Cyber Tracker

Plot Synopsis: Los Angeles in the future. Crime is kept under control by Core Trackers, android assassins dispatched by the United States Computerized Judicial System to execute the guilty. Secret Service agent Eric Phillips prevents an attack on his boss, Senator Robert Dilly (the man who set up the USCJS), by the Union for Human Rights, a group of anti-machine activists. Dilly attempts to initiate Phillips into his private circle but the SS agent goes on the run after witnessing Dilly murder a UHR agent in cold blood. Dilly sends Core Trackers after him. Phillips joins the UHR group & helps them uncover a conspiracy involving Dilly.

"Cyber Tracker" is the first of a number of sci-fi / action hybrids directed by Richard Pepin, co-founder of PM Entertainment, a powerhouse of action films during the 1990s. Other Pepin films include "Hologram Man", "T-Force", "The Silencers" & "Dark Breed". Pepin films typically start with a major action sequence which lasts about 10 minutes before allowing the plot to kick in. The script for this film has a few plot holes – it is never clear what the conspiracy the heroes are trying to stop actually is. As for the acting, Don "The Dragon" Wilson may be tough but cannot act for beans, with little charisma. His co-stars are a lot better. The film's best bet are the action scenes, which throw up some impressive artillery fire, a huge bodycount & not one but three moments where a vehicle flies through the air, flips & hits the ground, exploding. The visual effects border on the cheap side & the musical score is low-key & shrill.

Those action mad loonies of PM Entertainment, Joseph Merhi and Richard Pepin deliver this somewhat fun Terminator rip off starring former kickboxing champ, Don 'The Dragon' Wilson.

Funny thing is, despite his obvious skills in the ring, I have never much liked Wilson's on screen fights and this film proved no exception. Even the final fight against martial arts star Richard Norton – a fight which should have been awesome, proved to be decidedly mundane.

But enough about the fights – what of the rest of the film you might ask?

Well, it's derogative stuff at best and clearly knows it but with Merhi and Pepin on board, plots invariably play second fiddle to the action scenes at any rate. In this regards, there are some admittedly cool sequences on offer which really elevate the film.

Acting wise? – Probably best not mentioned but overall a fairly fun little film that should keep action fans mildly amused for ninety or so minutes.

Dragon 'The Don' Wilson is a hardcase bodyguard working for OCP, I mean Cybercore, creators of Robocop, I mean Cyber Tracker, big robotic fellows who are definitely not like Terminators at all, who go around around executing (and definitely not terminating) convicted murderers. Turns out Cybercore, and the local senator guy, are all corrupt and stuff and are secretly executing some bunch of do-gooders protesting against the Trackers. This doesn't sit well with Don "The Wilson" Dragon, who becomes a turn coat and gets a tracker set on him as a result. All he wanted to do was pine after his departed wife while talking to his robot house, Agnes 4000 (Agnes?).

So now The "Dragon Don" Wilson is being chased by a Robo-Tracker of the Cyber Cop variety, and that would be enough to put a dampner on someone's day, but he's also got another enemy on his tail: Richard Norton of City Hunter fame. Richard (great hair man, great hair) thinks that these cyber skinheads aren't too good (and he's right) and he also thinks that he would be better at kicking Dragon Ball 'W''s arse (and he's wrong), which leads to a bizarre half kickboxing, half rolling around on the floor fight.

Full of cars and trucks exploding, people firing several tons worth of bullets at each other, kickboxing and evil company bosses, Cyber Tracker probably contains enough action to keep your mind off your life for an hour and a half. They even through in a shower scene with Dragson Won Ildon for those who like to see Kickboxing champions have a shower.

Bears no resemblance at all to Robocop, Terminator, Cyborg Cop, Cyborg Cop 2, Cyborg, Atomic Cyborg or Gofrey Ho's Robo Vampire (where it all started, I believe).

First things first, I hate low budget Sci-Fi. When I think of low budget Sci-Fi, I think of Albert Pyun. Which is not a not a pleasant thought. In fact, in general I don't like much Sci-Fi at all with the likes of Terminator being one of the few exceptions. I was in a shop which sold second hand VHS and DVD when I stumbled upon this with the price tag of £2.99. Noticing it was a PM Entertainment production who've been responsible for some very good DTV action material and that it starred Don "The Dragon" Wilson who I've had a soft spot for after seeing Ring Of Fire 3: Lion Strike, I decided that to throw down £3 that could just as easily disappear on a couple of beers was probably worth it. And for what it was, in my mind it was certainly worth those three English pounds!

I'm not quite sure when the setting of this movie is. The world it is based in, is not in the slightest bit futuristic bar all the computers. All of the vehicles are those of 80's/early 90's, so I'm guessing that it's set not long after it's present day and that computers have suddenly taken a huge leap in technology. In fairness though, computers in the 90's did advance hugely, with the sudden take off of the internet around 1995 and by now having grown into something which almost everyone I know has in their home. They just did not evolve *quite* as much in a short period of time as this movie may suggest. But anyway, even though the non futuristic world is probably due to the budget of the production, it certainly looks a lot less corny to look at nowadays than the world Timecop portrays as 2004, where you just tell a computer in your car where to go and it takes you home! Or the world that Escape From New York portrays as 1997, where Manhattan is one large high security prison!

Granted, this is much more of an action flick than a Sci-Fi flick and all the better for it. Special effects are kept to a minimum and those that are there are certainly acceptable. It's hard to call it a Terminator rip off as it brings new things of it's own, even if they are rather basic, rather than machine vs machine. This time, we have a human targeted by the villains with machines called "Cyber-Trackers". Unfortunately for them though, our Cyber-Tracker is no T-1000, as it appears to be a rather basic machine without much of a brain which does nothing but fire directly at it's target therefore can be easily outsmarted and burnt out.

The movie is full of your typically exaggerated PM Entertainment fiery action which is always a hell of a lot of fun. Some exciting car chases, shoot outs, and entertaining fight scenes are what keeps the movie going.

As with most Don "The Dragon" Wilson flicks, the acting is mediocre at best, with him being probably the best actor here and if you're the type who's concerned about that kind of stuff, then this could be a huge drawback. But some excellent action scenes, good pacing and a rather entertaining finale, rise it above mediocrity.

At the end of the day, it's not something that's going to change the weather or leave a huge impression on you after watching but it's fine entertainment, and is certainly light years above the Albert Pyun school of DTV Sci-Fi junk. Go in not expecting much, and you may just come out enjoying it like I did.

Rating: 06/10

Eric Phillips (Don Wilson) is a secret service agent who prevents the assassination of a senator however along the way he finds a conspiracy and has a tracker on his tail. The tracker by the way is bent on terminating Phillips. The most obvious inspiration for this low budget cheeseball action flick, is of course Robocop and while that film had some imagination and real energy, this just has a real life kickboxing champ running away from a robot. The movie isn't so awful as it is just empty and repetitive. The story is written in clichés and the characters are set up to be cut down by the various gunfire. Don Wilson, as usual, is terrible in the lead role.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)