Replikator

When did the future become so bleak? I seem to remember growing up in the late fifties and early sixties, that the future was going to be a great place. Robots and other machines doing all the work, the future was going to be paradise for the human race! Then it suddenly went dark, grim and gritty. Can't place the exact time or film when it happened, although, Bladerunner comes to mind. And this film is in a similar vein, all slightly out of focus shots and raining a lot.

Unlike the aforementioned, Bladerunner, this doesn't have a coherent plot or story and just meanders along till the conclusion. One of those films that seem to go on far longer than the actual running time. After a while, your mind just switches off trying to follow the story and you're just waiting for it to end.

There were a lot of low-budget SF films made around this period and all I assume went straight to video and then straight to the bargain bins. Low grade cash-ins to better movies. Watch Bladerunner or the Terminator films instead.

One of the better things of this movie, which unfortunately repeats itself a bit too much, is the `justice channel' which allows any viewer to vote for the guilt and innocence of people. The movie itself seems partly based on `The Fly' but with less psychology, and therefore much less atmosphere. The fights in the movie frequently look rather unrealistic: the script is better than the execution.

Tiny 13 must be thinking of another title in his review. He says the film he finds so so bad stars Michael Pare, who is not to be seen in this picture. I'd say Replikator has a pretty decent cast, Ned Beatty, Bridget Bako, Lisa Howard, La Cicciolina (!)in a 'tong in cheek' bit, -it's pretty cool babe-wise, and a funky tech-noir look that was more than a bit ahead of ahead of it's time in 1993. (The Justice channel bit is a cool concept and is still funny now. Compare this film shot for about a million bucks to Jonhny Neumonic for 30 million bucks at the same time and I'd say you see why this little picture stays cult in many countries while the other, we'll, n'uff said.

For a cool look and good edge on a low budget before everyone else beat the look to death I give this an 8 or a 9.

Hope they come out with a wide screen re-mastered on DVD. (An interview with La Cicco wouldn't hurt

This movie is a real piece of cybertrash, being so badly put together it is more like a comedy. Its also filled with some bizarre props and settings... there is one bit in a futuristic video game arcade which advertises the latest reality game titled "Tank Commander in Tienanmen Square..." !!!

1/10

There's almost no reason to write comments for this title beyond saying that this film is bad, very bad. It's Michael Pare's first film with Producers Network Associates (PNA)/Greystone Entertainment, marking the beginning of the actor's steep fall into bad, B-movie oblivion.