User reviews

"Cyborg" is actually passable stuff if you watch it in the right frame of mind (and that thought occurred to me only in the SECOND viewing); if you're expecting a movie made with artistry and professionalism or anything resembling class, you're in for a disappointment. But if you know that this is only supposed to be a low-grade showcase for Van Damme's rather impressive kickboxing skills, then you may like it a little. It IS primitive filmmaking, but a bit more elaborately staged than other Cannon releases (for example, the Bronson vehicles of the 80s). (**)

Nope, this is not good and we might as well get that out of the way first. Jean-Claude Van Damme does, however, manage to show off his rippled torso quite frequently whilst everyone else just shows off the fact that they can't act and that even if they could, the dialogue is so pathetic that they'd decided not to bother learning their lines. He's "Gibson", a retired fighter who has to come to terms with an apocalyptic scenario that has reduced these United States to rubble ruled on the basis of survival of the fittest by the "Pirates". Scientists in Atlanta might be onto to a cure for this pestilence, but for that to work then cyborg/human combo "Pearl" (Dayle Haddon) has to get some information to them. Meantime, the well informed gang leader "Tremolo" (Vincent Klyn) wants the cure for his people instead and so rather easily captures her. With the pieces all in place "Gibson" and his feisty new friend "Nady" (Deborah Richter) have to fight the ostensibly un-winnable fight against overwhelming odds to try and rescue "Pearl". There's not the merest hint of jeopardy here and the action scenes are so badly choreographed and edited together that it makes "Conan" (1982) look like Fellini. The repetition in the storyline really becomes irritating after the seventh scene when our hero is slashed to ribbons only to recuperate into an even more deadly ninja - and he's not even the robot. Auteur Albert Pyun clearly had too much time and money on his hands to waste on developing characters or story and what we are left with is unlikely to be on Van Damme's audition tape.

Being an avid bodybuilder and martial arts enthusiast my whole life I've got to say I love this film not just because of Van Damme although I'm a huge fan but because of Vincent Klyn, I think his character Fender Tremolo is one of the most brutal evil villains of all time.

If you wanna see a formidable group of people just look at his gang in the movie, just one look at them will probably stop your heart beat.

In Fenders gang Most of the actors are bodybuilders or martial artists in the real world so I like that, even though the fights are choreographed It still gives me the added bonus knowing there real athletes not just actors.

It's not going to be nominated for any Oscar's, but if you like martial arts with a touch of post apocalyptic war thrown in with nice fights then you won't be disappointed.

In a post-apocalyptic cement plant, Jean-Claude Van Damme tries to get sexy cyborg Deborah Richter to Atlanta because she has the cure to the plague in her memory. Filled with people kicking each other in the head with knives in their shoes, and a crucified Van Damme, most of the dialogue consists of people screaming wordlessly at each other.

Unlike a lot of movies in this genre, people don't dress in spotless leather, their hair is badly maintained -- even though it's largely set right by the sea shore. It's officially the last movie released by the Cannon Group, which had gone bankrupt two years earlier. Apparently Van Damme did an uncredited edit on the movie to remove scenes in which people explained what was going on.

I'm not an action movie guy at the best of times but I consider the 80's/90's to be the best time for the genre. Sure many were cheesy as hell but they often had a certain charm about them, this doesn't.

Couple of interesting facts about Cyborg. First of all it began a franchise, many people don't realise as they aren't simply Cyborg 1, 2, 3 etc they merged into another film series and they're incredibly still going at time of writing.

Second Cyborg was originally supposed to be Masters of the Universe 2! That's right this was meant to be a sequel to the Dolph Lungren He-Man film but after it tanked at the box office they changed their minds. However a script was written, the production had already been prepped so they decided to make the movie anyway, changing some characters and make it R rated.

It tells the story of a wanderer in a post apocalyptic world, lost and alone after the death of his family he swears vengeance and etc etc etc. Very cliched cheesy stuff with a cyborg related side story that ultimately didn't even need to exist and contributes nothing to the movie.

What makes Cyborg really stand out is the acting, it's atrocious. I don't just mean Van Damme I mean everyone across the board. It has some of the most consistently awful acting I've possibly ever seen, Deborah Richter is adorable but can't act in the slightest and don't even get me started on the movies antagonist.

I hope the franchise get's better as I'll be binging it, I'll just say this is one for diehard action fanatics alone.

The Good:

I liked bit where the screen went black and all the peoples names appeared

The Bad:

Clean sweep of awful actors/actresses

Cliched to hell and back

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Bad guys don't brush their teeth

Acting ability is optional when casting for action movies

Okay, before I even delve into the horrors of this film, I'd just like to know what the heck is with Kitty Chalmers obsession with guitars?? Couldn't she come up with some more original names? Gibson Rickenbacker, Fender Tremolo, Marshall Strat, Roland Pick...GIVE ME A BREAK!!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, this film is pure cheeze. Non-stop cheddar from beginning to end. The thinnest of plots, the background is so shallow you need a helmet to wade through it...and the acting is *horrible*!! Not that I expected much from a Van Damme film, but COME ON!!! Vincent Klyn can barely put two syllables together! It amazes me that he could even get through his lines! (And what's with that outfit? The sunglasses were bigger than his head (nice contacts, btw...) and that chain (?) mail was odd-looking...

Anyways, the plot is cheezy, the acting's horrid, the effects are worse (even for 1989!), the costumes look like they were from the Mad Max rejection pile...in fact, this entire film is like one giant Mad Max outtake!

Overall: I can't believe I actually ever almost liked this film (I saw it in the theater in '89 and thought it was fairly good). If you want to see Van Damme that's even *close* to worth watching, skip this one and rent Hard Target (GO JOHN WOO!!), Kickboxer or Bloodsport. 3/10.

I used to rent this movie all the time as a kid, as I've always enjoyed apocalyptic movies, and I still do. This movie is the classic "hero's tale". It has some great action sequences, gore and cinematography. It was also made on a shoestring budget by one of my favourite defunct film companies, Cannon!

This is one of the first movies of Albert Pyun , who is considered by many (including me) as one of the worst movie directors in history of cinema . After watching "Cyborg" it's not hard to understand why. It's also not hard to understand why Cannon films bankrupted.

The movie is called "Cyborg " despite the fact it has nothing to do with the story . Yes , there is one cyborg in this movie , but you could easily replace it with a human with data on CD and the movie would work the same way . Anyway , this movie seems to be inspired by "Mad Max" , "Terminator" , "Blade runner" and "Highlander" . I recommend for you to watch them instead of Pyun's "masterpiece". Interesting thing – "Cyborg" is not set in the Blade Runner universe , but one of the characters makes a reference by saying "we have a skin job".

This is an earlier Van Damme effort – I think he's incredibly lucky that after making this piece of (censored) he STILL was able to become a star. I do like some of his movies ("Bloodsport" , "Kickboxer " , "Nowhere to run"), so you can't say I'm criticizing "Cyborg" for the fact it's Van Damme movie .

"Cyborg" fails mainly because of two things – screenplay and direction. The story written by Kitty Chambers (is that a real name ?!) is thin . All the characters seem to be named after guitars (LOL) ! I've already told you about the pointless title of the movie. There is one HUGE mistake in continuity – there's an incredible age difference between two characters just because the movie wants to shock audience with a twist . In the end "twist" is predictable and illogical. The movie never really bothers to describe us the universe in which the whole story is happening . All the characters are one-dimensional and unlikable. The movie makes a few feeble attempts at humanizing the characters, but it's a fruitless effort. Not to mention the dialogue is either cheesy or uninteresting.

The funniest thing is the whole movie could be a decent popcorn flick , but Pyun directs it as if he was making "Seven samurai" or something (LOL) . "Cyborg" is far more than campy , it's INCREDIBLY CAMPY because it's so pretentious . In Pyun's vision Van Damme's hero is a new Jesus / Messiah. There are many crosses in this movie and a crucifixion (LOL) . My favourite scene is the one with the weeding cake – so touching … Pyun tries to make his movie stylish and exciting , but fails.

The sets look like crap and the whole film reeks of low budget . At first it was supposed to be a sequel to "Masters of universe " with Dolph Lundgren , but something went wrong and they decided to use the sets to make "Cyborg".

The acting is tragedy . EVERYBODY gives an awful performance , but the special mention goes to the "actor" who plays the villain . He looks laughable with his blue eyes , sunglasses and handsome face . Not to mention his growling voice and the way he overreacts the cheesiest lines of dialogue… And why the hell is he screaming and grunting so many times ?! One of the worst performances I've seen EVER.

The good things ? I think the fight scenes (very often in slow motion) are actually OK. Unfortunately , without interesting characters, good acting, and a focused energy this movie is a complete disaster. A strong contender for the list of worst movies ever made . I give it 1/10. If you're a Van Damme fan and you want to see him in a decent sci-fi movie you should watch "Timecop".

The stage curtains open ...

This was the very first Jean-Claude Van Damme movie I'd ever seen on the big screen, having missed out on "Bloodsport" until it's video release. My girlfriend (at the time) and I had a big fight that night, but after we made up we decided to go watch this movie in the theater. I know ... it's a weird film to pick when you're making up - LOL. But, we both had a good time and enjoyed it.

Van Damme plays the part of Gibson, a slinger - who is basically a hired gun to protect people or to hunt down other people. A notorious pirate named Fender (played by Vincent Klyn) has abducted a cyborg named Pearl (played by Dayle Haddon) who holds information that would cure the plague that is killing off earth's remaining population. As Gibson tracks down Fender and his band of pirates, we learn that there is much more brewing under the surface than we first realize.

This is a very good post-apocalyptic action film with well choreographed fight scenes featuring your typical Van Damme athletic moves and high flying kicks. The story was fairly generic, but well executed. Klyn made a formidable opponent and was solid in his role.

Maybe this isn't the best movie to share with your girlfriend or boyfriend if you are trying to set a romantic mood, but for action lovers, this is a recommend and a fun flick.

Cyborg (1989) is one of my favorite Van Damme underrated Post-Apocalyptic,Science Fiction Action movie from the late 80's. The film is Very fast-paced, under 90 min., cool post apocalyptic setting, very epic, they are great villains in here, Awesome ass kicking with the knife boots, Great score, Van Damme did a awesome job showing body language/presence, and I knew I wasn't the only one who thought Van Damme had a Badass walk.

Very underrated indeed. Jean-Claude Van Damme is still today, one of my favorite action stars, I absolutely love his movies from his golden years. I grew up watching Cyborg as a kid. The movie wasn't my favorite Van Damme movie. I did not watch this movie so many times on TV, like I have watched other his movie that I love. Watching countless today this flick, I fall in love with it and it become one of my favorite Van Damme movies.

In the barbaric, plague-ridden wasteland of the 21st century, a beautiful half-human cyborg carries information that can save civilization. But only the strength and cunning of a lone warrior (Jean-Claude Van Damme) can deliver her --and her vital data from the clutches of the unspeakable Flesh Prates. That is the main plot about this film, that it also involves revenge and the human character played by Van Damme, which his character has a heart!

I absolutely love Cyborg. Jean-Claude Van Damme did a solid job acting in this movie, which I thought was very brilliant and very fast paced. Sort of the movie reminds me on Mad Max 1 & 2, which I absolutely love those movies and Conan the Barbarian (1982) with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. Because Fender kills Gibson's family and Gibson goes out for a revenge. He travels in the post apocalyptic world in which a plague known as the living death cripples civilization. When Gbson (Van Damme) was tied and was hanging from the mast watching into the sky, the similar scene was used in Conan the Barbarian, even Conan was looking for the people who killed his family. That is why Cyborg reminds me on these movies, they are my favorite. As a kid I still remember seeing the VHS cover in the store of Cyborg and I was impressed. I could watch this movie countless times. I hope I could get this movie on Blu-ray someday but, that will be really hard.

Considering its' low budget, it's an entertaining flick. Great fights, cool villain, great scenes (like the 'crucified scene')... I seriously love Van Damme's kicks with boot knife. I love when Van Damme yells FENDEEEERRR... The final fight between Gibson and Fender was absolutely epic. The similar scene was also in Universal Soldier. I think cyborg is a bad ass film from Cannon Group. It is a shame that they can't make any movies today anymore.

I can say something about the actors and the whole cast crew: Beside loving Van Damme in here: actress Deborah Richter as Nady Simmons, the girl who helps Van Damme, killing Fender (Vincent Klyn) and finding Pearl (Dayle Haddon) a female cyborg caring a cure, did a terrific job, she was very awesome gorgeous and very beautiful sexy. Haley Peterson as Haley the sister of murdered family by Fender, was extremely gorgeous and fast feisty sexy babe on the screen ever. Vincent Klyn as Fender the leader of pirates, was a real bad ass villain ever. I wish they would make movies like this today! About the sequels I don't care they all suck ass! Once I watch Cyborg 2 with Angelina Jolie and Elias Koteas and that movie sucked! Director Albert Pyun made a great job as the director. He directed terrific the angles of the picture.

Cyborg is a 1989 science fiction post apocalyptic film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a mercenary who while traveling the wasteland of what was the Eastern United States finds himself protecting a woman who could hold the key to restoring humanity. The film was directed by Albert Pyun. More action and high flying kicks, nothing new, except for a fun plot...to this day I still choose this movie over any other pointless movies that lead to nowhere. This movie get's a perfect 10 by me. I love this flick to death!

I first saw this movie when i was young and impressionable, but even to this day i still get pumped up after watching it. Granted the story line is full of holes and the dialogue kinda sucks, but when your watching a Van Damme movie who cares. I've been a big Van Damme fan for quite some time. Sure! he's a pitiful actor who should have his lines cut down to almost nothing, but he sure as hell can sell a fight scene. This movie is no exception. He won't win any academy awards with his performance but he does sell the i'm super p***ed and your gonna die look pretty well. That being the major reason why i enjoy the film. So if your looking for some solid fight scenes without a hole lot of plot, i highly recommend the movie. This movie is definitely under appreciated judging from the rating scale, all i ask is that some of these people relax a little and just enjoy a movie that doesn't have a plot line thats more complicated than a physics equation.

The biggest mistake they made here was not stretching the fight scenes as much as possible.

The dialog was horrid and the plot itself was a very abbreviated Road Warrior retread. The attempts at sentimentality (the burning wedding cake, the scared kids) didn't even work. The opening narration only let you know you were seeing an extended chase scene.

However, the fight scenes ROCKED. Van Damme proves that he may be better off as a man of few words. The endless bone breaking and face busting kept attentions. The revenge plot was just there for an excuse.

Van Damme's best? No way. (That would be Bloodsport.) But worth a look as long as your FF button works.

I love CYBORG, there isn't one intellectually stimulating moment during the entire 87 minutes (and 14 seconds actually..well on MY copy) That alone deserves recognition! But hey..Van Dumb WAS learning his craft here..it took another 27 movies before he mastered the art of screen inconsequentiality.

Cyborg is total fun. Where else ya gonna find a robotic damsel in distress, the good guy crucified without any lasting discomfort and the bad guy a vision in Armani leatherwork and wrap around Police sunglasses!

You can comfortably watch this movie......miss as much of it as you like while you cook dinner...and it makes not the slightest difference! I figure it was a class act! In MY book it beats the bejeesus out of THE ENGLISH PATIENT!

Albert Pyun's Cyborg (1989) stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Gibson, who is a lonely avenger in the post-apocalyptic future world in which sadistic hooligans kill and torture people in Mad Max tradition. Damme's character is after the bad guy who killed his family and the film follows his quest to capture and vengeance the ugly baddie and his thugs. What follows is the usual Damme action with plenty of kicks and hits.

This film is technically occasionally interesting, but for most of the time just stupid and unintentionally trashy. The editing in the action scenes is irritatingly restless and pointless as the film tries to show many things with these fast edits, but manages, in fact, to show only less by these too plenty edits. The cinematography is occasionally almost great, and the long segment at the abandoned storehouse offers a great opportunity to use camera with space and thankfully Pyun can use his camera and make his films look professional and interesting, and that storehouse segment is definitely among the more interesting in this film. Otherwise, the acting is the usual Damme level and the baddies are very irritating as they yell and scream without any point like some drunken indians. As an action scifi, this is grade B, but fortunately directed with skill so it is pleasant thing to watch, if one can stand the stupidities and hollowness of this film.

There's plenty of violence in forms of kicking, hitting, punching, slashing, snapping and so on so this is no less violent than your average Seagal/Damme/Norris vehicle which always tend to share these same no brains elements but also sometimes something cinematically noteworthy and interesting. Cyborg gets 4/10 from me and I would've given it much more if it had at least some point and less stupidities in it.

I'm only entering 1 out of 10 because zero isn't an option. I used to think that this was the worst (major) movie that I'd ever seen. However, as a result of Highlander 2 (which I'm ashamed to admit that I actually paid to see... uck!), this is now only the *second* worst.

The only explanation for my having seen this was that it was part of a period of time in my younger days when myself and a friend went out and saw a movie every Sunday evening without fail, for two or three years straight. Sometimes, the movie we actually wanted to see was sold out, and we ended up taking a chance. Some of these chances turned out to be good. Some (like Cyborg) didn't. Not too long after this came out, I decided that movies were getting too expensive (and my time too valuable) to waste on crap like this, and I became a little more discriminating about what I paid to see. Perhaps this was an early warning sign that I was starting to move out of the 'key demographic' of the movie industry.

This film may be interesting for those who like dark post-apocalypse, martial arts, 80s electronic soundtrack and some Christian allusions.

I've seen this movie before by God's grace I became a Christian. It was exciting and scary back then, somewhat similar to the depressing soviet movies of the late 80s with a creepy synthesized soundtrack about the rise of crime, breakdown of society, etc.

Right now it doesn't feel quite so good, because it enforces the idea of revenge and hate, though hidden under the pretense to save humanity.

A Christian must understand this, and instead should strive to follow Jesus' teaching to love our enemies, and leave the justice to God, as clarified by saint Paul:

"Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord." (Romans 12:19)

An interesting idea are the present Christian symbols - crosses, crucifixion, references to hell, a wonder of fast healing. It seems the original idea of the film was more about the battle of God's forces vs satanic forces, though later converted mostly to a sci-fi/martial arts B movie.

"He's the First Hero of the 21st Century...And He's Our Only Hope." Cue a post apocalyptic future, Van Damme and his mission to ensure a Cyborg with critical scientific information ends up in the right hands.

Van Damme has always spoke very candidly about his early film output, he says it's not rocket science, as he got more famous the budgets got bigger and the films got better because of it. Which of course isn't saying much to non fans of the ass kicking Muscles from Brussells. But on a basic action movie level, many Van Damme movies score highly with the popcorn munching crowd, and if the haters want to admit it or not, the choreography and sheer athleticism is truly a sight to behold.

Cyborg, however, is a bad film, it has some worth to the undemanding genre fan, but it's cheap in production and finds Van Damme ill at ease at the time making a film away from the comfort of the ring/fight format (he had looked well at home in Bloodsport the year previously and also in the undervalued Kickboxer released in tandem with Cyborg). The plot is lacking cohesion and director Albert Pyun decides to just lurch from one action set piece to another without a care in the world for structure or narrative thrust. Quite often the action scenes are accompanied by groaningly bad synthesiser music, and there is slow-mo as well, slow, sleepy, tired looking slow-mo. There's decent colour photography and Vincent Klyn's roaring villain is one of the more nasty Van Damme foes from the early part of his career. But really, once we get to the "Christ" metaphor even Van Damme's fans realise they should have rented Kickboxer instead. Fun character names, mind, makes us think of a rock concert! 3/10

Not one of Van Damme's best films, but a good one to watch. The first of his sci-fi movie roles (the better ones are Universal Soldier and Timecop), this takes a different approach than the martial arts tournaments that Jean-Claude Van Damme played in before. It is true that at times the plot is slow and some of the action scenes are cheesy along with some questionable sound effects, but at this point in Van Damme's movie career I don't think he really gives a crap. Compared to such post-apocalyptic films such as The Matrix trilogy, the Mad Max movies or Escape From New York, it falls slightly short. In short, Cyborg is forgettable but it's enjoyable.

Looking for award winning acting? Then watch On the Waterfront or something. If you are looking for stylish post apocalyptic martial arts then you have found the Holy Grail. B movie fare for sure, however so was Omega Man. Defiantly worth a DVD rental or purchase if you are into Jean Claude (I am). Best line in the movie? AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH of course............

Very underrated movie one of Van Damme's non karate movies. Its a bit out there , but for what it is. Not bad . For some reason the glasses work for the bad guy. He rocks them.

As a rule whenever I run into a movie that has music created entirely using a synthesizer my brain flashes on the word "CHEAP". Add to that the tired post-apocalyptic settings, and a cast you never heard of (except for Van Damme, of course), and you've got a reason to leave this one in the bargain bin. It didn't help that this was the last film from the nearly dead, and already bankrupt, Cannon Films. Sadly, they went out with a whimper instead of a bang. Wander through the credits and there are signs everywhere that money was tight. There are several people listed for multiple positions in the production team, and Van Damme is even took a turn as a Film Editor.

The movie itself is trite, and the plot is very basic: Main characters go from here to there in a world where civilization has crumbled, surviving attacks from savage gangs. Said travel includes flashbacks for The Hero to an earlier time when he suffered heavily at the hands of the same savage gang. Strictly formula.

The character development is extremely basic, and could have been handled better. Watching this movie one gets the impression that the idea was just to cash in on the Van Damme mystique and spend as little as possible doing it. So, this one is heavy on fighting, albeit poorly done, and light on everything else.

Calling this movie "Cyborg" was a lie as that particular character has a minimal part in the movie. So if you're looking for an action flick involving a Cyborg battling humans, don't stop here. As a matter of fact, don't stop here at all. There's nothing to see.