Cyborg 3: The Recycler

Years after the fall of the last of the great corporations, the world has fallen into a new dark age where cyborgs are harvested for their parts. Cash, a female cyborg, travels to a wasteland doctor to receive news that she is pregnant. On the run from Recyclers (bounty hunters who hunt cyborgs), Cash tries to find her way to Cytown, the mythical refuge for cyborgs.

"Cyborg 3: The Recycler" is the third (& last so far) entry in the CYBORG trilogy. The first film was originally planned to be a sequel to MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, but was quickly rewritten into a standard post-apocalyptic martial-arts fest that became something of a cult classic due to its cheesy action scenes. CYBORG 2: GLASS SHADOW was a sequel that actually improved upon its predecessor but was not widely seen (& was dismissed by those few who saw it as cheap fodder).

This film, for one thing, tries to be a meld of the first two films (the first was a cheesy action film while the second was a smart Cyberpunk story) but unfortunately falls short on both counts. The budget was obviously lower than CYBORG 2, with the film being set in the desert wastelands (like so many post-apocalyptic action films of the 90s were), shot around old industrial buildings to conserve costs.

The film's story centres on a plot device, that of a pregnant cyborg, that is as interesting as it is absurd (this film is not the first to try that idea; the anime OVA series ARMITAGE III uses it to a greater extent). But the film falls into the same trap that so many low-budget sci-fi action films fall victim to, in the fact that the snags (synthetic organisms) featured are nothing more than androids. The visual effects amount to nothing more than prosthetic arms & makeup effects.

The acting is pretty standard for this kind of film, with the lead actress (Khrystyne Haje) being the single worst performer on display. Instead of being joyed at the news she is pregnant, she acts all whiny & sullen. Her co-stars are much better, Malcolm McDowell being the usual gangster type who enlivens the scenes he appears in & Richard Lynch has a lot of fun as the chief villain. Of particular note is Andrew Byniarski, playing Lynch's right hand man, who would later appear in THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake & its prequel.

Cash (Now played by Khrystyne Haje in for Angelina Jolie) has wandered to a post apocalypse wasteland (after her protector has died from old age, said protector was played by Elias Koteas, an actual decent actor) and now she finds that people wander through the rubble looking for cyborgs to trade for scrap metal and cash. She leads a group of burned out cyborgs (That includes William Katt, Evan Lurie and a human scientist played by Zach Galligan) against bounty hunter Richard Lynch. Malcolm McDowell has two minutes of screen time as Lynch's employer. Cyborg 3 does manage to be better than the other two entries but it still is a largely dull feature. The problem this time is that the ideas with potential are never used well, the action sequences are routine and the name cast such as McDowell, Katt and Galligan are given little to do. Haje is indeed a whiny heroine and Lynch is too over the top(as usual) and the film lacks the inspiration or ambition to be as fun-bad as it's hilarious predecessor. (The one with Van Damme, the second one is just dull.) Also disappointing is the science fiction angle which almost aggressively resists any good idea it has. As an action flick this is routine and by the numbers B-movie stuff and it is competently made, that's the only thing positive I can say about it.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)

I seem to be one of the rarefied few sump-sucking Vidiots that righteously dig the dastardly diodes off this murderous mechanoid mung-fest!!? And how could I not, as it features another devilishly deviant performance by triumphant B-Movie Thespian Richard Lynch as the menacingly mercenary misfit Anton Llewellyn, plus a wasteland-warped Malcolm McDowell as slyly scheming Lord Talon, an affable cyber boffin Zach Gallagan is on call ta' get them gremlins outta all that busted old world hardware! So, power up your power-gloves, luridly lube some cyber-slapper's scintillating silicon tits, strap on a high-calibre boom-stick, and blissfully beer-goggle this sinisterly scavenging, low budget, high voltaged, electro-blasting, future-shocking cyber trash! The DVD boom of the 90s were a fertile era for funky-fingered, bargain bin-grubbing B-Movie finks, frequently being geekily overloaded with gnarly, junk-headed sequels many didn't even know existed! So, don't be a plug-headed hater, 'Cyborg 3 The Recycler' is a titanium tough DTV time-waster! While, perhaps, not exactly in the same stainless steel celluloid class as Enzo G. Castellari or Albert Pyun, fans of 'Mandroid' will certainly find worthwhile bemusement in this boisterous B-Movie ode to mechanized death!

This is, at least in name, the third part of the Cyborg trilogy started by the 1989 Albert Pyun-Van Damme violent post apocalyptic epic, and followed by the sequel in title only with a very young Angelina Jolie. This movie is more of a sequel of the second part, both part 2 and 3 are not really related to Cyborg. Albert Pyun movie was great. Great action, great music, fast paced and violent. This movie is boring as hell, and its not violent. The music is not that good and it have a lots of dialogs, very poor ones for instance. Its not recommended, just to watch if its aired on TV a Sunday 4 PM and you don't have nothing else to do. A generous 5/10 only because i love post apocalyptic and cyborg movies.

Met with universal criticism this 3rd Cyborg movie but 5th in the franchise (It gets confusing) see's a continuation of the 2nds story, kind of.

We see Cash (Recast from Angelina Jolie) in an adventure where she must escape the clutches of "Recycler" Richard Lynch.

Also along for the ride is Zach "Gremlins" Galligan, Rebecca Ferratti, Andrew Bryniarski and industry veteran Malcolm McDowell. Note though, despite McDowell being the cover star he has a very small role in the film so certainly don't watch it for him.

Action packed, inconsistent on the cyborg rules/plot and full of your usual 90's action tropes it's everything you'd expect but not as bad as they say. Sure it's bad, but there is a lot worse out there! This at least was saved by a really fantastic cast, did I mention William Katt? Being a bit of a Katt fanboy I appreciate his addition to any movie.

Passable stuff for fans of brainless 80's/90's b-movie action, not so much for everyone else.

The Good:

Connections to previous movies

Well above par cast

William Katt

The Bad:

Still naff Cyborg nonsense

Recasting

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I cannot see Bryniarski without seeing Zangief from Streetfighter (1994)