed. So it’s up to these cowardly four — whom Zach dubs “the Lazer Team” — to save the Earth from destruction.

The effects are cheesy but that’s the point. The only thing missing from The Lazer Team are constant commercial breaks for too sugary cereals.

Exclusive: Alamo Drafthouse, Richardson; AMC Stonebriar, Frisco; available on YouTube Red on Feb. 10

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 3:08 AM with the headline "Movie review: ‘Lazer Team’."