Nemesis (1992)

Alex, a burned out LA cyborg cop, is forced by commissioner Farnsworth to find his former cyborg partner and lover Jared who's about to deliver sensitive data to cyborg terrorists who wish to wage war against humans. Is he being played?

Director:

Albert Pyun

Writer:

Rebecca Charles

Stars:

Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olivier Gruner	...	Alex
Tim Thomerson	...	Farnsworth
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Angie-Liv
Merle Kennedy	...	Max Impact
Yuji Okumoto	...	Yoshiro Han
Marjorie Monaghan	...	Jared
Nicholas Guest	...	Germaine
Vincent Klyn	...	Michelle
Thom Mathews	...	Marion
Marjean Holden	...	Sam
Brion James	...	Maritz
Deborah Shelton	...	Julian
Jennifer Gatti	...	Rosaria
Blair Valk	...	Morico (as Borovnisa Blervaque)
Thomas Jane	...	Billy (as Tom Janes)

Storyline

In the future, chaos is rampant as 'information terrorists' threaten to destroy order in society. Alex is a part-man-part-machine LAPD cop who is the best at what he does. When one of the terrorists calls him a machine, Alex questions his humanity and decides to leave the force. His final assignment is to apprehend an old colleague who has stolen some data. However, there is more than meets the eye and Alex must question his allegiance.

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Plot Keywords:

cyborg | conspiracy | tracking device | villain not really dead cliche | stop motion animation | 

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Taglines:

In the future... it pays to be more than human.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong futuristic violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 2027.

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Goofs

During the briefing scene, as the camera circles around Alex, a crew member can be seen over Germaine's shoulder, peering around a corner before ducking away.

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Quotes

Farnsworth: Da fucking humans!

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Alternate Versions

The Japanese VHS features an alternate ending, containing an extended scene with Germaine, and a surprise appearance by Farnsworth at the very end, but also misses the entire stop-motion fight sequence on the plane, even though the sequence with an (inexplicably) badly injured Alex in Einstein's lab is intact.

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Connections

Follows Cyborg (1989)

User Reviews

It overachieves to the end.

Oh, man. This one definitely gets me into the way back machine. It was about ten years ago and I was in college. Being a SF fan, I was told by a bud and SF mega-geek (Hey, Reuben) about this movie. So we either popped it into the VCR or saw it on cable. I think it was the VCR - and boom. Nemesis is set in a near future where humanity and machine have begun to merge. Some add on machine parts to make them stronger, faster, or capable of carrying data. And some machines have taken on human appearance, and become human-like androids - cyborgs - further blurring the line between human and machine. Olivier Gruner is Rain, an enhanced cop, watching out for all kinds of new generation criminals, and using his enhancements to try to stay ahead - or at least on par - with the shifting enemies. But then of course he stumbles on something even more sinister than the usual, and it's look out. There are mega over the top gunfights, done in more wild detail because of the low budget, and very little computer generated effects. (Except one scene that others have noted.) Most of it is squibs, sparks and good old fashioned stunt work. Once this one kicks in it ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT let up. Ever. This is one smaller-budget production where the acting, directing, script and frenetic pace combine to make a movie more entertaining and thought provoking that many mega budget SF pics. On top of the action, the script and atmosphere so perfectly evoke a dark, flawed future that other filmmakers should take note. The guy who said it evoked William Gibson's type of dark cyberpunk future was right on the money. It was darn close and had great twists and setting. One reason I took to it was that at the time I was something of a gamer - mostly the Shadowrun series of dark, cyberpunk future. This might have biased me a bit, but I believe that it increased my appreciation of the movie instead. People who dig the newer cyberpunk stuff should check this one out. It does more convincing stuff with less budget and without any obviously fakey CGI. (There is one stop motion shot some have complained about, but at least no one flies around like superman or gets digitally reproduced 1000 times) From the over the top shootouts to good acting by SF legend Tim Thomerson, the ultra cool Merle Kennedy, Deborah Shelton, Gruner himself (with an ultra cool smooth delivery) and a cast that absolutely fits perfectly into their roles and their interactions with each other. This is a movie which achieves a sum greater than the parts, and overachieves from start to finish. People have argued about the later part, but believe me the ending is so cool character wise, that makes up for any other worries. Just a non stop awesome movie that creates atmosphere, features white knuckle action sequences, and creates characters that are believable, bad ass and also people that you end up caring about. If you are a SF buff or even a good movie buff, check it out and you'll be surprised by how well this one hits on all cylinders. Oh, and if you are a cyberpunk fan and dig that stuff, prepare for an awesome depiction of an atmosphere that many other films and other works have tried and failed to capture. Two thumbs way up for this movie, which combines action and character with great settings, overachieves from the get go, and endures as one hell of a fun movie!

Details

Country:

Denmark USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1992 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Nemesis

Filming Locations:

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$197,231, 31 January 1993

Gross USA:

$2,001,124

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,001,124

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imperial Entertainment, Scanbox Entertainment, Shah/Jensen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1