In the great tradition of mismatched couples who must work together towards a common goal, AMERICAN CYBORG: STEEL WARRIOR pairs a handsome hero who's unaware he's an android with a sexy blonde Resistance fighter who's the only fertile woman left after the Apocalypse.
Seventeen years after a nuclear war, all American cities are run by computers linked to the "cybernetic system." On the watch for androids who hunt down anti-government figures, Dr. Buckley (Jack Widerker) and his rebel crew prepare to accompany Mary (Nicole Hansen) and her healthy fetus--which
is kept in an external womb--to Europe to establish a fresh breeding ground for mankind. A cyborg cop (John Ryan) kills the Doctor's medical cadre, but Mary slips away. Desperate to save her baby by reaching a crucial rendezvous in 36 hours, Mary persuades a strapping stranger, Austin (Joe Lara),
that a shipment of valuable contraband awaits him if he can successfully navigate her and her mysterious backpack through a landscape teeming with criminals and robotic deputies.
Austin and Mary buy weapons, flee to the sewers and try to blow up an apparently unstoppable cyborg that is on their trail. With 28 hours to go, Austin temporarily checkmates the killing machine by cutting off its fingers as it hangs from a ledge. Mary reveals her true mission to Austin, who
becomes furious and leaves. But when she is captured by radioactive cannibals shortly thereafter, Austin has a change of heart and comes back to save her. The cyborg resurfaces and tears off Austin's arm; he's amazed to learn that he, too, is a robot. Mary can no longer trust Austin after this
revelation (her parents were killed by the robot gestapo), so she slips underground and reaches the ocean alone. The re-appearance of the cyborg cop, who sends Mary's baby-pack skipping across the waves, is matched by that of Austin who, (literally) re-armed with an extremity ripped from the
android, annihilates the cyborg and bids Mary bon voyage to Europe.
As nuclear-aftermath/artificial-insemination thrillers go, this one is smartly cast, snappily paced, and attractively shot, though that's not enough to overcome the familiarity of all the seek-and-destroy shenanigans. AMERICAN CYBORG: STEEL WARRIOR will entertain genre fans, but others should
stay away. (Graphic violence, extreme profanity.) leave a comment