In an era of movies like TERMINATOR: GENISYS and CHAPPIE, can a B-grade robot adventure from the mid-90s find an appreciative audience? The answer is yes, at least if it can find its way into my hands. No low-budget filmmaker loved the sci-fi genre more than Philip J. Roth ("APEX"), and this particular cyborg-themed outing highlights the best that he – or almost anyone – could bring to the table under B-movie constraints. Though not terribly original, DIGITAL MAN is engaging and action-packed enough to accommodate its target audience and perhaps win over a few new fans as well.
The story: A squad of futuristic soldiers (led by Ken Olandt) is sent to a backwater Earth settlement to neutralize a deadly combat cyborg (Matthias Hues) run amuck.
It bears emphasizing that viewers who need expensive production values and state-of-the-art special effects to enjoy sci-fi flicks will be disappointed by this one, with its outdated CGI and gooey prosthetics. Personally, I love the production design, which is so skillfully implemented that there's no stylistic discord even when the setting shifts from a high-tech space station to the dusty Earth setting. Despite a handful of esthetic lifts from ALIENS and THE TERMINATOR, DIGITAL MAN looks and feels very much like its own movie, and in the process manages to avoid the artistic pitfalls of basing a production in the desert: it's never not fun to look at, despite its limited color palette.
The action's comprised primarily of explosions and shootouts, with a smattering of kickboxing. Though bluntly effective, the firefights aren't worth the price of the picture alone, and it's disappointing that Hues' physical talents are limited to only a single, one-sided brawl. Despite looking cool in his armor, Matthias is generally the worst-utilized performer of the film, having next to no lines and virtually nothing to do other than stalking and shooting. The rest of the cast does much better, with especially the soldiers getting enough character moments so as to not feel expendable. The rest of the cast is pretty memorable, too: Don Swayze (brother of Patrick) is a decent supporting goof, Amanda Wyss does what she can in an uncredited role, and the great Susan Tyrell has two glorious cameo scenes.
Director Roth infuses the picture with the enthusiastic pacing and gusto so often missing from low-budget productions, thereby keeping the film upbeat and rolling along nicely. He might have also included a tad too much story for his own good, as the paranoia angle of squad members potentially being cyborgs themselves feels unnecessary for a movie this small. Nevertheless, the film is worth a rental, and potentially even a purchase if you still own a VCR.
