Critical Thoughts on Cyborg

Cyborg is one of Jean-Claude Van Damme's best movies. Van Damme has had other movies that are worth watching like Hard Target. Hard Target was John Woo's first Hollywood movie. It sucks so bad, but you should watch it anyway. It is about this group of guys who arrange for rich business men to hunt homeless people. There is a good action sequence where Van Damme gets on the seat of a motorcycle and flips over an oncoming van. Also, the old guy from the Quaker Oats commercials shoots a few people with a bow and arrow. Once, he does it on horseback.

One of Van Damme's other good movies is Bloodsport. Bloodsport was one of my favorite martial arts movies when I was younger. It is still the best marital arts tournament movie besides maybe Enter the Dragon or Best of the Best. Tons of other movies have tried to copy Bloodsport, like Mortal Kombat. Van Damme tried to emulate it too, when he directed The Quest in 1996. Bloodsport lead to my obsession with Street Fighter II and Tekken 1 through 5. It is safe to say that Bloodsport changed my life.

Cyborg is also a good Van Damme movie. It's like Mad Max 2 and Hard to Kill combined. Maybe not exactly like Mad Max 2 and Hard to Kill, but mostly. What I like best about this movie is the consistency of its production value. Most of it looks like some high school kids spent an entire summer making a sci-fi movie, not because they wanted to get into film school, but because they were a group of dedicated, passionate individuals. Another good thing about the movie is its lack of pretension. This is also something I like about Van Damme as an actor. You never get the sense that he, or the movie, is deluding itself. You don't get the impression Van Damme is killing mutant mercenaries and thinking in the back of his mind, This is some Oscar shit. No, you get the idea that he is working hard and doing a lot of coke to make a movie that his fans will like. Also, if you don't like Van Damme, you shouldn't watch this movie. Just don't.

Don't,
Ben