From IMDb trivia: "Albert Pyun's original cut of "Cyborg" was a two hour, black-and-white, rock opera that was much darker and more violent. Jean-Claude Van Damme's dialogue, including extensive narration, was dubbed by another actor. Cannon held a test screening of that version for an audience of 100. Of the 100 surveyors, 99 of them said they hated the film. As a result, Pyun was kicked out of post production. Van Damme convinced Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus to give him and his producer friend, Sheldon Lettich, two months to re-edit the film (as he previously done with "Bloodsport") and make it more commercial. This also started a trend where several of Pyun's later films were taken away from him and re-cut by the studio." Poor Pyun.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 The Coke in the 1980s may have gave us 2 things.. Amazingly insanity of a movie or a shockingly turd of a movie 😂😂😂.. Pablo Escobar gave the World that quality coke which could have made you or break you..
To appreciate this movie it is necessary a bit of backstory to it: Cannon films was in bad shape and, after cancelling another 2 movies, Pyun made up this thing in a single weekend in order to film Cyborg using the assets left over. After filming the "final" result was so bad, Cannon allowed JCVD to make his own edit to try to save it, focusing on the fighting and cutting story. They end up releasing JCVD's cut.
I feel like Cyborg is the kind of movie you had to see as a kid for nostalgia value. I love it because I did, but if I was only discovering it today I would probably think it was sh1t.
I agree with this! I still remember renting this to watch at my dad’s and it was a big deal! It was an older JCVD movie and I had not watched it yet! This was cool and exciting back then! I can see how people of today would probably expect more, and I’m sure it’s even hokey! But I hunted down the company that made those guys sunglasses and bought me a pair 🤣. I still have them too!
I still love it. And that sound effect is part of the score. That's why you hear it so much. Pearl was sent to retrieve data and return to Atlanta so they could cure the plague. Fender was escorting her to gain access to the facility in Atlanta, take it over and control the cure or just loot the rich folk. Both were lying, Pearl planning to double cross Fender and him likewise. Gibbs was purely out for revenge against Fender for killing his girlfriend and her brother and abducting the little sister. Lil miss hidden tits was tagging along for idealistic reasons. And to provide dialogue so JC could keep his talking to a minimum.
Fun fact. The bad guys voice was completely dubbed over by Branscombe Richmond who was in Seagals Hard to kill and also played The Rocks brother at the beginning of the scorpion king. Done alot of other stuff too. The reason for it was the bad guys real voice was too "high and feminine" according to Sheldon Lettich (bloodsport, lionheart writer) the editor of the film, when they tested the movie the audience was laughing at him.
This is a straight up guilty pleasure!!! Canon films ran into trouble, not only with the masters of the universe sequel, but also the amazing Spider-Man movie. $$$$ was already spent on costumes and set designs for both films. Pyun was brought in to write a movie that could incorporate those elements in a very quick amount of time. Van Damme was under contract, so he had to make this film. Delving into the crazy backstory behind this movie makes you appreciate it that much more.
Cannon bought the rights to Spiderman but never started production on anything. Same with a Masters of the Universe sequel. Masters of the Universe, Superman IV, and Over the Top were the over-priced disasters that were the primary drivers to bankrupting Cannon Film Group. As far as I understand it, they couldn't scale up to larger budgeted films. They were blind to the costs and didn't understand US culture. They paid an unheard of amount of money to get Stallone to make Over the Top, which they thought would be their "Rocky". Part of their agreement with Stallone was that they would make Cobra, which they really really didn't want to make (there is a whole story about how Stallone got fired from Beverly Hills Cop because he kept trying to turn it into his Cobra movie). Cobra (the movie they hated and didn't want to make) was the highest grossing movie in the history of Cannon, by a large margin. Hell, at one point Cannon owned the rights to thousands of films, yet never did anything with any of them. No matter how big they got their focus was only to make weird knock offs of popular films while trying to maintain worn out franchises with their two prime stars, Chuck and Charles. When the founders split the first things they made, separately, was two competing Lambada movies. crookedmarquee.com/lambada-movie-forbidden-dance-30th-anniversary/
@@MichaelTotin It should also be mentioned that WB gave Cannon $40 million to cover the budget of *Superman IV,* only for Cannon to spend $23 million of that across several other projects and leave *Superman IV* with only $17 to work with (and eventually cut 45 minutes from the film following bad test screenings). And because Cannon cooked the books, nobody knows exactly what all the missing *Superman IV* budget money was spent on. *Masters of the Universe* was said to be one of the films that benefitted from the missing *Superman* money, but it was wrongly accused of being funded with ALL that missing money when in reality it was suffering cash shortages and production shutdowns of its own (and its filmmakers were led to believe Cannon was making Mattel pay for the movie in full, which Mattel later disputed). The Nostalgia Critic likened Golan-Globus to Uwe Boll for the way they'd pilfer other movies' budgets to pay for other projects, and I don't think he was wrong in that respect.
Pyun originally wanted Chuck Norris for the lead role, but Cannon had recently acquired JCVD and wanted him for the role, so Pyun cut back on the dialogue since JC was still iffy with his English. Others have mentioned the Masters of the Universe 2 and Spider-Man connections. Pyun was working on the MOTU sequel and it would have involved Skeletor coming to our world in disguise and becoming an evil businessman selling advanced weapons and plotting to take over Earth. Dolph wasn't returning as He-Man, so Pyun hired surfer Laird Hamilton to replace him. Laird brought his surfer buddy Vincent Klyn to the He-Man audition/meeting and Pyun ended up hiring Klyn as the main villain for Cyborg.
Interesting thing to note: This was one of Cannon's last gasps. It was made in part to make use of sets they'd built for bigger projects that fell through LOL
The "Stupid Horror Sound" is made by an instrument called the Waterphone. This sample was particularly popular and common in film and music in the 80's.
Seeing this in the theater with my dad back in the day, that sewer wall kill was epic. He was contractually obligated to do the splits once in every movie.
In my childhood i liked this movie. It is very memorable and creepy, like a sort of a horror/martial arts/post-apocalypse hybrid, and the creepy synth music is adding a lot to atmosphere. At the same time around the fall of USSR on tv there were many depressing movies about the breakdown of society and spread of criminal gangs, with lots of such scary synth music with deep bass. For example the soviet film Псы (1989) (or Hounds/Dogs, if translated to english) taking place near the drying up Aral sea with cannibal dogs attacking people, the atmosphere is very similar, or the mini-series Посредник (1990) aka Mediator, about the invasion of aliens taking over people's bodies, but is shot too slow, extending to 3 series. Also there's some semi-hidden religious element in Cyborg with crucifixion, crosses and mentions of Jesus in the background, or the main villain Fender wearing an upside down cross earing, probably meaning he is a satanist, who likes to sacrifice people. In conclusion it is a sort of a martial arts Mad Max with some inspiration from Conan the Barbarian, Terminator and Once upon a time in the West. The scene where Van Damme hides the weapons in the chest is directly copied from Mad Max 1. It seems the beat'em up video games like Double Dragon and Final Fight influenced this movie too - about having different stages with lots of weird characters and the final boss to fight. But the plot is very simplistic, though some ideas were adapted later into Universal Soldier 1, especially the last fight in the rain, near a car and the barn, where the journalist woman also seemed to have died initially like Nady in Cyborg does die. The way Fender dies implies he was a cyborg, or had some cybernetic modifications, but the movie did not have the budget to show it. And yeah, Albert Pyun was inspired by the Fist of the Northern star too.
Thanks for reviewing it, it was one of my favorite martial arts movies in the 90s, yeah now it is pretty bad, though then in comparison to a lot of low budget crap shown on tv, it seemed almost a masterpiece. So on several views more details are seen and some things were clarified later by Albert Pyun in the Slinger cut.
The sound that Jason keeps hearing seems to be almost identical to the sound used by Vangelis in the soundtrack to Blade Runner. Apparently a glissando on a koto (Japanese stringed instrument) and then fed through his mountain of synths for that sci-fi flavour.
Saw CYBORG in theaters when I worked there in 1989. Still holds up as a fun genre hybrid with better-than-expected production values for a low-budget affair. If you haven't screened it yet, check out Albert Pyun's (RIP) 1982 opus THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER. You'll thank me...
@RemingtonSteel There's a famous video of the pro wrestler Vader getting his eyeball popped out by Stan Hansen. Stan hit him way too hard in the face, broke his eyesocket and the swelling pops his eye out.
Hopefully Erin is back on her feet and back in the chair for some bad movies soon. Hope you had a merry Christmas. Here’s to a great 2024 of so bad it’s good movies
I was hoping you'd watch this, but sorta dreading it too. I adore this one. I actually think the sequence between the old warehouse -> Sewers -> desert -> crucifixion is legitimately badass.
OMG I remember watching this back in the day at the peak of JCVD's popularity. Gonna watch it this weekend as part of a nostalgia party......the other ones being Lost Boys, Repo Man and of course Big Trouble in Little China !!!! Get well soon, Erin 🙂
Heck yes!! Love this movie, stupid but so iconic in that SBIG movie way. Fun fact. Many of the costumes used were meant to be used in the Masters of the Universe sequel. As a matter of fact, the main villains chain mail, actually was part of “Blades” costume in the 1st masters of the universe movie. Another fun fact, the main villain was the leader of the drug dealing surfer group in the original Point Break. His name was Warchild.
Also many of the sets were originally built for the Spider-Man movie that Canon was supposed to make. Both the Master’s sequel and Spider-Man were going to be filmed simultaneously, but both were canceled.
Thanks. Sound effect was glass harmonica. '87: Satch / "Circles" (Surfing with the Alien). '89: Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun" & this movie. It was all the rage for a couple years. tavi.
Goodfellas did some of the best storytelling through flashbacks and The Big Lebowski had the best narration. It was Sam Elliot ffs, who wouldn't want him narrating their lives?
YES!!! My aunt and I rented it from Blockbuster when I was 11, which would have been 1992. It's low key bonkers but it's always been a fav of mine 😊 The main villain reactions/noises are pure gold and hilarious as f**k lol 😂
Ah cyborg. What a wild movie. It's crazy that JCVD actually slashed one of his co-actors with a knife during the production, causing him to lose an eye. IIRC, that scene was left in the cut of the film.
Never watched this back then. Van Damme looks amazing. Makes me wish they had made a Fist of the North Star movie with him as Kenshiro. I'm with Erin on this one. It's a cool movie, has high fun factor as long as you don't take it too seriously.
I'm so glad you guys did this movie! This was a staple rewatch of mine as a kid. As one of the other commenters said, if you watched this as a kid it was great, but if you watch it now as a fresh take, it doesn't really hold up. I put found it on a random streaming service a couple years back and started watching it again and I have to admit I fell asleep while trying to give it a chance to live up to my adolescent expectations. I think I enjoyed it because it was so different than its contemporaries at the time and it had a certain level of edginess that was relatively rare at the time. Thank you for suffering through this zircon in the rough
I remember seeing this when I was younger and just seeing the bad guy flexing with all his body and soul made be melieve the myth of Bruce Lee causing his heart to explode from flexing too hard. Like this dude was on the verge of that. He was like Anime villain charging up their attack level of flexing. Like it made my body hurt just watching it.
I haven't read all the comments so I don't know if anyone's mentioned this but "Godfather 2" was essentially a prequel. It can be watch as it's one movie but it technically told the story of Michael and Vito Corleone.
Ralf Moeller (former bodybuilder) is in there! Gets killed by the sword. I remember him being so proud that he gets acting opportunities like his role model Arnold, but in the end his "greatest" role was in Gladiator and that was it. Back to Germany after that.
Its funny because that spooky jingly harp sound was then used in a bunch of kids shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark and Goosebumps on Nickelodeon : P
@@JasonBrant I remember renting it or watching it on cable back in the day and thinking to myself that it was one of the better Van Damme movies because it wasn't so...Van Dammy. And you're definitely right about the style, for me that puts it high on my list.
Thanks! According to IMDB this film used discarded props from the He-Man sequel and Spider-Man film Cannon had to not make because they were broke… it’s listed as the last cannon film.
As annoying as that overused sound effect is, what's even more annoying is having to repeat how annoyed you are every time you hear it. I can block out an annoying background sound effect like I block out the traffic noise outside but I can't block out someone repeatedly reminding me that the sound is there every 20 seconds.
Fun Fact: the props, costumes and sets for “Cyborg” were originally allotted to the proposed sequel to “Masters of the Universe”. After “Masters” flopped, the assets were up for grabs, and now we have “Cyborg”!
Kill bill was told in flashbacks(sort of), once upon a time in America was told in flashbacks(not the studio cut, that was awful), Goodfellas was told in flashbacks. So good movies told in flashbacks can be done.
I unironically love this movie and have seen it countless times. The fight scenes are awesome and the story is totally comprehensible. I don't even see how somebody could possibly be confused by it. And I disagree that it's nostalgia glasses and that you had to be a 10 year old boy in 1989 to get this movie or enjoy it today. It's just a legitimately great movie that succeeds both as one of the better entries into the post apocalyptic genre and as a kung fu movie (and the successful combination of the two was way too awesome of a formula to have been used as seldom as it was). And for how low budget it was, it looks fantastic and punches way above its weight. And I like the horror movie sound effect. In fact, I think that's a cool stylistic touch to put it in a film that isn't a horror film. The flashbacks are totally coherent and work just on the level of dramatic logic. Gibson is a Shane style strong and silent character, an archetype from a western. He barely speaks in most of the movie, yet as a character he's way more memorable than what you'll find in 90% of films of this kind in that era or even today, and that's due totally to the way the flashbacks were done combined with JCVD's performance. I'd even argue his performance in this movie is superior to almost every other movie he made. This is was one of his most memorable characters.
Also, for flashback goodness,check out Bogart's "Passage to Marseille" which might include a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within a flashback.
Unlike others have said, i didnt see this as a kid, and only sat and watched it maybe a few years ago when i was well into my 30s. I still loved it. Shouldve been a sequel. Our lead villain is one for the ages, and the cyborg puppet looks like Michael Jackson lol.
During the production of the film 'Cyborg', Jackson, who played a pirate, lost his eye during filming when Jean-Claude Van Damme accidentally struck his eye with a prop knife. Pinckney sued Van Damme in a North Carolina court and was awarded $485,000. The scene where he lost his eye allegedly made it into the final cut of the movie. - imdb
I saw this as a kid because I was a JCVD fan growing up. I didn't get what was going on though, and at the time, I thought it was because I was too young. Now I see that it really didn't make any sense.
This for nearly 10 years was my absolute favorite Van Damme movie until I found movies he played his own twin or clone The director deserves a memorial box set for his contribution to great B movies he passed away I am drawing a blank on his name
What up JB. Heard about your reactions to these 'kind' of movies. First off, big fan of JCVD. i was age 9 when i saw Cyborg & Kickboxer in the year they came out and loved both. Cyborg to me was a masterful movie (I know, I know, let me explain). Good camerawork, not a lot dialogue, decent score, pretty good action, some kind of emotion/expression with the characters, good or evil. Van Damme as Gibson Rickenbacker, The Slinger (like gunslinger) literally playing off the strong, silent type was cool to me. The pirate gang were clear, cut psychopaths. The connection between hero Gibson & pirate leader, Fender made the story even better. Half a million to make, filmed in 23 days, debuted in theaters at no. 4 ($9-$10 mil) before home release. A one-shot comic book came with the home video by writer Noah Sirk and artists Mike Van Cleave/Pete Von Sholly, along with BTS and interviews (wish I kept it). There is director's cut of Cyborg. It was released in Germany, 2014 under the name, "Slinger". The standalone sequel, Cyborg 2 (1993) with Angelina Jolie, Elias Koteas and Jack Palance, Billy Drago and Karen Shephard was kinda of fun. Part 4:The Recycler (1994), i don't know much about it and it sounds like a extremely bad movie.
Was that Steven SeJason I saw blocking punches during that Rocket Mortgage ad? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙌🙌🙌 Movie related: I can’t believe Van Damme’s character was named Gibson RICKENBACKER 🤣🤣🤣
I watched this movie as a teenager in the 90s and liked it alot. A couple of years ago found it on YT, watched it again and by the end I thought 'wow, God this is bad' even the nostalgia couldn't save it
17:28 "You can't see him?!" He couldn't see up because the bangs of his wig were in the way. Plus, I recognize that actor from a bunch of movies. Best of the Best 2. The Russel Crow Gladiator.
I think the final fight scene with the screaming and flexing was the most hilarious fight scene I ever witnessed in a movie. It would get my stamp for just alone, if it didn't already for the jacked chicks.
I love you guys, but disagree on this one. I don't think it was hard to follow as it was pretty clear- the bad guy wants the cyborg to get the cure for the plague and control all the power ala Mission Impossible 2 style. Van Damme is a bodyguard of sorts paid by the dead woman and her kids to protect them. Van Damme became a step father and the bad guy killed the family and kidnapped the little girl. Van Damme wants Revenge and find the girl while rescuing the cyborg to prevent bad guy from getting cure to plague to control world. Pretty clear to me. It's a fun flick good fights and late 80's cheese music with triple cuts during fights.
Interesting note. A lot of these sets where to be used for masters of the universe #2 but it fell through and cyborg was made. Also van damn blinded one of the stuntman at the end of the movie with a rubber knife. Van damn had to pay the lawsuit
Waited the whole time for 1)the reaction to the overhead splits thing and how Van Damme doesn't stab himself in the nuts doing that; and 2) how the fuck did Van Damme beat them to Atlanta when he'd been left for dead days ago - in fact how did anybody catch up to anybody when one party has travelled by boat and the other hasn't?
The best prequel is Yakuza 0. Flashbacks are done pretty well in Terminator, when Reese's PTSD gives him nightmares of his past. I bet Jason's going to hear that musical cue in his dreams for weeks. This feels like the kind of movie I would watch as a kid and assume that I was missing a bunch of details because I'm not an adult, so that's why it doesn't seem to make sense. Only as an adult can I see that there are no details to miss, and it's just dumb. I assumed Erin was not on camera because she forgot to crimp her hair. I hope she's feeling better. Oh, they didn't really crucify Van Dam. He was just tied up there. RLM played that dummy fall on a loop like 20 times.
I look at that silvery thing he's wearing and remember that on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" they used knitted sweaters painted silver as armor. Looks about as good.
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Cyborg is one of those classic movies we don't see today.
It's a good movie.
Jason the music are samples from Star Trek the motion picture and Star Trek II the Wrath of Kahn.
albert pyun needed a writter, but not as bad as zack snyder needed a writter, at least albert pyun knows what his format is
Fruck this! This movie is one of my favorites from my childhood!
This movie is a 10 outta 10. Kiss. My. Azz!!
Is there anywhere I can watch the full video of you doing the segal fight moves?
Erin wasn't feeling well, which is why she wasn't on camera. We didn't expect her to watch the whole movie, but McFlex mesmerised her.
I hope she now feels 100%!
Get well soon.
I just assumed that she exists only as a disembodied voice!
That sound effect that keeps happening needs to be your ringtone
She's good now.
From IMDb trivia: "Albert Pyun's original cut of "Cyborg" was a two hour, black-and-white, rock opera that was much darker and more violent. Jean-Claude Van Damme's dialogue, including extensive narration, was dubbed by another actor. Cannon held a test screening of that version for an audience of 100. Of the 100 surveyors, 99 of them said they hated the film. As a result, Pyun was kicked out of post production. Van Damme convinced Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus to give him and his producer friend, Sheldon Lettich, two months to re-edit the film (as he previously done with "Bloodsport") and make it more commercial. This also started a trend where several of Pyun's later films were taken away from him and re-cut by the studio."
Poor Pyun.
Lol A rock opera? I mean I've always wondered why they had guitar names like Gibson Rickenbacker and Fender Tremolo.. guess that explains it 😂
‘If they didn’t cocaine themselves out of money!’ is an inspired line. Good work Jason 👍
Thanks!
😂😂😂😂😂😂 The Coke in the 1980s may have gave us 2 things.. Amazingly insanity of a movie or a shockingly turd of a movie 😂😂😂.. Pablo Escobar gave the World that quality coke which could have made you or break you..
To appreciate this movie it is necessary a bit of backstory to it: Cannon films was in bad shape and, after cancelling another 2 movies, Pyun made up this thing in a single weekend in order to film Cyborg using the assets left over. After filming the "final" result was so bad, Cannon allowed JCVD to make his own edit to try to save it, focusing on the fighting and cutting story. They end up releasing JCVD's cut.
That would explain why the story was so shit, haha.
From what I’ve read JCVD’s edits actually made the movie more bearable. It was something like 30 mins longer, and the fights were slower.
One of the cancelled Movies was the second part of The Master of the Universe Franchise.
And the OTHER cancelled Cannon movie they took assets from was Cannon's SPIDERMAN movie lol
Plus, JCVD blinded a stunt man in one eye during this movie.
I feel like Cyborg is the kind of movie you had to see as a kid for nostalgia value. I love it because I did, but if I was only discovering it today I would probably think it was sh1t.
I agree with this! I still remember renting this to watch at my dad’s and it was a big deal! It was an older JCVD movie and I had not watched it yet! This was cool and exciting back then! I can see how people of today would probably expect more, and I’m sure it’s even hokey! But I hunted down the company that made those guys sunglasses and bought me a pair 🤣. I still have them too!
Yeah, I can see that.
it gives me cable tv as a teen nostalgia vibes
Yeah, young teen me absolutely loved this movie.
I still love it. And that sound effect is part of the score. That's why you hear it so much.
Pearl was sent to retrieve data and return to Atlanta so they could cure the plague. Fender was escorting her to gain access to the facility in Atlanta, take it over and control the cure or just loot the rich folk. Both were lying, Pearl planning to double cross Fender and him likewise.
Gibbs was purely out for revenge against Fender for killing his girlfriend and her brother and abducting the little sister. Lil miss hidden tits was tagging along for idealistic reasons. And to provide dialogue so JC could keep his talking to a minimum.
Not gonna lie, I love this movie!! One of my favorite JCVD movies!
It's straight up his best film, imo. It's either this one or Bloodsport.
"Blaaaaah!!!! Bleeeeh!!! Bwaaah!!!" while flex attacking.. epic.
An underrated classic post apocalypter that has grown with age. A good b-movie!
Fun fact. The bad guys voice was completely dubbed over by Branscombe Richmond who was in Seagals Hard to kill and also played The Rocks brother at the beginning of the scorpion king. Done alot of other stuff too. The reason for it was the bad guys real voice was too "high and feminine" according to Sheldon Lettich (bloodsport, lionheart writer) the editor of the film, when they tested the movie the audience was laughing at him.
Aka Bobby Six Killer from The Renegade!
Aka the best goddamn name for a sidekick in television history!
That was Branscombe??
@@JasonBrant Yep. I've heard this story as well.
@@JasonBrant Damn right it was!
This is a straight up guilty pleasure!!! Canon films ran into trouble, not only with the masters of the universe sequel, but also the amazing Spider-Man movie. $$$$ was already spent on costumes and set designs for both films. Pyun was brought in to write a movie that could incorporate those elements in a very quick amount of time. Van Damme was under contract, so he had to make this film. Delving into the crazy backstory behind this movie makes you appreciate it that much more.
That explains a lot about why this is so bad 🤣
Cannon bought the rights to Spiderman but never started production on anything. Same with a Masters of the Universe sequel. Masters of the Universe, Superman IV, and Over the Top were the over-priced disasters that were the primary drivers to bankrupting Cannon Film Group. As far as I understand it, they couldn't scale up to larger budgeted films. They were blind to the costs and didn't understand US culture. They paid an unheard of amount of money to get Stallone to make Over the Top, which they thought would be their "Rocky". Part of their agreement with Stallone was that they would make Cobra, which they really really didn't want to make (there is a whole story about how Stallone got fired from Beverly Hills Cop because he kept trying to turn it into his Cobra movie). Cobra (the movie they hated and didn't want to make) was the highest grossing movie in the history of Cannon, by a large margin.
Hell, at one point Cannon owned the rights to thousands of films, yet never did anything with any of them. No matter how big they got their focus was only to make weird knock offs of popular films while trying to maintain worn out franchises with their two prime stars, Chuck and Charles.
When the founders split the first things they made, separately, was two competing Lambada movies.
crookedmarquee.com/lambada-movie-forbidden-dance-30th-anniversary/
@@MichaelTotin It should also be mentioned that WB gave Cannon $40 million to cover the budget of *Superman IV,* only for Cannon to spend $23 million of that across several other projects and leave *Superman IV* with only $17 to work with (and eventually cut 45 minutes from the film following bad test screenings). And because Cannon cooked the books, nobody knows exactly what all the missing *Superman IV* budget money was spent on. *Masters of the Universe* was said to be one of the films that benefitted from the missing *Superman* money, but it was wrongly accused of being funded with ALL that missing money when in reality it was suffering cash shortages and production shutdowns of its own (and its filmmakers were led to believe Cannon was making Mattel pay for the movie in full, which Mattel later disputed).
The Nostalgia Critic likened Golan-Globus to Uwe Boll for the way they'd pilfer other movies' budgets to pay for other projects, and I don't think he was wrong in that respect.
Pyun originally wanted Chuck Norris for the lead role, but Cannon had recently acquired JCVD and wanted him for the role, so Pyun cut back on the dialogue since JC was still iffy with his English. Others have mentioned the Masters of the Universe 2 and Spider-Man connections. Pyun was working on the MOTU sequel and it would have involved Skeletor coming to our world in disguise and becoming an evil businessman selling advanced weapons and plotting to take over Earth. Dolph wasn't returning as He-Man, so Pyun hired surfer Laird Hamilton to replace him. Laird brought his surfer buddy Vincent Klyn to the He-Man audition/meeting and Pyun ended up hiring Klyn as the main villain for Cyborg.
It seems Pyun and Klyn got along well cause Klyn had roles in Pyun's later films NEMESIS and KNIGHTS.
That ad was amazing. I too, wish to walk with an air of confidence that's rarely seen in this day and age. 🤣
It takes practice, but you can do it.
All jokes aside, I think Erin is getting really honing her advertising skills
Erin did a great job on that one.
Interesting thing to note: This was one of Cannon's last gasps. It was made in part to make use of sets they'd built for bigger projects that fell through LOL
I believe it was for a Spider-Man movie ?
@@Viglin123 That and Masters of the Universe 2.
Ahh, interesting.
@@BusStopProductions.I would watch JCVD play Jesus and He-man.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it's the main bad guy's outfit just Blade's costume from the MOTU movie?
The "Stupid Horror Sound" is made by an instrument called the Waterphone. This sample was particularly popular and common in film and music in the 80's.
Ahh, the waterphone! Thanks!
Think I heard it in the beginning OG Janie’s got a gun. Aerosmith. Thought I heard it in the Elm street movies.
It's definitely at the beginning of "Circles" by Joe Satriani.
I remember it being a staple in the 90s, everything from x files to resident evil in 1996...
I remember hearing it in Are You Afraid of the Dark and Power Rangers
JCVD put more effort into one movie than Sifu put into his entire career!
Of course.
Seeing this in the theater with my dad back in the day, that sewer wall kill was epic. He was contractually obligated to do the splits once in every movie.
I always find the chase scene through the buildings / swamp so intense , can't imagine what that must've been like on the big screen
"Is there a river there?" All I can say is "Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee..."😂
Had Cyborg and Bloodsport on 2 in 1 VHS in the early 90s. This villain terrified me... still does 😂
Came here to say the same thing, my dad bought the weird movie double feature VHS ex rental.
In my childhood i liked this movie. It is very memorable and creepy, like a sort of a horror/martial arts/post-apocalypse hybrid, and the creepy synth music is adding a lot to atmosphere. At the same time around the fall of USSR on tv there were many depressing movies about the breakdown of society and spread of criminal gangs, with lots of such scary synth music with deep bass. For example the soviet film Псы (1989) (or Hounds/Dogs, if translated to english) taking place near the drying up Aral sea with cannibal dogs attacking people, the atmosphere is very similar, or the mini-series Посредник (1990) aka Mediator, about the invasion of aliens taking over people's bodies, but is shot too slow, extending to 3 series. Also there's some semi-hidden religious element in Cyborg with crucifixion, crosses and mentions of Jesus in the background, or the main villain Fender wearing an upside down cross earing, probably meaning he is a satanist, who likes to sacrifice people. In conclusion it is a sort of a martial arts Mad Max with some inspiration from Conan the Barbarian, Terminator and Once upon a time in the West. The scene where Van Damme hides the weapons in the chest is directly copied from Mad Max 1. It seems the beat'em up video games like Double Dragon and Final Fight influenced this movie too - about having different stages with lots of weird characters and the final boss to fight. But the plot is very simplistic, though some ideas were adapted later into Universal Soldier 1, especially the last fight in the rain, near a car and the barn, where the journalist woman also seemed to have died initially like Nady in Cyborg does die. The way Fender dies implies he was a cyborg, or had some cybernetic modifications, but the movie did not have the budget to show it. And yeah, Albert Pyun was inspired by the Fist of the Northern star too.
Damn. You went way deeper on this than my drunk ass did.
Thanks for reviewing it, it was one of my favorite martial arts movies in the 90s, yeah now it is pretty bad, though then in comparison to a lot of low budget crap shown on tv, it seemed almost a masterpiece. So on several views more details are seen and some things were clarified later by Albert Pyun in the Slinger cut.
The sound that Jason keeps hearing seems to be almost identical to the sound used by Vangelis in the soundtrack to Blade Runner. Apparently a glissando on a koto (Japanese stringed instrument) and then fed through his mountain of synths for that sci-fi flavour.
No, it’s a waterphone. ruclips.net/video/foSJstDFDfg/видео.htmlsi=A6MhnUmma-5SmQ6D
I saw this in the movie theater with my friend and we came out doing karate on each other. Great memories. 😂
Nice!
I missed it in theaters.
Got it on video and it came with a comic book.
It is such an underestimated movie of JCVD. I loved it growing up ❤
Definitely not one of my favorites, but I see why people dig it.
@@JasonBrant the stupidity of your comment
I was waiting for this movie reaction for the longest time , i don't believe it's finally happened. And i hope erin is feeling okay now ❤👍
She's feeling much better, thanks.
FYI: The main villian also played one of the bullies that Keanu and Swayze fight on the beach in the beginning of Point Break.
Saw CYBORG in theaters when I worked there in 1989. Still holds up as a fun genre hybrid with better-than-expected production values for a low-budget affair. If you haven't screened it yet, check out Albert Pyun's (RIP) 1982 opus THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER. You'll thank me...
This film was infamous because JCVD really poked some stunt dude's eye out in the finale. The lawsuit helped end Canon films.
I thought he really kicked someone in the face? Your version is better anyways
@RemingtonSteel There's a famous video of the pro wrestler Vader getting his eyeball popped out by Stan Hansen. Stan hit him way too hard in the face, broke his eyesocket and the swelling pops his eye out.
The best thing is that the two main character was named after guitars: JCVD is Gibson Rickenbacker and the bad guy is Fender Tremolo.
Don't forget Pearl Prophet - after a drum maker and synthesizer! 😂
Hopefully Erin is back on her feet and back in the chair for some bad movies soon. Hope you had a merry Christmas. Here’s to a great 2024 of so bad it’s good movies
All good now. She returns next week.
THanks!
She's good as new. Happy New Year!
I was hoping you'd watch this, but sorta dreading it too. I adore this one. I actually think the sequence between the old warehouse -> Sewers -> desert -> crucifixion is legitimately badass.
I remember feeling some serious Conan: the Barbarian vibes with the whole desert/crucification part
It's goofy, but he's definitely reaching about the budget.
Cyborg is a classic and was on TBS all the time in the 90s.
OMG I remember watching this back in the day at the peak of JCVD's popularity. Gonna watch it this weekend as part of a nostalgia party......the other ones being Lost Boys, Repo Man and of course Big Trouble in Little China !!!!
Get well soon, Erin 🙂
Heck yes!! Love this movie, stupid but so iconic in that SBIG movie way.
Fun fact. Many of the costumes used were meant to be used in the Masters of the Universe sequel.
As a matter of fact, the main villains chain mail, actually was part of “Blades” costume in the 1st masters of the universe movie.
Another fun fact, the main villain was the leader of the drug dealing surfer group in the original Point Break. His name was Warchild.
AKA Lupton Pittman
That was Warchild? I recognized him, but couldn't place him. Thanks!
@@JasonBrant No problem!!
@@JossParkerPopArt Warchild only lives to be radical.
Also many of the sets were originally built for the Spider-Man movie that Canon was supposed to make. Both the Master’s sequel and Spider-Man were going to be filmed simultaneously, but both were canceled.
Thanks. Sound effect was glass harmonica. '87: Satch / "Circles" (Surfing with the Alien). '89: Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun" & this movie. It was all the rage for a couple years. tavi.
This used to be my favorite movie as a kid, thank you for bringing back so many memories.
Also, get well soon Erin
She's good as new now. Thanks!
The Usual Suspects. The Shawshank Redemption. Slumdog Millionaire. Deadpool. Flashbacks and narration done right.
Goodfellas did some of the best storytelling through flashbacks and The Big Lebowski had the best narration. It was Sam Elliot ffs, who wouldn't want him narrating their lives?
YES!!! My aunt and I rented it from Blockbuster when I was 11, which would have been 1992. It's low key bonkers but it's always been a fav of mine 😊 The main villain reactions/noises are pure gold and hilarious as f**k lol 😂
His screams are so insane, haha.
His acting is brilliant.
American Shaolin soon? 😄
Ah cyborg. What a wild movie. It's crazy that JCVD actually slashed one of his co-actors with a knife during the production, causing him to lose an eye. IIRC, that scene was left in the cut of the film.
Pun intended?
@@AztecUnshaven only slightly
@@AztecUnshaven if it was left in was it by the director was it- Pyun intended... :)
When you said that the bad guy looked like a wrestler I was thinking at the same time "this guy looks like Damian Priest from WWE" lol
Never watched this back then. Van Damme looks amazing. Makes me wish they had made a Fist of the North Star movie with him as Kenshiro. I'm with Erin on this one. It's a cool movie, has high fun factor as long as you don't take it too seriously.
Well said. Jason and Brian were too Siskel and Ebert in this review
I'm so glad you guys did this movie! This was a staple rewatch of mine as a kid. As one of the other commenters said, if you watched this as a kid it was great, but if you watch it now as a fresh take, it doesn't really hold up. I put found it on a random streaming service a couple years back and started watching it again and I have to admit I fell asleep while trying to give it a chance to live up to my adolescent expectations. I think I enjoyed it because it was so different than its contemporaries at the time and it had a certain level of edginess that was relatively rare at the time. Thank you for suffering through this zircon in the rough
I loved this movie as a kid. I still enjoy it; got it in my collection.
Sweet.
Erin trolling off cam the whole time was hilarious! 🤣🤣🤣
I remember liking this when I was younger. Now that I'm older and more refined...I fucking love it! 🤣🤣🤣
haha
I remember seeing this when I was younger and just seeing the bad guy flexing with all his body and soul made be melieve the myth of Bruce Lee causing his heart to explode from flexing too hard. Like this dude was on the verge of that. He was like Anime villain charging up their attack level of flexing. Like it made my body hurt just watching it.
I loved this movie! Filled with jacked beautiful people! Awesome pick Jason, took me back to better days. ❤
Erin loved it for that reason too.
I was 16 when this came out and it was without a doubt one of the best sci-fi movies from the 80's. I haven't seen it since, and it still holds up.
Never would I imagine Jason get overly annoyed over a sound effect.
And hate a Cannon Classic
I couldn't have imagined it either.
I haven't read all the comments so I don't know if anyone's mentioned this but "Godfather 2" was essentially a prequel. It can be watch as it's one movie but it technically told the story of Michael and Vito Corleone.
Jason will be haunted by that sound effect forever. Erin should make it a ringtone on her phone. 😊
That would drive me nuts, haha.
I recognize ot from the Matrix but I guess it's older than I thought.
Ralf Moeller (former bodybuilder) is in there! Gets killed by the sword. I remember him being so proud that he gets acting opportunities like his role model Arnold, but in the end his "greatest" role was in Gladiator and that was it. Back to Germany after that.
Even offscreen Erin proves she's the primary reason to watch these videos.
It's true.
Just no.
Its funny because that spooky jingly harp sound was then used in a bunch of kids shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark and Goosebumps on Nickelodeon : P
Oh man, cyborg isn't bad, it is awesome! I've watched this movie many times over the years
It's pretty bad 🤣
@@JasonBrant I remember renting it or watching it on cable back in the day and thinking to myself that it was one of the better Van Damme movies because it wasn't so...Van Dammy. And you're definitely right about the style, for me that puts it high on my list.
I haven't seen this since the early 90s. My sister and I used to wake up around midnight or so to watch late night movies and this was one of them.
Thanks! According to IMDB this film used discarded props from the He-Man sequel and Spider-Man film Cannon had to not make because they were broke… it’s listed as the last cannon film.
That would explain the nonsensical nature of it.
As annoying as that overused sound effect is, what's even more annoying is having to repeat how annoyed you are every time you hear it. I can block out an annoying background sound effect like I block out the traffic noise outside but I can't block out someone repeatedly reminding me that the sound is there every 20 seconds.
29:24😂 That’s how I reach for my beer right before my lunch break ends.
So many flashbacks we start seeing the early scenes again
Never knew I was supposed to be afraid of the singer from C and C Music Factory. If he has Brian Bosworth as a henchmen, we’re all screwed!
haha
Fun Fact: the props, costumes and sets for “Cyborg” were originally allotted to the proposed sequel to “Masters of the Universe”. After “Masters” flopped, the assets were up for grabs, and now we have “Cyborg”!
14:29 One less member of the KISS army. 15:30 Unless you count the Wilhelm scream. 21:45 Way to give someone a messiah complex. 22:16 TIMBER!
One of my favourite jcvd films. Can watch this forever , truly a guilty pleasure
That screaming during the end fight is almost Suburban Sasquatch level
Fun fact, if I remember correctly this is the movie in which JCVD hit a guy for real, blinding him in one eye and getting sued by said guy
im sure it was an accident 😅... still hope JCVD lost the lawsuit though, or at least settled it in the other guys favor
I love this movie when I was a kid. The walk. The gun....
Don't remember anything else. It was awesome.
Kill bill was told in flashbacks(sort of), once upon a time in America was told in flashbacks(not the studio cut, that was awful), Goodfellas was told in flashbacks. So good movies told in flashbacks can be done.
That sound effect is a water harp, its a pretty neat instrument.
My favourite Van Damme movie, and one I watched probably 100 times as a kid. It's not bad, it's just good.
Your ❤️ wouldn't leave! Lmao😅 love it. She like * Jumping spin kicks!*
I unironically love this movie and have seen it countless times. The fight scenes are awesome and the story is totally comprehensible. I don't even see how somebody could possibly be confused by it. And I disagree that it's nostalgia glasses and that you had to be a 10 year old boy in 1989 to get this movie or enjoy it today. It's just a legitimately great movie that succeeds both as one of the better entries into the post apocalyptic genre and as a kung fu movie (and the successful combination of the two was way too awesome of a formula to have been used as seldom as it was). And for how low budget it was, it looks fantastic and punches way above its weight. And I like the horror movie sound effect. In fact, I think that's a cool stylistic touch to put it in a film that isn't a horror film. The flashbacks are totally coherent and work just on the level of dramatic logic. Gibson is a Shane style strong and silent character, an archetype from a western. He barely speaks in most of the movie, yet as a character he's way more memorable than what you'll find in 90% of films of this kind in that era or even today, and that's due totally to the way the flashbacks were done combined with JCVD's performance. I'd even argue his performance in this movie is superior to almost every other movie he made. This is was one of his most memorable characters.
The jangly sound effect is in loads of movies but to be fair Cyborg probably uses it more than any film ever.
Also, for flashback goodness,check out Bogart's "Passage to Marseille" which might include a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within a flashback.
Unlike others have said, i didnt see this as a kid, and only sat and watched it maybe a few years ago when i was well into my 30s. I still loved it. Shouldve been a sequel. Our lead villain is one for the ages, and the cyborg puppet looks like Michael Jackson lol.
There was 2 sequels.
Cyborg 2 (1993) with Angelina Jolie and Cyborg 3 (1994) with Malcolm McDowell.
During the production of the film 'Cyborg', Jackson, who played a pirate, lost his eye during filming when Jean-Claude Van Damme accidentally struck his eye with a prop knife. Pinckney sued Van Damme in a North Carolina court and was awarded $485,000. The scene where he lost his eye allegedly made it into the final cut of the movie. - imdb
I saw this as a kid because I was a JCVD fan growing up. I didn't get what was going on though, and at the time, I thought it was because I was too young. Now I see that it really didn't make any sense.
This for nearly 10 years was my absolute favorite Van Damme movie until I found movies he played his own twin or clone
The director deserves a memorial box set for his contribution to great B movies he passed away I am drawing a blank on his name
yeahh 'Double Impact' with Bolo Yeung as the lead bad guy ... awesome film!!
Sailing to Atlanta....when Atlanta is like, 200 miles inland.
Why did the cyborg challenge everyone to an arm-wrestling contest?
Because it wanted to prove it had the ultimate "hardware"!
Hope you guys had a great Christmas and wish you all a happy New Years from Los Angeles.
What up JB.
Heard about your reactions to these 'kind' of movies.
First off, big fan of JCVD.
i was age 9 when i saw Cyborg & Kickboxer in the year they came out and loved both.
Cyborg to me was a masterful movie (I know, I know, let me explain).
Good camerawork, not a lot dialogue, decent score, pretty good action, some kind of emotion/expression with the characters, good or evil.
Van Damme as Gibson Rickenbacker, The Slinger (like gunslinger) literally playing off the strong, silent type was cool to me.
The pirate gang were clear, cut psychopaths.
The connection between hero Gibson & pirate leader, Fender made the story even better.
Half a million to make, filmed in 23 days, debuted in theaters at no. 4 ($9-$10 mil) before home release.
A one-shot comic book came with the home video by writer Noah Sirk and artists Mike Van Cleave/Pete Von Sholly, along with BTS and interviews (wish I kept it).
There is director's cut of Cyborg.
It was released in Germany, 2014 under the name, "Slinger".
The standalone sequel, Cyborg 2 (1993) with Angelina Jolie, Elias Koteas and Jack Palance, Billy Drago and Karen Shephard was kinda of fun.
Part 4:The Recycler (1994), i don't know much about it and it sounds like a extremely bad movie.
You know it's gonna be a good episode when there's JCVD and Cannon ❤ love from the UK
About time!! Christmas is still here!
Why it’s right after Christmas be nice. I’ve tried watching this several times and I just get bored or fall asleep.
Was that Steven SeJason I saw blocking punches during that Rocket Mortgage ad? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙌🙌🙌
Movie related: I can’t believe Van Damme’s character was named Gibson RICKENBACKER 🤣🤣🤣
It was Steven SeJason!
@@JasonBrant 🤣
I watched this movie as a teenager in the 90s and liked it alot. A couple of years ago found it on YT, watched it again and by the end I thought 'wow, God this is bad' even the nostalgia couldn't save it
This was supposed to be He-Man! Remember getting it from the video store. We didn't know it was a bad movie. Bad guy was super evil.
Brian wore the right shirt for this one.
17:28 "You can't see him?!"
He couldn't see up because the bangs of his wig were in the way.
Plus, I recognize that actor from a bunch of movies. Best of the Best 2. The Russel Crow Gladiator.
I think it's Ralf Moeller, a German, he was in "Universal Soldier", and yes, 1 of the Gladiators
I think the final fight scene with the screaming and flexing was the most hilarious fight scene I ever witnessed in a movie. It would get my stamp for just alone, if it didn't already for the jacked chicks.
I love you guys, but disagree on this one. I don't think it was hard to follow as it was pretty clear- the bad guy wants the cyborg to get the cure for the plague and control all the power ala Mission Impossible 2 style. Van Damme is a bodyguard of sorts paid by the dead woman and her kids to protect them. Van Damme became a step father and the bad guy killed the family and kidnapped the little girl. Van Damme wants Revenge and find the girl while rescuing the cyborg to prevent bad guy from getting cure to plague to control world. Pretty clear to me. It's a fun flick good fights and late 80's cheese music with triple cuts during fights.
I remember excitedly watching this as a kid and being just crushed by how disappointed I was
Cybrog rules. Id love to see an original script. Every page is filled with "RAAAAHHHHHH AAAAHHHHH!"
Interesting note. A lot of these sets where to be used for masters of the universe #2 but it fell through and cyborg was made. Also van damn blinded one of the stuntman at the end of the movie with a rubber knife. Van damn had to pay the lawsuit
Ya’ll just lost all credibility not liking Cyborg! This is one of his best!
Waited the whole time for 1)the reaction to the overhead splits thing and how Van Damme doesn't stab himself in the nuts doing that; and 2) how the fuck did Van Damme beat them to Atlanta when he'd been left for dead days ago - in fact how did anybody catch up to anybody when one party has travelled by boat and the other hasn't?
This movie doesn’t belong in this SBIG category…. It’s actually just a good movie, classic
the stop motion entering the uncanny valley adds a tremendous amount of tension and intrigue.
The best prequel is Yakuza 0. Flashbacks are done pretty well in Terminator, when Reese's PTSD gives him nightmares of his past. I bet Jason's going to hear that musical cue in his dreams for weeks. This feels like the kind of movie I would watch as a kid and assume that I was missing a bunch of details because I'm not an adult, so that's why it doesn't seem to make sense. Only as an adult can I see that there are no details to miss, and it's just dumb. I assumed Erin was not on camera because she forgot to crimp her hair. I hope she's feeling better. Oh, they didn't really crucify Van Dam. He was just tied up there. RLM played that dummy fall on a loop like 20 times.
I look at that silvery thing he's wearing and remember that on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" they used knitted sweaters painted silver as armor. Looks about as good.