Nemesis

Nemesis (1992)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Albert Pyun

Starring: Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Merle Kennedy, Brion James

From: Several different companies, including one in Denmark, of all places

Another movie watched due to messageboard discussion. Just earlier in the month, a few people discussed Nemesis and praised the film (even its defenders will note that it is a pastiche of films like Blade Runner, The Terminator and RoboCop) for its B-action movie qualities; my discovering just yesterday that Arrow’s streaming platform added the flick made the decision easy for me.

The film certainly is the sort of nonsense I expect from Albert Pyun, yet this thankfully was entertaining crap. I hadn’t seen anything from Olivier Gruner before despite knowing for decades that he was a kickboxer who went on to act in various low to no-budget action films for a few decades now. I’d argue that he sounded robotic and that was appropriate as he became a cyborg… but he acted the same back when his character was only 13.5% cyborg! No disrespect to him as this was still early in his career and I’d judge better once I see him in a later part.

Regardless, his Alex Rain is a bounty hunter who hunts down cyborgs while working for the LAPD. After he becomes one himself, he is hired by old buddies to take out his former partner/lover, a cyborg named Julian. For reasons uncertain to me, some male characters have female names, and vice/versa-it’s not just the cyborgs that have this naming scheme. Was Pyun commenting on gender, or is it just wackiness from the guy that gave characters the names of guitar companies for his Cyborg?

Not to always harp on movies from the past having practical effects/stunt people risking harm or even death performing on camera, or some nice moments of cinematography even in a B-movie that outshine what we get now… but it’s also true in this case. The plot is not high art yet was fun for someone like me that has an affinity for the genre. Some wacky/creative moments with the camera or certain bits in the action setpieces helped make up for the basic acting that was sometimes on display. Best of all is the scene involving stop-motion animation.

Familiar faces in the supporting cast (Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brion James w/ overstated German accent, Vincent Klyn, the surfer turned actor who had a popular YouTube video made about him last year, and even an early appearance from Thomas Jane, among others) and big roles from female actors like Deborah Shelton and Merle Kennedy-people can like knowing that detail for whatever reasons-made this a good time. If you generally like the work of Albert Pyun yet haven’t faced off against Nemesis yet, that should without a doubt be fixed.