Trancers 4: Jack of Swords

I've watched too many movies in my time. I mean, here I am, commenting on Trancers 4 - TRANCERS 4! - and I bet this review will be read by a grand total of about six people, the same six people who rented this silly little movie when it came out.

For the uninitiated, Trancers started life as a futuristic film noir series. Well, to be brutally honest, it started life as tacky B-movie trash with noir ambitions. The lead character, Jack Deth (like Death, geddit?) was played by lovable genre grump Tim Thomerson, who has achieved a semi-legendary status on the order of Bruce Campbell's. Are either of these men really titans of the entertainment industry? Nah. They're weirdos and underdogs. And that's why we love them.

Trancers 4 departs from the series' usual detective theme and plants Jack Deth in a medieval fantasy world populated by energy-draining vampires. Purists have cried foul over this, but what the hell - Full Moon had a sweet deal, filming on the cheap in Romania, and they wanted to re-use their forest and castle locations from "Subspecies." So, comic book writer Peter David was called upon to plunk Deth right into the middle of an old "Doctor Who" plot involving tyrants, rebels, swordplay, and lots of running around in the woods. The connection to "Who" is strengthened by the endearingly absurd special effects (or, better put, special defects).

The rebel characters are woodenly acted, the bad guys ham it up like loons, the fight scenes are listless, the plot makes no sense - oh, I could go on and on - and yet this movie is still boss, precisely because it's cheap and crass and ballsy and not in the least bit mainstream. This is the kind of movie you could make in a weekend with your friends, and it's all the better for its crudity. It's just so much fun - I mean, c'mon, Deth dunks some guy's head into a bowl of popcorn! He turns an android's head into a bedside lamp! He talks and acts tough, but he's clearly WAY TOO OLD to threaten anybody!

It rules. It just rules.

After a late night TV viewing, i was sold. This film has everything - the cheesy goodness required of such films, characters with names like 'Prospero' and 'Jack Deth' (often referred to as Jack Sh*t), and brilliant visual effects (ie: crap). Seriously though, with a name like Prosperu, how can such a film go wrong? Regardless of any narrative shortcomings, pitiful set design, and completely irrational plot development, who comes to save the day? That's right. Prospero. Just one look at his face makes you happy to be alive.

Don't get me wrong now. Trancers 4 IS a very bad film. I can't possibly recommend it to any human. However. It is the Citizen Kane of our time, if only for one man. A great man. A man whose face shall forever be etched into the minds of all mankind. He is power. He is lord. He is ... PROSPERO.

Trancers 4 (1994) is another installment in the series I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline for this picture focuses on our hero, Jack, being sent to a world with Trancers whose time is like medieval times on Earth. Jack quickly notices that his space travel has changed how his weapons perform. Can he bring down the Trancers with limited capabilities? This movie is directed by David Nutter (Game of Thrones) and stars Tim Tomerson (Dollman), Stacie Randall (Eddie Presley), Terri Ivens (Marked for Death) and Stephen Macht (Monster Squad). The storyline for this is unique from the previous films and kind of fun. Some of the scenes with his various weapons were hilarious as was the dialogue. The action scenes were okay but the villain is kind of blah. Overall this is still a fun series and I'd score this installment a 5/10.

Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is back in 2353. After wiping out the Trancers, he has been working for the council and fixing the time line. He is alone again. He gets new gadgets. His new mission sends him to a medieval world which is ruled by Trancers called Nobles. They are literally sucking the life out of normal people.

This sci-fi franchise is trying to go medieval. This B-movie is trying to jump into another B-movie genre. At times, I do wonder if this is trying to be a satire of the original. When Deth goes into slow-motion, I almost thought that it's making fun of itself. Medieval could be done well but this is not it. There is no excitement or thrills. There is no tension in the story. At least, Tim Thomerson is back. Otherwise, there is nothing here.

Weird diversion for super Trancer hunter Jack Deth in this fourth movie. Director David Nutter is better known for his catalogue of TV drama episodes (such as 'Roswell') and thus effectively produces an attractive, slow and very television suited instalment for this series of films. Of course there is the usual Deth comical and ironic lines but these are not as strong as they previously were. The film has swearing and a little soft action (perhaps to justify its' direct to video origin). Cast do their best and a couple of now regular TV stars (like Lochlyn Munro) appear. Deth has no wives to deal with this time which should have led to a more action focused addition but somehow he spends most of the film having rather dull conversations with his co-stars. Filmed back to back with Trancers 5.