Cyborg

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as you might expect
Review: Which leaves quite a bit of room. But even at that, this is still a pretty good movie, for what it is.

'What it is' is a low-budget postapocalyptic martial-arts film, rather along the lines of the Mad Max series but with more personal combat. And despite its extremely tight budget, it's a bit better than _Mad Max_ (though not at the level of _The Road Warrior_).

There's a lot of good martial-arts stuff here. If you like Van Damme, that stuff will sustain you through the film.

The postapocalyptic stuff is cartoonish and strained. Everybody, including the hero, is named after musical instruments and sound equipment. Thus the film's central dramatic conflict is between 'Gibson Rickenbacker' and his arch-nemesis 'Fender Tremolo'.

But if you can stop snickering at such WWF-quality comedy, you'll find a film that actually succeeds pretty well in spite of its low budget. (Indeed, rather like _Escape from New York_, the low budget may be an asset rather than a liability in that at least it provides an excuse.)

For Van Damme, I vastly prefer _Universal Soldier_ and _Timecop_. But this isn't bad. If you like postapocalytic thrillers (which I do), you'll probably enjoy this. It's the equivalent, in its genre, of a good Clint Eastwood spaghetti western.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent blend of martial arts wizardry and sci-fi
Review: this movie was actually very good i enjoyed it alot because 1st of all i'm a van damme fan and second: the set and props were actually good. Albert Pyun has experience working with science fiction movies as he's also done the NEMESIS series in which the 1st movie of the series starred another foreign young actor named Olivier Gruner.He also is a big fighter in the martial arts industry but doesnt have to many fight scenes in his movies except in maybe ANGEL TOWN,but thats off the subject this a van damme article review right? a brief summary of CYBORG:van damme alone warrior and maybe the only hope for a cyborg's destiny to bring back a cure to Atlanta to save us all from a plague that was caused in this movies so called future.Postapocalyptic fights and maraudering bandits mainly sum it up but anyways a good action /sci-fi/martial arts flick"Bon apetit"

Rating:
Summary: I was a kid!!!!
Review: I was a kid when I watch this film. Even though i am much older now I think this film is a cult classic. It is so real!!! I hope the world never becomes like the way it was portrayed in this movie. It's scarcy!. And the fight scenes.... oh my god I can't say anymore i think i'm running out of breath!!!

Rating:
Summary: Van DAMN!!!!
Review: Jean-Claude Van Damme was 28 when he made CYBORG, a low budgeted, post-apocolyptic martial arts adventure. At that time in his career, he'd made his name through a number of low budget, B-quality kung fu flicks. I liked BLOODSPORT, all the more so, becuase it's based on thrue events in the life of kumite champion Frank Dux, and Van Damme was definitely the right guy for the role.

Then there's KICKBOXER, which, like BLOODSPORT, shows Van Damme as an apprentice on a vendetta with a Mike Tyson-esque Muy Thai champ. That movie is distinguished, if nothing else, by the final battle between Van Damme and Tong Po, who was played by Van Damme's close friend Michael Quissi (though he was still credited as Tong Po.)

Then came CYBORG. It was released it 1989, and starred Van Damme as a martial arts master named Gibson Rickenbaker living in the post-apocolyptic ruins of New York. He finds himself rescuing a cyborg codenamed Pearl Prophet (Dayle Haddon) from a murderous gang of hooligans led by the sadistic Fender Tremolo (Vincent Klyn). Seems Pearl has detailed information on how to sythesize a cure to the plague that has caused all the chaos and is on her way to Atlanta to give the info to the last scientists. Tremolo and his gang would do anything to get ahold of the information and rule the world. It up to Gibson to save Pearl.

Now, I'll admit that when I was short on cash, and I had a choice between buying CYBORG or TIMECOP, I went with the latter, but I almost immediately after ordered CYBORG over the internet, and it was well worth it. As another customer pointed out, the fights in CYBORG are amazingly realistic and show Van Damme getting hurt and taking just as much of an butt kicking as he dishes out. (In a particularly brutal scene, Gibson is battered and exhausted, and gets beaten to a pulp by Tremolo.)

The movie has sort of a ROAD WARRIOR quality to it, the bigeest difference being the budgets of the two films. The villians and even the good guys dress in ragged clothing, like THE ROAD WARRIOR. The land is basically deserted, and there is an utter feeling of helplessness and anarchy. That's the essence of post-apolyptic action films.

Bottom Line: CYBORG is a great movie in my eyes, because it shows that in any martial arts movie, what is at it's heart is the fact that the hero can have all the strength, speed, and power in the universe, but no matter what, the hero is always human. In other Van Damme movies, like STREET FIGHTER, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, TIMECOP, REPLICANT, or DOUBLE TEAM, he was a righteous fighting machine, but he could still be hurt. Even in THE MATRIX movies, Neo was the Chosen One, capable of fantastic, inhuman feats, but he was still just a man, he could be beaten to the point where he would cough up blood, but he had the spirit to back him up.

And so it is with CYBORG. Gibson is a fantastic martial artist, but he could be beaten up almost to death by a bigger, stronger opponent. He got into certain situations where he would have to rely more on what he had inside than his blackbelt status. That's what truly makes a great karate flick, having a fighter who has fantastic fighting skils, or even superhuman powers who has the the heart and will to win. CYBORG is such a movie.

Rating:
Summary: The sweetest end fight of all time
Review: This movie is seriously retarded. The big fight scene in the end between Van Damme and this dude with white eyes lasts like ten minutes and nobody says anything during it - they just scream all the time. It's like ten minutes of non-stopping screaming and punching with some knives, also. Good job Van Damme, way to get that cyborg safely to New Atlanta. You're the best Slinger ever.

Rating:
Summary: THE MOST INTENSE CULT ACTION MOVIE EVER MADE!
Review: Jean Claude Van Damme has been smashed by critics throughout his career, but the bashing of Cyborg is crossing that fine line. If you are a Van Damme fan, then this is a must by dvd...beyond a doubt.

This movie has all the makings of a cult classic: Engrossing characters, post apocalyptic plot lines, and a conflict between good and evil. The movie alone is worth watching for the final battle between Fender(Vincent Klyn) and Gibson Rickenbacker(Van Damme). It is the epitome of action movie battles, and immortalizes this fine production in the annals of martial arts/action history.

But hold on, the rest of the movie is just as good! Cyborg roars on the 5.1 dolby and the resolution is fantastic. When Fender removes his sunglasses on dvd, you will jump!

So, fan of Action or not; Fan of Van Damme or not, this movie deserves the respect and publicity it never received. It takes a great villian to make a great hero, and Fender is the best villain character to come along since...well...ever! Cyborg is a cult sleeper that you have to see to believe!

Rating:
Summary: One of Pyun's best
Review: I hope you will forgive me when I tell you I have a crushing headache as I write this review. Why? Because I devoted several hours of this sunny day thinking about not one, but two, of Albert Pyun's films. Pondering the importance of "Ticker" and "Cyborg" to the cinematic world wore me out in ways I would not think possible. Pyun, if you are not familiar with his oeuvre, constructed his B movie credentials by releasing such classics as "The Sword and The Sorcerer," "Nemesis," "Mean Guns," and "Postmortem." He's a hack's hack in the hack world of zero budget schlock. Not to pound you over the head with it, but watching a Pyun film often resembles in no little way craning your head out the window to see that car accident on the freeway. Initially, you are intrigued by what you might see only to realize later how low you feel as a human being for looking at scenes of abject horror. Ok, I am exaggerating slightly. "Cyborg," the 1989 film that launched the dubious career of Jean-Claude Van Damme, is one of Pyun's better efforts. In fact, it is one of the few movies in his canon I can watch on a regular basis and not feel too badly about it the next day.

Here's another film dealing with life in a post-apocalyptic world. Gibson Rickenbacker (Van Damme) arises from the ruins to play the part of a Good Samaritan. He tries to help survivors of a plague flee from the ruined cities to the countryside, hopefully so they can reconstruct some semblance of a normal life. Rickenbacker, as the hero, of course has an unpleasant memory of one of his missions. He tried to save a family and ended up falling in love with a woman. You don't need me to spell out what happened next. Ever since this unfortunate incident, Gibson struggles with what he should do next. When he runs into a woman named Pearl Prophet (Dale Haddon), a cyborg attempting to carry a cure for the plague back to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, he must decide whether to resume the role of hero. Why not take part in helping Pearl carry the antidote? This mission could turn Rickenbacker into the savior of the world. Unfortunately for Rickenbacker and Pearl, Fender Tremolo (Vincent Klyn), a scary looking dude with weird eyes and a mechanical voice, and his gang of like-minded cyborgs have their own ideas. They think if they can capture Pearl and get her to Atlanta, they will control the future of the world.

When Prophet falls into the hands of Tremolo's gang, Rickenbacker decides to get her back. With the help of a mouthy young lady he picks up along the way named Nady Simmons (Deborah Richter), Gibson lurches from one violent confrontation to another. Thugs fall to the ground like leaves as the two pursue Tremolo with malevolent intent. Numerous showdowns in burnt out and broken down buildings provide Pyun and Van Damme with plenty of opportunities to showcase martial arts madness. Kicks, punches, and blunt and sharp instruments-anything you can think of that will cause damage to a human or cyborg body finds a use in this movie. And for the most part Pyun carries off the action well, much better than he has in many of his other movies. You are surprised that you actually root for this guy who speaks English like he just walked off a boat. Before feelings of giddiness carry you away, however, you need to reconcile yourself with a few of the cheesy aspects of the movie. Nearly all of the characters are named after musical instruments, the outfits look like the film crew robbed a New Wave band's wardrobe closet, and the dialogue tends towards the insipid. Still, "Cyborg" entertains as few Pyun films do.

"Cyborg" works largely due to the gritty, blasted urban background that the characters move through. It is here, in the ruins of civilization, where most of the action takes place. Moreover, the picture quality of the film (probably as a result of poor film stock) has a dirty look to it, which actually gives the movie a better, more realistic atmosphere. I even thought Pyun tried to inject a philosophical statement in the film (yeah, right) when we see Rickenbacker staked to that ship's mast. Is Gibson a Christ figure "rising" from the grave to help save the world? Maybe, but I'm probably reading more into "Cyborg" than the director intended. Sure, the acting could be better-lots better-and the fight scenes are a little over the top, but why else would you watch this movie? You don't expect Oscar performances and you don't get them. What you do get is an entertaining way to spend eighty plus minutes (the movie doesn't run for even an hour and a half).

The DVD version is strictly bare bones. If memory serves me correctly, the only extra on this disc was a trailer. Too bad, but a bit surprising considering this is officially a cult classic. It's interesting to note that none other than Cannon, the company that released TONS of low budget action flicks in the 1980s, helped fund this effort. Charles Bronson benefited from Cannon's attentions back then, so why not Van Damme? I recommend "Cyborg" not only to fans of action films, but even to fans of science fiction since the movie takes a stab at incorporating both elements under one umbrella. Is it intelligent cinema? Nope, but who says it needs to be?

Rating:
Summary: This Movie Has a Message
Review: I realize this movie is campy by today's standards, so only someone who watched it back in the day when it was a different era in movie making can appreciate it. I'd say you'd have to be at least 25 to enjoy it, because of it's sentimental and nostalgic atmosphere.

If you can get past that, it's actually really good. I've always enjoyed postapocalyptic reality-of-life depictions. The music is a bit much, but it does portray survival of the fittest in a realistic sense. The characters beat each other up a bit unbelievable and the breaking-himself-off-the-cross scene was absurd even then, but the fight scenes are well done and closefaced showdown scenes were gold. Definitely one for the collection.

Rating:
Summary: Old school Jean-Claude
Review: An old movie acting a little cheap, but its old right? Its another classic and a to own, But if you havent seen this movie then its time for you to switch to cable tv. Its always on all the time when i watch tv.

Rating:
Summary: This movie was O.K
Review: Im a big Van Damne fan,and when i saw this movie i expected alot more,but it was still good.I dont know if its worth watching.But atleast he gets to fight a dude.