Omega Syndrome (1986)

Omega Syndrome: Directed by Joseph Manduke. With Ken Wahl, George DiCenzo, Xander Berkeley, Nicole Eggert. An ex-GI’s daughter is abducted by a gang of white supremacists. He calls on one of his former Army buddies, and together they set out to track down the gang and rescue his daughter.

“Hunky actor Ken Wahl, shortly before attaining TV stardom on the series u0026#39;Wise Guyu0026#39;, here headlines what is pretty standard B action fare. Wahl plays Jack Corbett, a Vietnam veteran turned hotshot journalist, whose daughter Jessie (an appealing Nicole Eggert of u0026#39;Charles in Chargeu0026#39;) is kidnapped by a bunch of feeble-brained Neo-Nazis for a purpose that eventually becomes clear. In the time-honoured tradition of routine action movies, our hero realizes that he canu0026#39;t rely on the cops. Detective Milnor (Doug McClure, whom you may know from u0026quot;Humanoids from the Deepu0026quot;) is a useless grouch who canu0026#39;t abide the yogurt diet that his wife has him on. So Jack turns to an old Army buddy, Phil Horton (George DiCenzo, u0026#39;Helter Skelteru0026#39;) for help.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWahl and the under-rated DiCenzo are capable heroes in this adequately handled (by director Joseph Manduke) low grade action fare. The villains are a bunch of repulsive goons who canu0026#39;t die soon enough, and sure enough, whenever a firefight erupts, they never can hit a target. At least the movie is effectively manipulative in getting you on board to root for their destruction. And the daughter is a fighter, which is good to see. Milnor is such a stubborn dummy that by the end you kind of wish that Jack would pop him one. The action scenes are decently handled by stunt co-ordinator / second unit director Spiro Razatos, and the music is one of those classic cheesy 80s electronic scores.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA couple of familiar faces turn up, such as Xander Berkeley (u0026quot;Candymanu0026quot;) as a villain named Yo-Yo (he plays the character as a childish moron), Colm Meaney (u0026#39;Star Trek: Deep Space Nineu0026#39;) as an explosives expert who makes sure to let us know that heu0026#39;s not really on board with the villainsu0026#39; cause, Bill Morey (u0026quot;Death Race 2000u0026quot;) as Jacksu0026#39; disapproving father-in-law, and Al White (one of the jive talking dudes from u0026quot;Airplane!u0026quot;) as a detective who takes the time to impress upon Milnor that Jack is no u0026quot;wimp writeru0026quot; as Milnor puts it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is mild entertainment for an hour and a half, if youu0026#39;re looking for a no-brainer to fill up some time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFive out of 10.”