A woman must deliver a fetus to a specific location so that it can be taken to Europe, kind of a beacon of hope for human civilization, as machines have become rulers over the earth with mankind staging an uprising in the goal to take the world back. It has been 14 years since the earth was afflicted with a radioactive disaster and now the cyborgs will do whatever it takes to see mankind fail in the attempt to regain their position as ruler over the world. Joe Lara is a journeyman who becomes Nicole Hansen's protector and guide to the ocean where she must take the fetus, as John Saint Ryan's blonde headed cyborg follows close behind, in hot pursuit. Ryan is ordered to eliminate her and anyone else who gets in his way. That's pretty much the plot as Lara and Hansen continue to evade Ryan, moving through the skeletal remnants of buildings and factories. A constant is Lara and Ryan in combat, the result usually the same..Lara gains an advantage through trial and error, often taking a beating in the process. Ryan takes a licking and keeps on ticking, though. "American Cyborg:Steel Warrior" favors Jean Claude Van Damme's similar post apocalyptic action thriller "Cyborg" in that Lara serves as stoic hero to Hansen, keeping her out of harm's way as Ryan's intimidating robotic brute keeps coming. Like Van Damme, Lara is often on the receiving end of a pummeling, yet always rebounds to save the damsel in distress. The budget is low, particularly in regards to the make-up, and the fetus is laughably inauthentic. The plot, man against machines, comes right out of The Terminator, and the setting wreaks of The Road Warrior, but "American Cyborg/Steel Warrior" is made for fans of those movies, and we are a reasonable bunch who often embrace these kind of rip offs as long as they entertain. There's nothing in this movie that's either original or unpredictable, you have seen these kind of characters in a dozen different types of movies in the sci-fi(post apocalyptic)genre and the derivative plot is an assemblage of stories culled from a variety of flicks you have seen. Still, despite this, I was able to remain entertained, I guess it's because these particular movies appeal to me as I know what to expect. I think the stunts and action set pieces are the movie's best assets as Lara and Hansen avoid Ryan's machine gun fire(for a cyborg he's a lousy shot)wherever they are. As expected, Lara and Hansen run into mutant cannibals, humans whose faces and bodies were ravaged by radioactivity. Lara and Ryan engage in martial arts with each other and against those who threaten them. And, of course, what kind of post-apocalypse movie would this be if we didn't get the customary scene where our heroes escape into an underground sewer with rats scurrying about?
Review of American Cyborg: Steel Warrior
