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Now Available from RiffTrax…

MegaForce_Poster

Persis Khambata stars in a movie featuring a lame hero on a motorcycle, one year before she went on to star in a movie featuring a lame hero on a motorcycle. Stream or download it here.

29 Replies to “Now Available from RiffTrax…”

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  1. littleaimishboy says:

    But this one FLIES!

       2 likes

  2. Johnny's nonchalance says:

    From the picture, the rare male camel toe?

       3 likes

  3. Joel Lillo says:

    I saw this in the theater in 1982 (on a double bill with Yor, Hunter of the Future [which Rifftrax should also do]). My friends and I started spontaneously riffing on it back then. I think I’ll be picking up this one.

       5 likes

  4. Kenneth Morgan says:

    Oh, dear. I remember how a lot of comic books at the time had ads for this movie on the back cover. They were really pushing for this to be the next big Hollywood action franchise, but it got crushed at the box office by “Star Trek II” and “E.T.” I gotta get this one!

       10 likes

  5. Bad Wolf says:

    Sweet, i’ve been wanting to see this for ages and now, plus Rifftrax!

       2 likes

  6. littleaimishboy says:

    one hundred and six reviews on amazon give this an average of four stars out of five.

    the unriffed version, we’re talking about.

    food for thought …

       1 likes

  7. Megaweapon says:

    This movie is so freaking ridculous and stupid, it almost defies riffing. Not that it doesn’t richly deserve to be riffed, and the freaking bugnuts insane performance by Barry Bostwick coupled with the goofy effects and constant motorcycle missle battles, should make this this mega flop an instant classic.

       3 likes

  8. Richard the Lion-Footed says:

    I saw this in the theater also.
    I saw A LOT of movies back then.
    It is so tongue in cheek that it is like riffing Sharknado.

    I have to get this one.
    Thanks Rifftax.
    Surprised you did not do this one live.

       3 likes

  9. Mike "ex-genius" Kelley says:

    “It is so tongue in cheeck that it is like riffing Sharknado.”

    And there, my friends, is the biggest problem RT has nowadays (coupled with their inability to actually write witty material). It was always dicey when even MST3K did films that “knew” they weren’t serious, but nowadays it seems that’s all RT ever tries for. It’s almost impossible to make fun of someone who’s in on the joke.

    But I am glad RT still have an audience… different strokes…

       1 likes

  10. Remmie Barrow says:

    Mike trying to sing the ending song was the funniest riff in this movie.

       1 likes

  11. GornCaptain says:

    This ought to have been one of the live shows!

    And there had better be a Warrior of The Lost World callback. ;)

       1 likes

  12. hellokittee says:

    Watched this last night and had no damn clue what was going on for the whole movie. Other than that the Megaforce’s uniforms were very upsetting.

       3 likes

  13. Torlygid Racihmopt says:

    @Kenneth Morgan, Yeah, ’82 was a pretty awesome summer for movies. Tron, The Wrath of Khan, E.T., and this piece of dung. I saw those first three in the theater that summer and was blown away. Watching the TV commercials for MegaForce I knew it would be horrible, even at 10 years old. A friend and I watched it on VHS and just made jokes about it the whole time. Our favorite part was the animated pig that danced on the table, just because it came out of nowhere and made no sense.

    I bought the RiffTrax yesterday and laughed my ass off. The movie has so many long, boring stretches that I was worried, but Mike, Kevin and Bill did a great job. Yes, they did make a Star Trek The Motionless Picture joke or two but I was disappointed that there weren’t any Spin City or Rocky Horror (I was expecting at least a “Dammit, Janet” somewhere). Still, completely awesome Riff.

       3 likes

  14. Torlygid Racihmopt says:

    Joel Lillo:
    I saw this in the theater in 1982 (on a double bill with Yor, Hunter of the Future [which Rifftrax should also do]).My friends and I started spontaneously riffing on it back then.I think I’ll be picking up this one.

    I’m jealous! Yor, The Hunter From The Future was another that I’d see the commercials for and could tell was going to be horrible. That double-feature of horrible cheesiness would have been the best, especially with friends. I keep praying (and voting) that RiffTrax skewers Yor sometime soon. Reb Brown in a too short loin cloth is hillarious.

       2 likes

  15. crowschmo says:

    Oh, Brad.

    I might have to get this. I saw this, but I don’t remember seeing it in a theater. I think it was on HBO at some point, or maybe Showtime? (Back when premium channels didn’t warrant a second mortgage on one’s home). Anyway, I remember it being utterly horrible, but in a goofy way.

    So, maybe it’s worth a look.

    A**hole!

       0 likes

  16. KidFlash says:

    Kenneth Morgan:
    Oh, dear.I remember how a lot of comic books at the time had ads for this movie on the back cover.They were really pushing for this to be the next big Hollywood action franchise, but it got crushed at the box office by “Star Trek II” and “E.T.”I gotta get this one!

    I have issues of The Flash and Daredevil with the ad on the back page.

    The film cost $20m (for comparison’s sake, Raiders of the Lost Ark cost $18m the summer before), and Fox shelved plans for a 35mm to 70mm print blowup release once they saw footage. (If your big-budget sci-fi/action film didn’t get a 70mm blowup release post-Star Wars, it was a bad sign.)

    The film opened on 6/25/82 – against Blade Runner, The Thing, E.T. and Star Trek II – and performed as well as you’d imagine.

    The planned sequel was to be called DEEDS NOT WORDS, by the way.

       3 likes

  17. Ptomreeves says:

    Torlygid Racihmopt: I’m jealous! Yor, The Hunter From The Future was another that I’d see the commercials for and could tell was going to be horrible. That double-feature of horrible cheesiness would have been the best, especially with friends. I keep praying (and voting) that RiffTrax skewers Yor sometime soon. Reb Brown in a too short loin cloth is hillarious.

    Yor you say? Intriguing. Maybe they will riff it. Anyway this piece of cheese to good. Thanks Rifftrax!

       1 likes

  18. Cornjob says:

    Joe Bob Briggs showed this on Monstervision. I remember the ads in my comic books as well. If you thought that the physics of Commando Cody’s jetpack were dumb get a load of the flying motorcycle. The Atari 2600 game they made from it wasn’t bad though.

       3 likes

  19. radioman970 says:

    That guys hair is up there with Fabio. Just fantastic. (coming from a bald guy)

    anyway, my best friend saw this in the day and it could have been Star Wars to hear him talk about it. I actually do miss the time when this movie would be like that.

       2 likes

  20. underwoc says:

    I watched this on HBO as a kid too. For some reason, I remember a three way argument I had with my school friends where I championed this flick against Firefox and Deal of the Century.

    In retrospect, in think I might have been in error.

    That said, this is the only one of those three movies that I own on DVD…

       3 likes

  21. JCC says:

    I think I saw part of this on TNT. All I remember is Barry Bostwick with his blowdried hair on an airbike/speeder very slowly approaching his HQ ship and then grinning a huge, cheesy smile and celebrating with his crew. I try not to be too nostalgic, but 90’s TNT/TBS ruled.

       3 likes

  22. radioman970 says:

    I didn’t remember that Pumaman bike at all! I do remember the ones on Battlestar Galactica 1980. Hell, we thought those were the most amazing things and wondered when we’d be able to have one for real! lol

    yeah, Firefox, Deal of the Century… those are still great fun. A young Clint (way WAY before he started talking to furniture on national TV), a likable Chevy. Damn, those were the days!

    Some of my favorites still belong beside those, like Spacehunter and Ice Pirates. Hoping to replace my DVDs with blurays on those one day. I always check.

       3 likes

  23. Bootblacking says:

    Watched it last night, awesome riffing, the movie is ridiculous. I would listen to the “dialogue” of the actual movie and instantly my brain would just fill with low level static. My wife would ask “ok what are they going to do” and I would have no idea.

    I agree with Remmie Barrow, Mike singing at the end was awesome! worth the price just for that.

       6 likes

  24. Turquoise Plastic Pith Helmet says:

    I just checked out the top 100 grossing movies of 1982, and MegaForce really didn’t have a chance even if it had been half-way decent (I’m not excusing it or anything, just pointing out it’s competition). Others mentioned some of the heavy-hitters it was up against, but looking at boxofficemojo’s list for that year gives the full magnitude of what it was up against: E.T., Star Trek II, Poltergeist, Firefox, The Dark Crystal, Conan, Tron, Blade Runner, The Thing, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Creepshow, Airplane 2, and if all that isn’t bad enough, for non-genre films there was: Tootsie, An Officer and a Gentleman, Rocky III, 48 HRS., Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, and to top it all off, Raiders of the Lost Ark and the original Star Wars trilogy were apparently re-released that year. Truly a great year for movies that made a mediocre effort like MegaForce appear even worse by comparison. I caught it on HBO, as I didn’t have the money to see even a fraction of the films I wanted to that year. I’m glad they riffed it, I’ll pick it up in my next round of RiffTrax purchases.

       4 likes

  25. Lex says:

    I always wanted to see this one for some reason, never got around to it. I hope they do Spacehunter in 3D with Molly Ringwald, that one I have seen.

       3 likes

  26. EricJ says:

    Kenneth Morgan:
    Oh, dear.I remember how a lot of comic books at the time had ads for this movie on the back cover.They were really pushing for this to be the next big Hollywood action franchise, but it got crushed at the box office by “Star Trek II” and “E.T.”I gotta get this one!

    I remember actually sort of lllllll-liiiiii……not hating it in the theaters:
    It was a flop, back when 1982 was such a good year that even “bad” 1982 movies weren’t really that bad (I liked Airplane II and Halloween III!)
    And then mostly because Hal Needham’s name had officially become box-office poison, even though he didn’t have Burt Reynolds or redneck car crashes in this one. You sort of wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, as he seemed he like he wouldn’t be that bad a director, if you gave him an actual mainstream budget and kept him away from Captain Chaos.
    But yes, in the end, it was just too goofy, and Hal didn’t really seem to know HOW to make a movie with actors who didn’t goof it up on the set.

    (I have this dim memory of Hal Needham actually getting a lifetime-achievement Oscar–Did that actually happen, or did I fall asleep watching the ceremony after too many nachos?)

       3 likes

  27. JeremyR says:

    Megaforce was kind of a weird movie – it was partly financed/produced by Golden Harvest who made a lot of early Jackie Chan movies. It was one of their attempts to break into the Western market, following another Hal Needham movie (that actually did well), The Cannonball Run..

    But I don’t think they knew what they were doing with it. Was it serious? Was it comedy? Was it meant for kids? (There were tie-ins including an Atari 2600 game). And the end result just was kinda boring more than anything..

    The same basic plot (and I think even vehicles) were used a couple years later in the Chuck Norris movie Delta Force, only with a more serious tone.

    And that ending theme song is really catchy. It’s not a good song, but it’s one that gets stuck in your head. Not surprising Mike sang it. One of the people involved in it was Jonathan Cain of Journey fame and that song was apparently also re-recorded (with different lyrics) by Ace Frehley

       3 likes

  28. This movie was my own white whale. I was suffering a prolonged illness when it was in theaters and then just never caught it when it made the cable rounds. I didn’t start renting videos till just about everyone else in the world had seen it, sickened of it, and banished it to some hell dimension that doesn’t allow bad movies to escape. Finally, I riffed it with a group of friends and even though I was aware of how bad it would be, I was taken by surprise how incomprehensible the story would be.

    Why did they dump the VIP’s in the middle of nowhere with no one to meet them? What was the point of parachuting in to a place where everybody already was? Why leave all your super advanced, top secret equipment for your enemy to find and use? AHHHHH!!!!

    I’d slap Hal Needham in the face if I wasn’t relatively sure he’d kick my ass even though he was an old man by the time I saw the movie.

       2 likes

  29. SAVE FERRIS says:


    Have to say, that after quite a few rather average outings lately, for whatever reason, the riffing on this one seemed a bit funnier than usual.


    I don’t know…….maybe the silly movie itself presented enough fodder for the (in my opinion) above average riffing, but either way, a good time was had by ME !!!!


    Thanks guys !!!

    :-)

       0 likes

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