Cyborg 2 (Video 1993)

In the year 2074 the PinWheel corporation creates a 'almost-human' cyborg Casella Reese, aka. Cash designed specifically to charm/seduce her way into a rival manufacturer's headquarters and... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Schroeder

Writers:

Ron Yanover (story), Mark Geldman (story),

Stars:

Elias Koteas, Angelina Jolie, Jack Palance

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elias Koteas	...	Colson 'Colt' Ricks
Angelina Jolie	...	Casella 'Cash' Reese
Jack Palance	...	Mercy
Billy Drago	...	Danny Bench
Karen Sheperd	...	Chen
Allen Garfield	...	Martin Dunn
Ric Young	...	Bobby Lin
Renee Allman	...	Dreena (as Renee Griffin)
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Doorman (as Sven Thorsen)
Tracey Walter	...	Wild Card
Jim Youngs	...	Pinwheel Exec #1
Robert Dryer	...	Pinwheel Exec #2
John Durbin	...	Tech #1 - Observation Room
Patrick O'Connell	...	Tech #2 - Observation Room
Sheryl Mary Lewis	...	Tech #3 - Corridor

Storyline

In the year 2074 the PinWheel corporation creates a 'almost-human' cyborg Casella Reese, aka. Cash designed specifically to charm/seduce her way into a rival manufacturer's headquarters and then self-detonate. Things go awry, when she starts to have feelings for a human Colson Ricks, aka. Colt 45 who works for PinWheel as a martial arts instructor. He falls for Cash as well, and with the help of Mercy, they escape. PinWheel Corp. sends Danny Bench, a 'Cyborg Tracker' after both Colt and Cash. Violence ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

cyborg | martial arts | one woman army | semiautomatic pistol | shotgun | 

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1993 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Glass Shadow

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglo-American Film Corporation, Trimark Pictures, Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of "Chen" was originally written for a man. After Karen Sheperd successfully gained a chance to audition for the role, the producers changed the part to a woman and Karen won the role.

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Goofs

The filmmakers seem to have confused a cyborg with an android. A cyborg is a person who is half machine and half human, while an artificial human like Cash is an android, not a cyborg.

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Quotes

[while arming himself to face corporate thugs]
Mercy: If you want to dine with the devil, you need a looong spoon!

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Crazy Credits

Allen Garfield dedicates his performance to Ray Sharkey.

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Connections

Followed by Cyborg 3: The Creation (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Crystal Hearts"
Written by Peter Allen and Ron Friesen
Sung by Chan

User Reviews

Better than the original.

Earth, 2074. The field of cybernetics is dominated by two corporations – Kobayashi Electronics & Pinwheel Robotics. The execs over at Pinwheel plan to destroy Kobayashi by sending in Casella 'Cash' Reese, a female cyborg containing 'Glass Shadow' (a powerful plastic explosive), to a conference & detonating her. With the help of Mercy, a mysterious cyborg who projects himself onto TV screens, Cash & her human combat trainer Colton Ricks escape the compound & flee across the city. With Pinwheel troopers & a psychotic bounty hunter after them, they attempt to make it to freedom.

CYBORG was a low-budget, mindless post-apocalyptic martial-arts flick that featured Jean-Claude Van Damme taking on numerous thugs & trying to rescue a female cyborg. It became a cult film & inspired two sequels.

While the first film was nothing more than a series of watered-down heroics that had almost no plot, "Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow" is the complete opposite, a futuristic sci-fi film with an intelligent storyline & a Cyberpunk atmosphere. It is also the rare occasion where a sequel proves to be better than the original.

"Glass Shadow" is set sometime after the events of the first film, although the continuity is somewhat screwed up (society had collapsed in the original & a nasty plague had swept through the world). The society here is akin to a corporate-run city, nothing like the original (there are a few clips taken from the original shown on TV screens). The storyline is quite simple – female cyborg is created as a walking bomb, said cyborg tries to flee her fate, her creators send in bounty hunters to catch her – but done in an intelligent manner.

The acting is superb, with due credit given to Jack Palance, who gives one of his best performances, as the cyborg warrior / poet who appears on TV screens like a ghost; Elias Koteas, who plays his role in deadpan fashion & Tracy Walter shines in a cameo as a doctor. Angelina Jolie, in the days before she became a superstar, gives a robotic performance as the cyborg Cash, although this fits in with the rest of the film. The visual effects in this film are excellent, most notably the opening scene with a cyborg being built, some prosthetics work & an exquisite model city.