The women of Nemesis (1992)

Nemesis is an action/sci-fi film directed by Albert Pyun (Vicious Lips, Knights, Raven Hawk, Left for Dead) about a cyborg named Alex Rain who questions his humanity and alliance with the LAPD after an encounter with information terrorists. 

The film is a good pistol opera and features some great action scenes and shootouts, all within a somewhat derivative but well told story. The series then became female lead over time but this one is populated with action women as well, some cyborgs, some fully organic. In fact, the movie was originally going to star a tough 13 year old girl (with the same Alex Rain name), Megan Ward, the teenage star of Pyun's own Arcade (1993), would have played the leading role but the concept was changed when investors wanted to add kickboxer Olivier Gruner to the film. Bad luck. 

Despite that, Pyun managed to add strong female characters to the film, like Rosaria (Jennifer Gatti), the leader of a militant group called The Red Army Hammerheads, who faces off against the protagonist at the start of the film. She is the one who makes the protagonist question his humanity, calling him more machine than human.

After the opening sequence Rosaria is killed by Alex and he goes on with his life and decides to leave the police force.

There´s also the female android named Jared (Marjorie Monaghan), who uses the body of another cyborg named Julian (Deborah Shelton from Silk Degrees and Sins of the Night) as an avatar to aid Alex. This serves as an opportunity to have a badass Julian engaging in devastating shootouts, even destroying her body almost completely.

Later on, Alex finds Rosaria´s little sister, Max Impact (Merle Kennedy from 2002´s May), a tomboyish and athletic teen (kind of Tank Girl-looking) who seeks revenge but eventually manages to overcome her hatred of Alex when he switches sides. She then helps him destroy the evil machine that replaced the commissioner of police. I have the theory that Alex´s original teenage personality and design were then incorporated into Max, I can't confirm that but it seems apparent considering her personality and looks.

A highly recommended entry if you like elaborate gunslinging action and some fun scifi roller coaster action. 

AD Police Files (1990) Anime OVA Review

AD Police Files is a three-episode OVA series from 1990 that takes place in the same universe seen in Bubblegum Crisis, it’s actually a prequel, something evident since it revolves around Boomers, and produced by the same company but done by a different creative team to keep the franchise alive. It's hard to say that it fits our blog because it doesn't have the main group of girls as protagonists, it really only features a few characters from the original show, like Leon, but it's quality makes it worthwhile as it is mostly an anthology series focusing on a different case involving the fictional police force, the ADvanced Police, from the franchise.

In the first episode, The Phantom Woman, some officers encounter a horny prostitute boomer who get her biochemical balance all screwed up because of her sexual desire, setting her loose and going into killing sprees. In the second episode, The Ripper, a serial killer stabs and mutilates girls, a young policewoman is on the case as she believes the culprit is human due to the sensation that there are feelings involved. The third episode, The Man Who Bites His Tongue, is basically the animated cliffnotes of Robocop, but evil, showing an officer named Billy being turned into a Boomer and losing his humanity and self-control. This last one is probably the weakest because it's kind of derivative but it's still very well done.

Ultra-gory, deranged and grotesque, this untamed OVA series is kind of a very strange concentration of the things that were presented in Bubblegum Crisis but condensed in a shorter running time and increasing the filth, devoid of any established main character and nearly completely undomesticated. Right out of the gate we are presented with violent and bloody images that add to its grisly tone, mixing in some sleazy eroticism and sexual references or allusions throughout.

The fact that it's a very short anthology series, completely episodic, means that you won't get to really relate or know the protagonists to a deeper degree but in 20 minutes you understand them because of the very on point and well-crafted storyline and characterizations that allow the characters to breathe and live in such a short span of time. The length isn't an issue when it comes to simply being entertained by the show but I do wish they delved deeper into the potentially interesting characters, like the police lady with a robotic arm or the sweet officer from the second one. They have what it takes for a complete series or at least to carry a movie or longer OVA but here they are essentially just minor compared to the plot, which is the focus.

While not entirely successful, this attempt at expanding the world of Bubblegum Crisis will probably deliver the treats as the animation and subject matter are both juicy but you won't get to invest much in the storylines as they go by pretty fast. Recommended if that's what you are looking for.

Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993) Movie Review

Cyborg 2 is a sequel to the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Cyborg from 1989 produced by The Cannon Group, Inc. and directed by Albert Pyun. This sequel was directed by Michael Schroeder and produced by Sharad Patel, who took the project to Trimark Pictures. They ended up hiring a very young Angelina Jolie as the female lead, among the cast we also have Elias Koteas, Jack Palance, Billy Drago, Karen Sheperd, Allen Garfield and Renee Griffin.

The year is a dystopian 2074. A new and highly human android assassin prototype, Cash (Angelina), created by a robotics company (an American company engaging in a cybernetics war with a Japanese one) defects. She leaves her life of secret espionage and runs away with her combat instructor. Tracked by bounty hunters, the couple must fight to retain their humanity. 

The story of Cyborg 2 isn't anything special, I think it's unoriginal but potentially decent if the right writer touches it. The actual execution of its concepts isn't anything truly interesting in any way either and the characters themselves are plain and flat. However, if the weak plot doesn't drive you away, you are rewarded with some nice action scenes and a slightly emotional ending, at least one that you don't often see in this type of shoddy action sequel. There is some gold underneath all of its dullness.

I would say it’s saved by the astounding and well constructed art direction and its solidly crafted special effects, featuring detailed and convincing miniature futuristic city landscapes that are very reminiscent of Blade Runner and other classics. They enrich the visual designs and components of the film quite a lot. 

Jolie delivers a decent performance and does her choreographies quite decently as well. Her looks certainly do more heavy lifting than her actual acting but she is still not bad in this. Everyone else is just overdoing it or coming off as stale. 

As an action movie, the actual fights and shootouts are the real reason why you wanna watch this movie and in that sense it's not a bad flick to waste time with. You have some imaginative confrontations, such as the one with Jolie being yanked by a rope by her neck, a rope being held by a female enemy. The most memorable moment in the entire film.

Only recommended for hardcore sci-fi fanatics who enjoy viewing nineties action flicks more than a fleshed out storyline. You could do worse.