March 7, 2006
Cyborg 2
Year: 1993
Directed by: Michael Schroeder
Written by: Mark Geldman, Michael Schroeder & Ron Yanover
Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: Low
Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes: Medium
Key Cast Members:
Overview: Cyborg 2, we are led to believe is a sequel to Pyun’s Cyborg. I say this because right at the beginning, a cut scene of the cyborg in the first movie is shown. But quickly we learn that this is only shown because Cyborg 2 didn’t have the budget to make low quality cyborg FX. In fact, Cyborg 2 has NOTHING to do with the first more. In the first movie, cyborgs were human brains encased in a cybernetic body. In Cyborg 2, cyborgs are robots. Furthermore, in Cyborg, we found a lawless dystopia, yet in Cyborg 2, we find a battle of two mega-corporations.
The Story: OK, the story is just hoaky, but unlike Pyun’s Cyborg, at least it holds together once you give up on the absurdity of it. In Cyborg 2, the Pinhole corporation has decided to kill off the management of the rival cyborg corporation by embedding one of their androids (called cyborgs) with a special chemical, that, upon orgasm (yes, I guess androids in the future not only have sex, they orgasm!), blows up the chick and everything around it! It turns out they can also use a detonator switch to do explode the androids. So the idea is they will send a hot android chick (played by Angelina Jolie in her debut starring role) to visit a party at the rival corporation and explode! Why don’t they just set off a regular bomb there, you ask? Good question! If there’s an answer, we aren’t given it.
Cash, the hot, sentient android chick (Angelina Jolie), gets word of her new implant by a disembodied mouth (Jack Palance) who tells her Pinwheel’s plan for her demise. She and her human lover, Colt (played by Elias Koteas) escape Pinwheel and attempt to escape to a place far off where free cyborgs live in peace with humans. Pinwheel corporation hires a crazed bounty hunter (Billy Drago) to go and retrieve Cash. The rest of the movie is comprised of bizarre chase and confrontation scenes, similar to the first movie, only this time the good guys are on the run.
The Bottom Line: Schroeder’s Cyborg 2 is not a good movie, but in comparing it with Pyun’s Cyborg, it does come out better storywise (it’s not as good on the fights though). Once you get past the absurdity of the story, things do start to hold together better. On top of this, we get an absolutely gorgeous, young Angelina Jolie kicking ass and even throwing in a nude scene for good measure. Billy Drago provides a memorable performance as a lunatic bad guy, and Palance, if you can get over the close-ups on his disembodied face, is pretty good to see for the brief time he’s on. I’d give this 4.5 stars if I had that available, but instead I’m bumping it up to 5 stars both for Angelina Jolie’s performance, and the thought they give to how cyborgs and humans could have a life-long love affair.
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12 Comments on Cyborg 2 »
February 15, 2007
InnateMalk @ 4:43 am:
I felt that this movie required at least one response.
The only two real problems that Cyborg 2 suffers from are A) Budget; if this film had been made now with the sort of cash that was wasted on Aeon Flux it would have been fantastic.
And problem B) The title; as any cyberpunker worth his silicon neck implant knows, a cyborg is a human upgraded into a machine, not a machine with an AI stuck inside of it.
The misconseption here is the same as people calling the monster Frankenstein and not the doctor.
I originally saw this film as a little cyber-kiddy with no notion that it was a sequal, and as such I still see it as stand alone, which is pretty much the only real way to see it.
From a literary point of view the story stands tall enough to be enjoyable and Angelina’s acting makes the part work.
So in a way I agree and disagree with the 5 stars, agree that it needed money/attention payed/better tech, disagree seeing as you have to take when it was made into the result.
All in all I’ll call it 5 1/2 to 6 stars total.
SFAM @ 1:01 pm:
Hi InnateMalk, if we’re only one star off from each other, that ain’t bad!
March 2, 2007
Bibi's box @ 3:40 pm (Trackback)
Robots Lists…
Four lists of robots in films and TV for (almost) all tastes by UnderGround Online (via Quiddity). - Evil Robots: from Ash to T-1000. The whole world loves a good villain - they get the best lines, have the most extreme personalities and often have in…
August 18, 2007
bozesan mihai @ 4:56 pm:
i love you angelina jolie you are beautifull
November 3, 2007
Kirillos @ 7:27 am:
Hey, come on, yall! It’s a fairly decent movie, considering the budget it had.
March 21, 2008
comma @ 8:15 pm:
ughhh
comma @ 8:15 pm:
;echo
comma @ 8:16 pm:
birdy
June 23, 2008
Anonymous @ 2:02 pm:
hi dear
July 26, 2008
niko @ 9:14 am:
angelina you are very beautiful girl and i love you
niko @ 9:15 am:
howdy i m hacker666
October 28, 2008
Lynn @ 11:56 pm:
It was alright. Angie kicked ass though! Can’t believe she’s only 18 in this film :0