Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Not quite as bad as the rating suggests and has enough to make it watchable, but at the end of the day it just felt like a waste of potential. I forgive that it has little in common with the original Cyborg, the cheesiness and (sort of) the low budget, but not so much that it didn't do enough with its intriguing concept or let its talented cast properly shine.The best asset for me about Cyborg 2 was the performance of Jack Palance, most of his screen time is voice only but that does not once stop Palance from still being a blast as Mercy, one of the few in the cast who actually sounded like he was having fun. Who can't help love his lines either, on the most part the script was not that great at all but the outrageous surrealism of Palance's dialogue and the way he delivered it(literally just going for it no matter how little sense it made) made for enormous entertainment. Billy Drago is a sneeringly over-the-top but also chilling villain and Allen Garfield brings a little wit to his role.Cyborg 2 starts off promisingly, showing some imaginative visuals and some intriguing story set-up. Some of the futuristic special effects are nicely done too, there is a good attempt at a dystopian futuristic atmosphere that can come over effectively and the photography succeeds in being both dream-like and nightmarish.However, with the exception of Mercy's lines the script is rather weak, a lot of it reminiscent of gibberish that was in serious need of a proof-read or two. Some of it only succeeds in confusing the story even further and the characters are literally less-than-one-dimensional stereotypes, Mercy was the only character that actually seemed like the writers cared about halfway developing and even he was severely underdeveloped. The story concept-wise is intriguing, but while effort was made into giving the film atmosphere not as much attention was paid giving it momentum and such. Cyborg 2 drags a lot and changes tone shifts and plot points so frequently the story felt tonally weird and structurally choppy, which just didn't feel right. The action scenes are uneven, some have verve and fun but too many others are sloppily choreographed and lazily performed.While Cyborg 2 is not a amateurish looking film, there are instances where low budget is obvious, the sets are dreary and generally unimaginative, some editing lacks polish and the film is frequently lit far too darkly. The synthesised music score just felt at odds with the film, it sounded cheap and like it would belong more at home in a film from the late 70s-early 80s, plus to me it lacked energy. While it's true that Cyborg 2 has little to do with the first Cyborg it does incorporate a few flashbacks to tie them together, the trouble was they were rather brief and at the end there was not much need for them to be there. It was completely understandable why they did it and it was laudable, but with the way the story was written here their inclusion didn't add very much. Palance, Drago and to a lesser extent Garfield were fun, but Angelina Jolie's(in her lead role debut) acting inexperience shows no matter the effort in as sparely written a role she could have possibly gotten and Elias Koteas is even blander than his very underwritten hero character, while the rest of the cast were average or below.Overall, watchable but mediocre. Notable for it being Jolie's lead actress debut and those fond of Palance and Drago will find pleasure. But at the end of the day, with not enough done with the story and the cast not having enough to shine, it felt like a waste of potential. 5/10 Bethany Cox

In her first major role, a teenaged Angelina Jolie plays "Cash" Reese, a cyborg designed by the powerful Pinwheel Corporation. Pinwheel is at war with the Japanese outfit Kobayashi for control of the lucrative robotics market. Cash's purpose in "life" will be to charm her way into the Kobayashi headquarters and detonate the liquid explosive that she is carrying inside her. But before that can happen, she takes it on the lam with her nice guy combat instructor, "Colt" Ricks (Elias Koteas). Assisting them for much of their journey is the mysterious "Mercy" (Jack Palance), who, for the most part, is only partly visible on various screens.Co-writer / director Michael Schroeder deserves credit for taking this as seriously as he does. There's a minimum of camp and silliness, resulting in a rather sober and affecting love story as well as a tried and true futuristic sci-fi actioner. The relationship between Cash and Colt is handled in poignant fashion, and Mercy is likewise treated with quite a deal of dignity. The movie isn't terribly slick, and is somewhat clunky, but engaging nonetheless and vividly designed. (It's too bad that the Region 1 DVD is mostly fullscreen when this was clearly shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.) Peter Allen did a fine job with the emotion-rich music score.Angelina looks great, and delivers an appealing performance. The always excellent Koteas acquits himself well as her love interest. Allen Garfield (who dedicated his performance to the late Ray Sharkey), as corporate creep Martin Dunn, Karen Sheperd, as nasty cyborg Chen, and especially the scenery devouring Billy Drago as slithery cyborg hunter Danny Bench all size up as worthy villains. There are brief appearances by Ric Young, Tracey Walter, and Sven-Ole Thorsen. Palance is deliciously hammy much of the time, with his exaggerated delivery of expository dialogue. (You're sure you'll have a pretty good time when you hear Palance uttering the opening information with real gusto.)Ultimately, this is on the routine side, but Schroeder does show some ambition beyond making a mere B movie.Seven out of 10.

In the year 2074 the PinWheel corporation creates a 'almost-human' cyborg Casella Reese, aka. Cash.She is designed specifically to charm/seduce her way into a rival manufacturer's headquarters and then self-detonate. Things go awry, when she starts to have feelings for a human Colson Ricks, aka. Colt 45 who works for PinWheel as a martial arts instructor. He falls for Cash as well, and with the help of Mercy, they escape. PinWheel Corp. sends Danny Bench, a 'Cyborg Tracker' after both Colt and Cash...There is only one reason to see this movie, and that's the debut of Jolie. For anybody else, it's a turgid, lifeless sequel which features a flashback of Van Dammes so they could nick the name.On the plus side, we have Billy Drago doing the bad guy thing he did in almost very single straight to video release between 1990 and 1993. He's worth watching in almost anything,a nd the little screen time he has brings this from the mundane to the below average.Jolie is nothing special, but I fear that the majority of people who want to see this movie are only interested in one scene, I must warn you, every ten seconds or so the scene cuts to Jack Palance looking moody.A worthless movie, rightfully dismissed now by Jolie

I'd like to point out these excellent points in favor of this movie:#1 Angelina Jolie sex scene #2 Foley artist outdid themselves #3 plot was quite thick #4 DVD does includes trailers and chapter stops#5 no animals were harmed in the making of the movie #6 homages to blade runner through out the film #7 burning trash cans #8 funny guy with no legs #9 Voice overs by Jack Palance added a real dynamic element to the film. #10 Sage advise, for example "When you dine with the devil bring a long spoon". #11 Angelina Jolie was only 18! To sum it up: an evening of entertainment was provided.