Internet comedy team Rooster Teeth have been kicking around for over a decade now. They created the cult machinima series Red vs Blue and from there, expanded into a community driven, multi-channel, YouTube sensation. It is with that growth and loyal fan base that they were able to drum up over US$2 million on Indiegogo in order to fund their first feature film, Lazer Team.
Lazer Team is written and directed by the Rooster Teeth crew and much of its main cast are first time actors from the company too. Its conception was spurred on by Burnie Burns’ (writer, actor and co-founder of Rooster Teeth) love for Sci-Fi cinema and video games and it certainly shows.
Burnie plays Hagan, a local cop who crashes a house party and arrests Zach (Michael Jones). On their way to the lock-up, they encounter Hagan’s former friend Herman (Colton Dunn) and his drinking buddy Woody (Gavin Free) letting off fireworks. Inadvertently, they shoot down an alien spacecraft that was headed to a nearby military base, to deliver a special suit for an impending battle for Earth.
Although the suit was meant for “the champion” Adam (Alan Ritchson), the bumbling foursome each take a part of the suit: A multi-purpose helmet, a lazer gun, a shield and boots which grant its wearer super speed. Since the parts attach themselves to the wearer, the group are now tasked with defending earth.
While not wholly original, Lazer Team has a pretty neat little theme underpinning all of its silliness. Unity and comradery in the face of adversity isn’t anything new either but seeing these four contrasting individuals come together slowly, despite having absolutely no ones faith is a cool payoff.
That’s about all it offers though, ironically. Lazer Team just isn’t very funny. And this is coming from a Rooster Teeth fan. It seems as though people like Jones and Free are better when they are hurling profanities at one another and let loose in an unadulterated environment. Having a PG-13 rating and script puts constraints on the the RT guys and it’s transparent. Some woefully unamusing punch lines don’t help either.
For first time actors, the cast do a pretty good job. Alan Ritchson outshines everyone but that’s fair. As soon as Free knocks off his American accent and resorts to his native English, he has his moments. Jones looks as though acting might be something he wants to pursue but doing anything beyond a college jock who says “bitch” a lot might be a stretch at this point. Dunn is clearly meant to be the most comedic (especially having worked on Key & Peele) but he actually falls flat on numerous occasions which is a shame. Burns is a natural, his confidence shining through. This is made even more evident by the fact that he has already been picked up for two more films.
Lazer Team isn’t a terrible action movie either. The special effects are bad and there are some holographic aliens that look like they stepped out of a video game from 1994 but there are a couple of serviceable set-pieces, put over by some lovely camera work and great slo-mo shots (we can probably thank Free for that, given his side work on The Slow-Mo Guys). The guys wear their love of film and games on their sleeves.
Lazer Team is a worthy debut feature for Rooster Teeth and that is about as much acclaim as it really deserves. For a company that was built on comedy, their first movie is at times insultingly unfunny and even with a small budget, some of those effects should not have made it into the film.
What they do manage to do though is show their potential. It starts to get funnier toward the end, the action is never bad and there are some actors here who have real potential and enthusiasm. Lazer Team can always be considered ground zero for what could be a fun body of work.
Review Score: TWO STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Lazer Team is difficult to see right now. Stay tuned to the website for screenings in Australia.
Rooster Teeth have noted that Lazer Team will be available on YouTube Red in February, however there has been no date set for international audiences.
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