Jesse Johnson’s “Alien Agent” is less a sci-fi movie about invading aliens as it’s a martial arts movie with invading aliens. The film stars Mark Dacascos as the alien agent of the title, sent to Earth to stop an alien renegade military unit from creating a “gateway” that would connect Earth to their alien homeworld, after which they would use the portal to invade Earth. For you see, their homeworld is dying, and they need a replacement. While the good alien folks back home are willing to search for an uninhabited planet to start over again, Billy Zane and company are not so nice, and plans to invade Earth.

On his quest to stop aliens Isis (Amelia Cooke) and Saylon (Billy Zane), Rykker (Dacascos) gets unwanted help from a teenage human girl, Julie (Emma Lahana), whose family falls victim to the aliens. The aliens themselves are slowly but surely building their gateway, a Stargate-like device, with the help of a nebbish human scientist played by Kim Coates, spectacular in a goofy, twitchy performance. Add to that various subplots involving a back history between Rykker and Isis, which allow Isis to “see” Rykker’s location, which makes chasing him a whole lot easier.

“Alien Agent” is an enjoyable enough actioner, if approached strictly as an action movie. As a science fiction film, it’s lacking. The script by Vlady Pildysh is, in all likelihood, constrained by the film’s moderate budget. This thing has Sci Fi Original Movie written all over it. As a result, the film’s sci-fi elements are all over the place, such as, why do aliens from another planet not only know, but excel in our forms of martial arts? And why can Rykker survive multiple explosions (his car is literally blown up with him in it at least twice), but can barely walk after a fist fight?

Director Jesse Johnson is a stunt coordinator, and he’s directed the tournament-fighting movie “Pit Fighter” and a low-budget sci-fi movie called “The Last Sentinel” for The Sci Fi Channel. Having seen the former but not the later, I can tell you that Johnson knows how to stage fights, and as a result, “Alien Agent” excels whenever its characters drop the sci-fi angle and concentrate on the fighting. Because to be perfectly honest, the sci-fi stuff are just downright silly, and are really just excuses for characters to kick the crap out of each other, which, admittedly, they do very well.

Anyone who has seen enough action movies knows that Mark Dacascos is an old hand with movies involving flying fists of fury. The film’s other notable kicker is Dominiquie Vanderberg, who was the star of director Jesse Johnson’s “Pit Fighter”. Alas, Vanderberg gets dispatched about halfway through, leaving Dacascos to flee from Amelia Cooke’s Isis, with Billy Zane doing cameo duty in the background, but still somehow garnering top marquee status alongside Dacascos. The fairer way to split the credits would have meant giving the gorgeous Amelia Cooke (”Species 3″) higher billing, as her character probably has just as much screentime as Dacascos.

You won’t get much of a sci-fi kick out of “Alien Agent”, despite the title and premise. Still, I found it enjoyable enough to while away a boring Sunday. Mark Dacascos has always been a favorite of mine, and the film has enough humor to hang its hats on in-between the punching and kicking. I would recommend it if you have nothing better to do with your time, or else wait for its Sci Fi Channel premiere.

Jesse Johnson (director) / Vlady Pildysh (screenplay)
CAST: Mark Dacascos … Rykker
Emma Lahana … Julie
Billy Zane … Saylon
Kim Coates … Roderick
Amelia Cooke … Isis
Dominiquie Vandenberg … Sartek