Les chevaliers du futur

Maybe I enjoyed this film because I love movies where women kick butt, and in this film Kathy Long does so....over and over and over again. Maybe I enjoyed it because Lance Henriksen is one of my favorite actors and he is the villain here. Maybe I enjoyed it because I love cyborgs dominate humanity and humanity fights back movies. Whatever the reason, I did indeed enjoy it.

Now, don't get me wrong, this not Shawshank Redemption, but it is not meant to be. It IS a fast paced action/Sci-Fi flick with major female butt kicking dished out by the then womens world heavyweight full contact Kickboxing champion Kathy Long.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I say check this movie out and prepare for a laugh or two. And if you have any time left over - as the previous reviewer says - pray for me.

Set in a post-apocalyptic environment, cyborgs led by warlord Job rein over the human population. They basically keep them as livestock, as they need fresh human blood to live off. Nea and her brother managed to survive one of their attacks when she was a kid, and years have past when she came face-to-face with the cyborgs again, but this time she's saved by the cyborg Gabriel, who was created to destroy all cyborgs. Job and his men are on their way to capture a largely populated city, while Nea (with revenge on mind) pleads Gabriel to train her in the way of killing cyborgs and she'll get him to Gabriel.

Cheap low-rent cyborg / post-apocalyptic foray by writer / director Albert Pyun (who made "Cyborg" prior to it and the blistering "Nemsis" the same year) is reasonably a misguided hunk of junk with some interesting novelties. Very little structure makes its way into the threadbare story, as the turgid script is weak, corny and overstated. The leaden banter tries to be witty, but it pretty much stinks and comes across being comical in the unintentional moments. Most of the occurring actions are pretty senseless and routine. The material could've used another polish up, as it was an inspired idea swallowed up by lazy inclusions, lack of a narrative and an almost jokey tone. The open-ended, cliffhanger conclusion is just too abrupt, especially since a sequel has yet to be made. Makes it feel like that that run out of money, and said "Time to pack up. Let's finish it off another day (or maybe in another decade). There's no rush." However it did find it rather diverting, thanks largely to its quick pace, some well-executed combat and George Mooradian's gliding cinematography that beautifully captured the visually arresting backdrop. Performances are fair. Kris Kristofferson's dry and steely persona works perfectly as Gabriel and a self-assured, psychically capable Kathy Long pulls off the stunts expertly and with aggression. However her acting is too wooden. A mugging Lance Henriksen gives a mouth-watering performance of pure ham, as the villainous cyborg leader Job who constantly having a saliva meltdown. Scott Paulin also drums up plenty of gleefulness as one of the cyborgs and Gary Daniels pouts about as one too. Pyun strikes up few exciting martial art set pieces, involving some flashy vigour and gratuitous slow-motion. Seeping into the background is a scorching, but mechanical sounding music score. The special effects and make-up FX stand up fine enough. Watchable, but not quite a success and it's minimal limitations can be a cause of that.

It is what it is, but the fight scenes are quite good. Enjoyable to watch.

What a sensational movie. The script-writers obviously have really taken their time here. The plot is fantastic and the director deserves credit for keeping it together so well. The acting is sensational with a lively mix of both well executed humour and a theme which is so very important. It underlines a woman's place in society as being just as important as a man's. It also helps us realise just how important family values are. Lance and Kris have both shown how their talents demand more screen time. The film was so well rounded. Such a complex and engaging beginning combined with well developed middle and truly classic and memorable ending. Of course i approached the film thinking it would be slap-dash tripe but not at all. The many sets (the desert, the outback and the..eh...des..er.t) really caught the eye. The costumes were amazing too. The idea of replacing cars with horses in an age of cyborg's and robots was very eh.....original. But the thing is that Hollywood has been crying out for a kickboxer/robot team taking on evil, blood-sucking cyborgs theme. The movie's lack of success can only be explained by bad timing. The fight sequences are never repetative and the dubbing and editing are obviously the work of a master technician. The dialogue i believe was written by the script people from 'Howard's End'. The original tag-line for this film was 'Poetry in Motion.'Apparently a sequel was cosidered however the film's producers had the old 'Sundance and Butch Cassidy' problem of the first film being too final and not open-ended enough. Probably the film's only major flaw. May i also say that Darth Vader(Star Wars), The Joker(Batman), Mum-Rah(ThunderCats) and Roy Batty(Blade Runner) pale into significance to the ultimate BADDY - 'The Master Creator'. And though we never see it you could just tell that the brilliantly titled 'Cyborg City' would beat the hell out of the 'Death Star'. Hats Off. Pure Genius. Top class. First rate. Numero Uno. Ten out of Ten. Best of the Best. Made in Heaven. All time classic. My A**e. It was $h!t with a capital SSSSSSHHHHHHHEEEEEEEE!

Knights is the third movie in the bafflingly constructed Cyborg franchise which started with the Jean Claude Van Damme movie Cyborg (1989).

It tells the story of a girl who is trained to fight cyborgs who are intent on slaughtering countless humans in order to create an unstoppable army.

The girl in question is played by Kathy Long, for those unfamiliar she's more well known as a professional kick boxer and a stuntwoman than an actress. I guess you could say she was the 1990's Zoe Bell.

Full of high octane action (Mostly melee) this is another weak addition to the franchise which is insanely disjointed and I simply don't get it.

Starring industry veterans Lance Henriksen and Kris Kristofferson it's mediocre stuff and demonstrates that even the greats have blotches on their records. Henriksen inparticular is really quite awful here.

3 movies in, not impressed.

The Good:

Scott Paulin

Some okay choreography

The Bad:

Simply really generic stuff

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Lance Henriksen has done some absolute stinkers