Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Cloak & Dagger / USA / 1984

This film was a childhood favorite of mine, and while I cannot say it holds up to any high standard, it is at very least a fascinating case study in the now totally streamlined economy of movie-video game tie-ins. Universal happened to be developing this spy movie about a kid who finds secret government plans (for a stealth bomber, no less) in a video game and called upon Atari to consult. Atari happened to be developing a spy game called “Agent X,” and so a marriage was made in franchise heaven. Well, maybe not heaven — both game and film remained pretty well cloaked from public view, the latter buried in 1984’s nasty blockbuster clusterfuck (Beverly Hills Cop, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Revenge of the Nerds, The Karate Kid, Temple of Doom, Red Dawn, etc., etc.). But this at least explains the handful of extended (and, frankly, boring) video game sequences in the film.

Apart from this interesting (if unsuccessful) tie-in, the film is strictly Spielberg Lite (or even Spielberg Zero, as we might say these days): Henry Thomas stars in an obvious bid to trade on his E.T. cuteness; he’s paired with a tow-headed imp-girl in hopes of channelling a less drunk Drew Barrymore; and Dabney Coleman stretches himself thin in an astonishing (sarcasm) double-role, playing not one, but two men with moustaches. The Spielberg Touch comes at the end when Dabney the Imaginary Hero dies and is replaced by Dabney the Dad.

All in all, the film is no more terrible than one can reasonably expect and it affords a sufficient number of unintentional laughs, as in its fairly bellicose damn-the-Russkies plot, pointless invocation of the Alamo, and a hilarious speech by the villain at the end, detailing how he’s going to blow Henry Thomas’ knee-caps off, then shoot him in the stomach and relish (oh yeah, and ignore) his tortured pleas for a quicker death. That comes just before Elliott puts a cap in his ass.

I should note, finally, that it is astonishing to me that Rumsey has yet to write anything about this movie for this website.

by Leo Goldsmith | Source: Universal Pictures DVD
02 Aug 2007 3:34 PM | Comments (6)

Comments / 6 total / Submit Comment

1. Tyler W / 2 August 2007 / 3:26 PM / URL

   Hmm, reading this has given me a very specific memory of seeing Cloak & Dagger at age 6 or 7 whilst getting my hair cut at the local barber. Is this possible? Did my barber even have a TV set, much less a VCR or cable? Why did my haircut take so long? THE MYSTERY DEEPENS. Anyway, back then I recall finding Dabney Coleman kind of hilarious. Dude was great in 9 to 5, am I right? Seriously, am I right? I’m not sure.

2. marky / 2 August 2007 / 6:50 PM

   Dabney peaked his best in “The Man with One Red Shoe”.

3. leo / 3 August 2007 / 9:05 AM / URL

   You’ve just got to love Coleman: Muppets Take Manhattan, 9 to 5, The Man with One Red Shoe, WarGames. And then, of course, there’s his Milburn Drysdale in The Beverly Hillbillies remake.

4. Monksalot / 7 August 2007 / 12:16 PM

   That movie totally made me cry as a child.

5. Monksalot / 7 August 2007 / 12:18 PM

   Just wanted to point out that the first poster and I share, first name and last initial. Threw me off a bit.

6. Tyler W / 7 August 2007 / 12:47 PM / URL

   THE MYSTERY DEEPENS AGAIN. How’s it going Tyler W?