Nemesis (1992)

Nemesis: Directed by Albert Pyun. With Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Merle Kennedy. 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?

“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 itu0026#39;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 Gibsonu0026#39;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 youu0026#39;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!”