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BRILLIANT TRASH
by Don (movies profile)
Apr 20, 2006
30
of
32 people found this review helpful
Originally intended to be the sequel of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, a box office bomb, CYBORG is the post-apocalyptic story of a Slinger (hired protector) named Gibson Rickenbacker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who sets out for revenge against Fender Tremolo (Vincent Klyn), the hellish villain who murdered the woman he loved.
If the names Gibson and Fender sound familiar, it's because all the characters are named after guitars or accessories like Roland Pick, Marshall Strat and Pearl Prophet. Fender also possesses The Cyborg, an half woman/half machine who has the technology to wipe out the plague that infests the world.
Director Albert Pyun (THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER) and screenwriter Kitty Chalmers (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH) borrowed plot elements and styles from legendary filmmakers like John Ford, Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone -- and their films -- STAGECOACH, THE SEARCHERS, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, THE SEVEN SAMURAI, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. The film is essentially a western -- punctuated with droves of kung fu and savaté -- and dressed in the melancholy garment of post-apocalypse à la THE ROAD WARRIOR and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK -- only with 1/3 of each film's budget. Don't watch the film expecting state-of-the-art special effects, great acting or complex storytelling. This is a grade-B trashy sci-fi flick -- the 50s had 'em like MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL and THE GIANT GILA MONSTER -- and the 80s had just as many, such as CYBORG and COMMANDO. For a trash classic, the film’s soundtrack boasts an above-average score by composer Kevin Bassinson “SMALLVILLE” (TV).
As far a trashy cinema goes, CYBORG stands at the top of the heap. Roger Ebert included the film in his pretentious book `I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie' -- all the more reason not to miss it! |
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