Cybernator |
  • USA • 1991 • 85m •   • Directed by: Robert Rundle. • Starring: Lonnie Schuyler, Jeff Jenkins, Christina Lucia Peralta-Ramos, Jack Senior, Stephanie Warner, Sandy Palm, William Smith, Jimmy Williams, Edward Sanchez, Michael M. Foley, Jay Harris, Chad S. Taylor, Cynthia Boos. • Music by: Keith Bilderbeck.      Set in futuristic Los Angeles, this BLADE RUNNER-esque movie sees a vigilante mob taking the law into their own hands after a cyborg kills a high profile member of the government. Detective Brent McCord is sent to investigate, leading him into a web of intrigue and suspicion, where nothing is quite as it seems, and he finds it impossible to know who to trust.
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Review:
Starting with James Cameron's classic genre-defining film: The Terminator (released to great acclaim in October of 1984) there was an explosion of "cyborg" themed action films (most of which suck, including the last several Terminator films) in the later half of the 80's and well into the 90's. These movies are typically low-budget and were indifferently churned out in great numbers by mostly B-List talent (cast and crew alike) who were, shall we say, not burdened by fame (or even marginal recognition) and expectations. Fortunately the bulk of these movies were direct-to-video, so they never soiled the big screen to any great extent. Anyways back to Cybernator, sad to say this stodgy amateurish effort represents the genre to a T and is a profoundly underwhelming movie by all measures; starting with it's lame opening credits sequence and ending with a VERY VERY lackluster finale, this movie offers it's viewers little in the way of entertainment. On the plus-side, I did thoroughly enjoy the high-energy scene with the sleazy adulterous couple in the beginning, they're over-the-top acting is a real hoot and it's easily the movies most energetic scene.
As for an overview of CYBERNATOR (again, that title LOL!!!) the cast is bad - as is their acting, the script is often questionable (but hey, who wouldn't want to be a "Blackhawk 2000" cyborg, right?) the sets are very cheap, the location photography is boring and mundane, the movie is often poorly paced and it's action scenes are less than stellar - to downright unconvincing (Having just taken multiple rounds in the gut! Just lay down and play dead, very convincing). This film would have been better had they cast David Carradine in the lead, he was made for low-budget action-trash like this and his filmography is proof of that. You will be amusingly underwhelmed at how lame most of the cyborgs look, due to their terrible looking make-up and prosthetics and how about the "dumpy cyborg" about 70 minutes in. ROFL! With all joking aside there's not one single impressive action sequence or even any good stunts to be seen anywhere and with that being said one can easily -and quite logically- conclude that Cybernator is, by all possible metrics, a total failure of an action film. Terminator 2 this is not. Hell, this well below Cyborg Cop 2 for that matter OR EVEN Robo Vampire.....
Closing Note: "Cybernator" is simply as amateurish as they come and you can safely skip it and not miss out on anything - at all. However, if you have a fetish for terrible movies, like I do, then by all means watch Cybernator TODAY! But please don't spend and therefore waste any money on it, because it's not worth a dime or a damn.
To anyone: In the scene with the 350 pound belly-dancer (I know - WTF?), is that James Cameron in a cameo or do my senses betray me? It looks like him.
Review by Idiot-Deluxe from the Internet Movie Database.
Movie Database