Cyborg 2087

It's always good to see Michael Rennie on screen in any role. He has appeared in a sci-fi films and TV series including his iconic role as Klattu role in The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) andThe Power (1968). Rennie has a strong screen presence and always manages to bring a good measure of style, class and poise to his various roles. Other appearances have included the sci-fi / fanrasy super hero TV series Batman, The Time Tunnel and Lost In Space.

Karen Steele who plays Dr. Sharon Mason began her career in the Oscar-winning Marty and may be recognised as one of "Mudd's Women" on he original series of Star Trek. It is a shame that her career didn't feature more prominent roles.

One face we do recognize is that of the stalwart Warren Stevens. He was a very dependable and versatile actor throughout the 1950s and 1960s who appeared in quite a few films and TV series. He played a space ship's physician in Forbidden Planet (1956).

There's no getting around the fact that Cyborg is a a low budget undemanding sci-fi film that just touches on scientists' responsibility for their creations and how we shape our own futures by the decisions we take. It tries a bit too hard to appeal to a teenage audience of the time and the fight scenes are rather long and tedious.

From the titular year, a cyborg called Garth A7 (Michael Rennie) is sent back in time to 1966 in order to stop an event that will lead to the subjugation of humanity. Garth A7 enlists the help of humans, while two super-soldiers from 2087 arrive to eliminate him.

The idea of a time-traveling cyborg, sent by a group of freedom fighters to stop a scientist from developing an advanced technology, is familiar indeed! James Cameron simply must have seen this movie. Even the scene when Garth A7 shows a scientist the proof that he's a machine is extremely reminiscent of a similar revelation in Cameron's T2! Of course, this film had neither the astronomical budget, nor the advantage of a Cameron to direct it. In spite of this, CYBORG 2087 is a lot of fun to watch, and deserves to be rediscovered...

Michael Rennie of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" fame stars as Garth A7, a cyborg sent by a future civilization back to 1966. His mission is to make sure that the revolutionary "radio-telepathy" technique being engineered by Professor Marx (Eduard Franz, "The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake") does not come to fruition. The thing is, in the future, this technique will be misused by evil minds and bring out about chaos. Once he is back in the past, Garth gets scientists Carl Zellar (Warren Stevens, "Forbidden Planet") and Sharon Mason (Karen Steele, "Ride Lonesome") to help him out, while being hunted by assassins dubbed "Tracers".

If this premise sounds familiar, it should: it was also utilized around this time by Harlan Ellison, as an episode of 'The Outer Limits' titled 'Soldier'. Of course, it would eventually be appropriated again, famously, by James Cameron for "The Terminator". While this ultimately upbeat diversion is nowhere near as atmospheric or grim as Camerons' film, it's certainly a reasonable bit of entertainment. Its obvious low budget and TV movie-like nature will inevitably invite descriptions like "cheesy". It does get positively goofy when, at one point, Zellars' daughter (Sherry Alberoni, "Nightmare Circus") and her friends (including a young John Beck of "Rollerball") groove to some hip tunes while he's trying to perform an operation on Garth. Various people get zapped by Garths' odd weapon, which really does no more than paralyze living things, rather than kill them. The music, while credited to Paul Dunlap, seems to consist of stock cues (such as one memorably used in "Night of the Living Dead"). Franklin Adreon (a TV veteran whose theatrical credits also include stuff like "Panther Girl of the Kongo") directs capably, if not stylishly.

The cast gives a straight faced go at this material. Rennie is good as a character committed to being ruthless in pursuit of his goal, yet who might just find some humanity after all. Wendell Corey ("Rear Window") is a sheriff, Harry Carey Jr. ("3 Godfathers") a pesky reporter, Adam Roarke ("Hells Angels on Wheels") Corey's deputy, and Jo Ann Pflug ("MASH") appears fleetingly at the outset as one of the people sending Garth on his way.

Lightweight and unmemorable stuff, yet it does show one a decent enough time, and should be interesting to see for fans of cult science-fiction.

Six out of 10.

A cyborg from the future is sent back to the 1960s.

60s Outer Limits, 60s The Invaders and 60s Irwin Allen all rolled into one!

The plot has shades of a couple of Limits episodes, the lack of fancy hardware gives it a touch of QM's The Invaders and the general presentation/casting reminds me of Irwin Allen.

Michael Rennie is here, but don't expect The Day The Earth Stood Still 2 - you will not get that!

The DVD picture quality is fine and, despite some slow moments, I generally had a ball with Cyborg 2087. However, I viewed it as a blast of the 60s, younger viewers who only want science fiction thrills might find it all a bit too old school?

Once again, Michael Rennie dons a tin-foil suit to come and warn mankind to amend it's ways. This time, though, he is a cyborg called "Garth 7" sent back from the year 2087 to try and stop an evolutionary process that will rob us all of our ability to think for ourselves. He manages to ally with "Dr. Mason" (Karen Steele) but pretty soon they are aware that the government they wish to thwart has also sent agents back and so not just time, but other folks from the future are against them too. This is cheap and cheerful, pedestrianly written, afternoon fodder that is very light on science or characterisations. Rennie looks like he maybe only did the one filming day, such is the truncated nature of the editing - and the special effects (his bio-implants, especially) are not up to very much, either. Oddly enough, it might have looked better in black and white, somehow the colour just makes it look even more sloppily thrown together. Potentially, an interesting take on a well used idea, but sadly it offers little we haven't seen before and the star is well past his best.