Vampiros mutantes: el caballero de la muerte

I've watched too many movies in my time. I mean, here I am, commenting on Trancers 4 - TRANCERS 4! - and I bet this review will be read by a grand total of about six people, the same six people who rented this silly little movie when it came out.

For the uninitiated, Trancers started life as a futuristic film noir series. Well, to be brutally honest, it started life as tacky B-movie trash with noir ambitions. The lead character, Jack Deth (like Death, geddit?) was played by lovable genre grump Tim Thomerson, who has achieved a semi-legendary status on the order of Bruce Campbell's. Are either of these men really titans of the entertainment industry? Nah. They're weirdos and underdogs. And that's why we love them.

Trancers 4 departs from the series' usual detective theme and plants Jack Deth in a medieval fantasy world populated by energy-draining vampires. Purists have cried foul over this, but what the hell - Full Moon had a sweet deal, filming on the cheap in Romania, and they wanted to re-use their forest and castle locations from "Subspecies." So, comic book writer Peter David was called upon to plunk Deth right into the middle of an old "Doctor Who" plot involving tyrants, rebels, swordplay, and lots of running around in the woods. The connection to "Who" is strengthened by the endearingly absurd special effects (or, better put, special defects).

The rebel characters are woodenly acted, the bad guys ham it up like loons, the fight scenes are listless, the plot makes no sense - oh, I could go on and on - and yet this movie is still boss, precisely because it's cheap and crass and ballsy and not in the least bit mainstream. This is the kind of movie you could make in a weekend with your friends, and it's all the better for its crudity. It's just so much fun - I mean, c'mon, Deth dunks some guy's head into a bowl of popcorn! He turns an android's head into a bedside lamp! He talks and acts tough, but he's clearly WAY TOO OLD to threaten anybody!

It rules. It just rules.

Ok this one is good but there starting to lose it a bit, it just dident have the magic that the past 3 movie did. I felt that this one was to comic book like and really dident go anywere. But don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it but just not like the other one's.

7/10

"Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" is an awkward fourth entry in the cult series "Trancers" continuing the adventures of Jack Deth. The thing that makes this so weird is that it takes place during the mideaeval ages in another dimension where trancers have taken over. Some funny moments but disapopinting sequel in the low budget series. But make sure to watch this one before number 5 or you will be really lost.

Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is back in 2353. After wiping out the Trancers, he has been working for the council and fixing the time line. He is alone again. He gets new gadgets. His new mission sends him to a medieval world which is ruled by Trancers called Nobles. They are literally sucking the life out of normal people.

This sci-fi franchise is trying to go medieval. This B-movie is trying to jump into another B-movie genre. At times, I do wonder if this is trying to be a satire of the original. When Deth goes into slow-motion, I almost thought that it's making fun of itself. Medieval could be done well but this is not it. There is no excitement or thrills. There is no tension in the story. At least, Tim Thomerson is back. Otherwise, there is nothing here.

I have to admit that I don't understand why writers Danny Bilson, Peter David and Paul De Meo opted to take the franchise in this direction. Thrusting Jack Deth back into a medieval world just made very little sense. As much as I do enjoy medieval fantasy, then it just felt like an odd direction to take the franchise, especially since the previous movies were more of sci-fi intoned.

Tim Thomerson returns to reprise the role of Jack Deth, and he is joined by Stephen Macht once again, although briefly. Aside from these two returning actors, then "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" didn't have any familiar faces on the cast list for me, aside from Lochlyn Munro. The acting performances in the movie were fair, though.

The franchise is starting to have a bigger budget, and it is showing on the screen. And that definitely is a good thing. But bigger budget and better production doesn't necessarily mean better movie, especially if the storyline and script is weak.

Watchable for what it was, but I have to admit that I found "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" to be a weak addition to the franchise, especially in comparison to the three previous movies, despite of the budget increase and better production.

My rating of director David Nutter's 1994 movie "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" lands on a four out of ten stars.