Although set in the same world as the Van Damme original, CYBORG 2: GLASS SHADOW is a low rent, low budget B-movie that has very little to do with the story, look, or feel of that action film. Instead this is a movie that models itself closely on BLADE RUNNER, with a dark and moody look of shadowy buildings, rain-lashed streets, and fluorescent lighting.
The erstwhile hero of the piece is a youthful Elias Koteas, who finds himself on the run with a young female cyborg when she's assigned a suicide bombing mission. Angelina Jolie plays the cyborg, which will be the most interesting thing for today's viewers; this was her debut adult role and she's surprisingly decent playing a robot conflicted with human emotions. This is a Jolie before she was encumbered with extensive tattoos and plastic surgery; at 17 years old she brings a breath of freshness to her role, one which would be missing just a few years later in her career.
Sadly, the usual shortcomings of the B-movie genre are here: action scenes ruined by poor choreography, a clichéd story, poor dialogue, and a general cheapness to the production. Koteas gives an assured performance but it's not enough to save the film. There are supporting parts for familiar players like Ric Young, Arnie double Sven-Ole Thorsen, and the underrated Billy Drago playing a typical villain. Jack Palance is also here, albeit briefly, chewing up the scene in an over the top cameo. Fans of robotic stuff will find the sci-fi elements kept to a minimum although there's at least one good fight scene to enjoy when Koteas and Drago go mano-a-mano late on in the proceedings.
The erstwhile hero of the piece is a youthful Elias Koteas, who finds himself on the run with a young female cyborg when she's assigned a suicide bombing mission. Angelina Jolie plays the cyborg, which will be the most interesting thing for today's viewers; this was her debut adult role and she's surprisingly decent playing a robot conflicted with human emotions. This is a Jolie before she was encumbered with extensive tattoos and plastic surgery; at 17 years old she brings a breath of freshness to her role, one which would be missing just a few years later in her career.
Sadly, the usual shortcomings of the B-movie genre are here: action scenes ruined by poor choreography, a clichéd story, poor dialogue, and a general cheapness to the production. Koteas gives an assured performance but it's not enough to save the film. There are supporting parts for familiar players like Ric Young, Arnie double Sven-Ole Thorsen, and the underrated Billy Drago playing a typical villain. Jack Palance is also here, albeit briefly, chewing up the scene in an over the top cameo. Fans of robotic stuff will find the sci-fi elements kept to a minimum although there's at least one good fight scene to enjoy when Koteas and Drago go mano-a-mano late on in the proceedings.