Cyborg (1989)

Director:

Albert Pyun

Writer (WGA):

Kitty Chalmers (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He's the First Hero of the 21st Century...And He's Our Only Hope.

Plot:

A martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Future | Cyborg | Sword | Nudity

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Gibson Rickenbacker
Deborah Richter	...	Nady Simmons
Vincent Klyn	...	Fender Tremolo
Alex Daniels	...	Marshall Strat
Dayle Haddon	...	Pearl Prophet
Blaise Loong	...	Furman Vux / Pirate / Bandit
Ralf Moeller	...	Brick Bardo (as Rolf Muller)
Haley Peterson	...	Haley
Terrie Batson	...	Mary
Jackson 'Rock' Pinckney	...	Tytus / Pirate / Bandit
Janice Graser	...	Vorg
Robert Pentz	...	Base / Pirate / Bandit
Sharon K. Tew	...	Prather / Pirate / Bandit
Chuck Allen	...	Vondo / Pirate / Bandit
Stefanos Miltsakakis	...	Xylo / Pirate / Bandit

Also Known As:

Masters of the Universe 2 (USA) (TV title)
Masters of the Universe 2: Cyborg (USA) (TV title)
Cyborg (France) [fr]
Cyborg (Italy) (video title) [it]
Cyborg (Spain) [es]
Cyborg (Greece) [el]
Helten (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

86 min | Germany:59 min (VHS version) (heavily cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 (heavily cut) | West Germany:18 (DVD rating) (JK/SPIO) | West Germany:18 (original rating) (cut) | Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1989) | Finland:K-18 (1990) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (2001) (uncut) | Denmark:15 | Australia:M (DVD re-rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Castle Hayne, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Cannon Entertainment

Trivia:

This was the last official theatrical release for Cannon Films after going bankrupt in 1987.

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the film, Nady and Gibson meet up with a group of masked men in an abandoned concrete building. One of them jumps down onto a concrete table and scares Nady. In this scene, Nady has Levi's blue jeans instead of the grey pants she wears throughout the rest of the film.

Quotes:

Willy: Go to hell!
Fender Tremolo: Been there.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Resident Alien (1990)

Attack of the German male models, or Jean Claude Van Damme Vs the pirates of the 21st century

This movie is basically a typical, campy, B-grade action flick, from start to finish. Most of the "pirates" not only look as I describe in the summary, but sadly possess the same acting abilities as such. The action(which does perhaps have its moments, and there certainly is plenty of it) is relatively violent, but apart from that, nothing above the usual for 80's movies of this kind. It would undeniably pose something of a daunting task to locate a mere second(!) in this that isn't infinitely and instantly(not to mention incredibly) MST3K-worthy, and that tends to be the greatest source of entertainment when I watch it. What gives this what merit it does have(which really isn't an overwhelming amount) is that it actually features some pretty decent atmosphere, as others have said, partially due to the stretches that do not have any dialog. The story isn't terribly told, and it isn't the *worst* piece of cyberpunk out there. This goes somewhat fast, but it could also be attributed to it not even being 90 minutes long(seemed closer to 75 without credits), though there are some films of similar running time which are considerably more difficult to sit through. I guess this is sort of a cult feature(and it did somehow beget two sequels), and as such, some people will love it, but most people probably won't. I recommend this to big fans of gloomy, dystopian future works... if you're not one, you may find this rather uninteresting. 5/10