I cavalieri interstellari

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.

After losing his android partner in battle, along with other friends, Jack Deth (Thomerson) is accidentally transported to an alternate dimension where Trancers reign supreme and are vampire like killers, suffice to say Jack Deth straps on his blaster and joins forces with the rebels to tip the scales. There are a few good jokes that work here, mainly a take on Thomerson and his long second watch, also as usual Thomerson is fun to watch, but the movie lacks any real creative energy or ambition of the last two. Trancers 4 than feels too much like a sword and sorcery flick than a time travel flick which is what made the series fun. Fans of the series will enjoy this one and again it's watchable, it's just that, Trancers 4 has nothing new to add and is therefore disposable.

* * out of 4-(Mediocre)

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.

Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is running through time continuing to save the human race. Harris (Stephen Macht) who I guess is the lone chairman tells him that there is a time distortion in 2160, so back Deth goes to travel time to look into this. Of course there is a difficulty and Deth is thrown into some parallel universe that is like the middle ages. Thing is the land is ruled by vampire trancers. The main villain Caliban played by Clabe Hartley looks like a 90s wrestler to me.

There are elements to the film that are good like as usual Tim Thomerson is still great as Jack Deth and funny moments like his watch malfunctioning. But, there are things that seem off putting or do not make it seem like a TRANCER movie. The setting while new to the series makes me feel like Jack Deth has just been transplanted into a Robin Hood movie. Ending sets up the next sequel. An alright try, but series beginning to lose its strength.

Trancers 4 (1994) is another installment in the series I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline for this picture focuses on our hero, Jack, being sent to a world with Trancers whose time is like medieval times on Earth. Jack quickly notices that his space travel has changed how his weapons perform. Can he bring down the Trancers with limited capabilities? This movie is directed by David Nutter (Game of Thrones) and stars Tim Tomerson (Dollman), Stacie Randall (Eddie Presley), Terri Ivens (Marked for Death) and Stephen Macht (Monster Squad). The storyline for this is unique from the previous films and kind of fun. Some of the scenes with his various weapons were hilarious as was the dialogue. The action scenes were okay but the villain is kind of blah. Overall this is still a fun series and I'd score this installment a 5/10.