American Cyborg: Steel Warrior

I saw this movie on late night cable in high school. While I don't remember much about the movie, other than it being stupid and incomprehensible, I do recall the end title card. It's laid out in such a way that the title appears to be Steel American Cyborg Warrior. At this point, my friends and I burst out laughing. I didn't find out the movie's real name until several years later. Steel American Cyborg Warrior? Steel Ameriborg Cyior Canwar? Asteelican Borgior Mercy War? Can I Steel A Merior Cyborg War? With the level of competence on display in this picture, I wouldn't be surprised if any of the above combinations turned up at the end.

By searching on flea markets,sell-outs and conventions for exploitation, horror and grindhouse/b-flicks sometimes you come across pictures on VHS or DVD sleeves that attracts you. This was one of those. For only 1 Euro I picked it up, the cover made me think of a bad Terminator rip-off but it wasn't that bad after all.

Boaz Davidson was the director for this flick but as a director I didn't know him but as a producer he is quite famous, The Expendables (2010) is one of them. And he surely knew his stuff, still it's a B-movie and a complete rip-off of The Terminator with some Blade Runner post- apocalyptic feeling. If I got it right I saw a sign stating the year 1999. But the way it was shot and the way it was edited was rather surprisingly good. Even the places they are running through are well done. The effects used are a bit cheesy sometimes but still did worked out. The cyborg really looked believable for a B-movie and the mummy people were also rather scary.

The acting surprised me too. Naturally there not that famous in the big productions but still the cyborg was played by John Saint Ryan, a Brit I knew from G.B.H. (1983) directed by David Kent-Watson a rather brutal flick. Still almost unfindable even on VHS. After this flick he went to Coronation Street as Charlie Whelan. The other lead was played by Joe Lara (Austin) who is known for action and post apocalyptic flicks. The female was played by good looking Nicole Hansen, she's still in the business but never made it into a big production.

I enjoyed it even as it clocked in over 90 minutes. The story is very simple and easy to follow with a lot of running, fighting, crawling, explosions and cheesy shootings a la Rambo (you know, standing in front of 40 people and never getting shot). If you can find it don't hesitate to pick it up.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

I paid a buck for a used VHS of this title and really only picked it up because I wanted to buy something at this thrift store and there wasn't much else to pick from. I actually sorta dreaded putting it into the machine but what the heck, I went for it. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed it as much as I did. The production values were surprisingly good and the pacing of the film was about perfect for this type of movie. The three leading roles were fairly well cast in my opinion. The female lead had the minimum required acting chops but she was pretty cute just the same. She looked eerily like Kirsten Powers from Fox news...really!

The plot was nothing all that original, basically it was a Terminator redo...but hey Terminator was good so maybe that's not such a terrible thing. There was a TON of action in this movie (and its a long movie) Its all pretty well staged too. Lots of climbing, falling, shooting, punching, running, hacking, etc. This flick probably falls into the B- movie category but its a good one for what it is. There are even some nice touches like the Mummy people and a live fetus carried around in a test tube by the heroine. There are some rather cheesy stuff here and there...like when the bad Cyborg attacks a lab and wastes about 40 people despite the fact all of them were heavily armed. (He got hit one time) It was kinda like the good guys were yelling out "Hey I'm over here, shoot me please!" I guess I'm saying that scene could have used a tad less action and a bit more realism. Overall though, most everything made sense. I also think that a really good actress could have done something with the female lead role. Oh well.

This movie was well directed though, very well directed. The man took some rather standard chase and fight stuff and managed to created some real tension several times in the movie. Even though you knew what was coming I found myself squirming a bit. The editing and lighting were much better than I would have expected also. Decent sets too.

To summarize...a futuristic Terminator style B flick that delivers...especially the last 40 minutes or so. I enjoyed myself and what more can you realistically expect from a movie...my score..6.5 A could way to waste a couple hours of your life fer shure!

It's a ripoff sure, but who watches a Cannon movie from the 90's called "American Cyborg: Steel Warrior" and expects originality? Gimme a break. Good acting? Good story? Psh. Forget that nonsense. This is a movie about spin kicks, bone breaking, shootouts, and lots of running. The special effects are on par with Nemesis (1992) and as a low budget sci-fi actioner, it doesn't disappoint. It has a fast pace (thank god) and lots of action. Those two things are essential for any low budget flick like this. I hate sitting through a movie with "cyborg" or "warrior" in the title, and it's slow and boring. The filmmakers behind these kinds of movies realized that they had martial artists on their hands and not actors. So they loaded the movies up (most of them) with fighting, and action, and if we're lucky- some female nudity. I don't remember if anyone gets naked in "American Cyborg: Steel Warrior" but I do remember plenty of decently choreographed ass kicking. More than all that, the set design (while nothing over original) is fantastic. They really went all out to create a post apocalyptic world here that's more that just empty wasteland. There are makeshift cities and hideouts here that are visually impressive and alive with color. Lots of rubble, ruins, and neon signs. Just the way I like it. It makes for a perfect backdrop to all the cyborg ass-kicking in the movie. Not to mention the movie has lots of varied sets and villains. I mean, by general standards on IMDb this should be at least a 5.2 Anything less is just unfair. Even Roger Ebert understood that you have to judge a movie based on what it's intended to do, and who it's intended for. As a late-night cable actioner, this movie is supposed to keep you entertained and nothing else. I loved it.

Joe Lara stars as a tough martial artist who helps escort the last pregnant woman to Europe, while a cyborg (John Ryan, not John P. Ryan) is close behind in their footsteps. American Cyborg:Steel Warrior (a rather awkward title) actually got a theatrical release (And no I didn't see this in theaters) and well with all things considered it represents the last dying breath from Cannon films. (Who distributed this) Back in the 1980s, Cannon were the ones responsible for such movies as the American Ninja series, Revenge Of The Ninja, Delta Force, Invasion USA, Masters Of The Universe, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Death Wish 2-4 and Cyborg. I listed this filmography mainly so I can point out that the type of movies that Cannon used to pedal to market. In this regard American Cyborg:Steel Warrior isn't the best or the worst production from Cannon, it is just a low budget rip off of Escape From New York with elements of Cyborg and Hell Comes To Frogtown thrown in for good measure, it really isn't so bad as it is derivative. I mean it's a B.movie, but i'm not sure this deserves a 2.2 rating on IMDb. The movie itself has a couple decent action sequences but mainly it's a rip off and I think fans of B.movies will be the ones who find this enjoyable. The movie is also respectably made with some okay production values and the story (if simplistic) makes sense. Although Lorenzo Lamas rip off, Joe Lara is a liability that the film's competence can't overcome.

* * out of 4-(Fair)