“I’m gonna fake my own death. That way we can spend some time together.”

Drake’s rating: No, this does NOT mean I now have time to review the Vice Academy sequel trilogy

Drake’s review: Well, we all knew it had to happen sooner or later. No matter how much we may have wanted to believe otherwise, the Angel series was bound to end at some point. And of course it could have ended with the third film, which did claim to be “The Final Chapter,” but the bigwigs at Trans Atlantic Entertainment (which had purchased quite a few New World Entertainment assets in 1990) decided that there was some gas left in the Angelverse tank after all. Thus, it sent one last installment sputtering out onto cable television before the franchise finally ground to a halt.

Having dealt with a serial killer, murderous real estate developers, and a sex trafficking ring, Molly (now played by the very blonde Darlene Vogel) is going to have to infiltrate the world of rock & roll to find out who killed her friend Paula. But to do that, she’s going to have to go undercover as Angel once again, because… it’s in the title? I guess? Honestly, not much in this flick makes sense, but I’ll summarize as best I can.

So Molly, in a shocking bit of continuity, is still a photographer, now working for the police and back in Southern California. She’s dating a disc jockey at local radio station KZEK, and life is pretty good. She reunites with yet another old friend from her past, the aforementioned Paula, who is hanging out with the bassist from a hard rock band called AK-47, although she really has her eyes on the lead singer Piston. But when Paula ends up dead, her body left in a dumpster, Molly transforms into Angel again to masquerade as a groupie and find out whodunit.

Meanwhile, AK-47’s producer, Geoffery Kagen (Roddy McDowall, Laserblast) is paying off DJs, including Molly’s boyfriend, to push the band on the air and using his muscle Hank (Patrick Kilpatrick, Death Warrant) to get his way when the occasional recalcitrant disc jockey refuses to play ball.

Which is understandable, because I wouldn’t play AK-47 either. They’re not only doing the faux metal bit in 1994, long after the demise of the Sunset Strip bands, but they’re also just plain bad. You know those small bands that would sometimes get a regional name for themselves because they were once an opening act for Quiet Riot or Dokken? Well, AK-47 is the band that should be opening for them at the local county fair.

Which kind of explains the small crowds they get at their shows. Their fans number in the dozens, I tell you!

Angel 4: Undercover is a bit of a mess. While Roddy McDowall seems to be having a good time, and Patrick Kilpatrick is fun as his enforcer, the rest of the cast is mediocre at best. Too much time is spent on Piston, whose supposed rock god persona is undercut by a lack of both charisma and talent. Instead of being haunted by his past, he comes across as sullen, and his self-destructive petulance wears thin almost immediately.

Darlene Vogel is also miscast as Molly. While obviously a physical stretch for the role, she also never brings her own viewpoint to it, either. Donna Wilkes was vulnerable as Molly, while Betsy Russell portrayed an older, tougher version that was still believably the same character. Mitzi Kapture wasn’t given much to work with but still combined elements of those earlier performances.

Vogel, given even less of a character than Kapture, unfortunately just sort of floats through the movie without ever establishing anything about the character. I can’t say that this is entirely her fault, since Angel 4: Undercover didn’t even start out as an Angel movie at all,* but between the visual disconnect and the lack of a Molly-like characterization, Vogel just feels out of place here.

Angel 4: Undercover is pretty much an Angel movie in name only. The previous movies are never referenced, with even the sister from the third flick being conspicuously absent of even the barest mention. I have to say, this one is for Angel completists only.

And also Mutant Reviewers who don’t know how to quit when they’re ahead.

*It was originally supposed to be a film called Assault with a Deadly Weapon, but director Richard Schenkman was asked by the producer to add some scenes to make it an Angel movie.

Intermission!

• Payola? In the music industry? I am shocked!
• “Do you want me to break it, just say the word.” Does anyone ever say, “Sure!” to that?
• Dude, you ran up the ‘Roof Access Only’ stairs. Any bodily harm you sustain is solely on your own shoulders now.
• I mean, he backed off of the roof himself. Hank is having a really easy day at work.
• AK-47 is almost good enough to start playing proms.
• I think they called themselves AK-47 because .38 Special was already taken.
• Piston is no Synyster Gates on the guitar. He’s not even a C.C. DeVille.
• Piston likes the pills, yes he does.
• Paula must die, because Molly can’t have friends.
• Molly’s going undercover as Angel, but it’s the ‘90s, so no more tube tops.
• It’s red lipstick and a sexy dress now. Gotta stay up with the times.
• I think the first thing Piston does when he buys a new shirt is to remove all the buttons.
• No shootouts? And they call this an Angel movie?
• She fell three stories but she’s OK, because she landed on the drum kit.
• Well, the resolution to that fight was unintentionally hilarious.
• This was also known as Angel 4: Assault with a Deadly Weapon. That weapon evidently being a broken guitar neck.