Did you know that there was a made for TV film about Nick Fury? Did you know that David Hasselhoff played Nick Fury? If you answered yes to both questions, you were watching Marvel films long before the MCU started. And if you answered No, you can skip watching it and just read this review… Unless you like torturing yourself.

20th Century Fox Television.

In May of 1998, Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD was released on Fox. The film was headlined by Baywatch‘s David Hasselhoff and Days Of Our Lives‘ Lisa Rinna. With Hasselhoff as the main character, he does look like he stepped right out of a Jim Steranko comic, but unfortunately that is the only positive that can be said about the performances in this film. Lisa Rinna portrays Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, which felt like a casting decision to just get Rinna in skin tight leather. The characters in this are just by name and do not adapt the characters from the comics in any way. The Von Struckers, and Dr. Arnim Zola have no resemblance to the characters that we know, and I was shocked to find out that Dum Dum Dugan was in the film even after viewing the film for a second time.

Jim Steranko, Marvel Comics

We try to find something positive to say about any film based on characters that we love but there is nothing well done in this film. The budget was small and noticeable, the set design looks like they were from a Power Rangers set. This is covered up by a sense of campiness in the story and acting, but almost thirty years later its difficult to watch.

It is difficult to really look at this film through the lenses of the time period, when the perfect casting of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and the fun casting of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are some Marvel films before the Marvel Cinematic Universe that are good to great, but Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD may fall into that category of no redemption. When people complain about the current quality of superhero films, send them the Youtube link for Nick Fury Agents of SHIELD (the DVD is selling for $79 on Amazon as of February 16th, 2024)

Rating: 1 Star out of 5 Stars