Cyborg (1989)

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

Director:

Albert Pyun

Writer:

Albert Pyun (as Kitty Chalmers)

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Gibson Rickenbacker is a hired fighter living in a plague-ravaged apocalyptic America where a plague has infested most of the United States and the rest of the world. In New York City, Gibson encounters a woman named Pearl Prophet. Pearl reveals to Gibson that she is a cyborg who is carrying vital-information for a group of scientists in Atlanta who are working on a cure to the plague and Pearl hires Gibson to escort her back to Atlanta. But Pearl is kidnapped by "Pirates" a murderous gang led by Fender Tremolo, who wants the cure for themselves and they decide to take Pearl to Atlanta themselves. Gibson, joined by a young woman named Nady Simmons, goes in pursuit of Fender and his gang, as Gibson sets out to rescue Pearl, stop Fender and his gang from reaching Atlanta and defeat Fender who slaughtered Gibson's family.

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Plot Keywords:

plague | pirate | cyborg | mercenary | vengeance | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heat Seekers

Filming Locations:

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,179,811, 9 April 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,166,459

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Entertainment,Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The gun used by Gibson Rickenbacker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) are paintball guns, Tipman SMG-60's. This is important in the abandoned factory scene. Rickenbacker runs behind a dumpster and unscrews a 9 oz. CO2 bottle then, inserts another one to simulate "reloading" the weapon.

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Goofs

As Pearl is walking out to find Gibson and Haley mourning Nady, you can see the actress moving as the camera pans over.

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Quotes

Pearl Prophet: Why did you help me?
Gibson Rickenbacker: I thought it was somebody else.

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Connections

Referenced in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

User Reviews

Campy, but quite serviceable sci-fi

This is an earlier van Damme effort -- and he's pretty wooden in this one, but the simple, linear storyline makes this movie an entertaining one, definitely a good "popcorn movie". The movie makes a few feeble attempts at humanizing the characters, but the flashback scenes used to show us that the main character is a tortured soul are contrived and occasionally laugh-inducing.

The plot -- get the life-saving data about a plague to the scientists across the barren 'no mans land' is thin, but carries this sci-fi vehicle pretty well, despite the fact that all the characters seem to be named after guitars. The fight scenes are, as usual, believable and exciting.

All in all, definitely not a good movie, but certainly worth an hour or so, if you like sci-fi. FOr some it might be MST3K material, but if you can get past the camp, it's not too bad.