January 21, 2006
Omega Doom
Year: 1997
Directed by: Albert Pyun
Written by: Albert Pyun, Ed Naha
Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: Low
Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes: Medium
Key Cast Members:
- Omega Doom: Rutger Hauer
Rating: out of 10
Overview: In this strange apocalyptic tale, most all the humans have died out and now two different groups of androids spend their time killing one another. Unfortunately it appears as if the humans are returning, so they need to find weapons to protect themselves. In one western town, these two groups have reached a stalemate while looking for a hidden “treasure” stash of guns and ammo. Along comes the lone warrior, Bruce Willis (Last Man Standing), er, I mean Clint Eastwood (Fistfull of Dollars), er, I mean ToshirĂ´ Mifune (Yojimbo), er, I mean Rutger Hauer - only this time he’s a cross-over android with parts from both rival robot types. Did I mention that he’s fast with his whatever the fuck that gun-looking thing is at his side?
If you know any of these movies, you know the plot here. Some parts are done decently, but others could really be improved. In any event, Omega Doom wins on low-budget style points while it loses out on about 10 minutes of missing explanations. Why do the androids need water? Why do they breath air? Why do they both fear death but seem to be forced to follow their programming? More importantly, why can androids ignore their programming when their emotions are heightened in key scenes? Is this the same reason that my computer uses to crap out when I’m under an intense deadline?
The Bottom Line: Not a high quality picture, but maybe not quite as bad as others are saying. There are some interesting fighting scenes, and I find western cyborg films appealing. And truly, for as low budget as this movie was, Pyun produced at least a semi-watchable product.
Comments
May 18, 2006
Albert Pyun said:
Thanks for your kind review. I think it was a interesting experiment and I wish we hadn’t pared down the script and action to squeeze into a last minute budget cut. I promise to resist harmful compromises in the future.
Albert Pyun
SFAM said:
Hi Albert, welcome to cyberpunkreview! It’s an honor to have you stop by
And um, while I’ve got you here, any chance you can let me know how to get ahold of a DVD for Nemesis>? Aside from the Sword and Sorcerer, this is my favorite movie of yours. Early on in my reviews (the above one included), you’ll notice I didn’t always go into as much detail as I do in my more recent ones. I’d love to go back and add some screencaps to the Nemesis one though, unfortunately, I only have a VHS :(.
As for harmful compromises, I’m not in the film industry, but have certainly talked to enough people to know that compromises are far more often the norm than the exception. I’d love it if you could address a few of the questions above concerning the water and air issues (meaning, what type of cyborgs are these, exactly?), and potentially the ignoring the program question.
June 27, 2006
darksoul said:
Iv seen this movie couple of times and i must say i really liked it.
As for watter and such… maybe androids will need water? Cooling systems, power unit or something? Who knows. Scientist start to make crazy things
Ok id had its flaws as written above but still all together with the postapo look i found it to be quite good actually.
July 1, 2006
SFAM said:
Hi Dark Soul, I agree, Omega Doom is definitely enjoyable even if its not wonderful at all levels.
July 26, 2007
Gasmask said:
I thought it was Ace as well. I saw it late night on TV many moons ago and when it finally came out on DVD I bought it the first day it was out. There is without doubt abit of cheese but it just adds flavour. I am often lending it out to my friends though its not everyone’s cup of tea it really is pretty cool. I’m proud to have it as part of my collection. (Right next to Death Machine)
October 24, 2007
Dany said:
Hi, I am from Germany, but I hope you can understand my English. I am looking for a picture of Zed Too, one of the Droids (not the actor Simon Poland), and I wonder if someone could help me. I don’t have the movie on DVD because in Germany it is quite impossible to get it. Maybe someone who has the DVD can make a nice screenshot and send it to my email address? Thank you very much!
June 10, 2009
Feyhra said:
This is fantastic low budget b-movie entertainment. Way stylish, an entertaining, if well known premise, the Roms in particular look great, and of course we have Rutger Hauer, so as long as we accept this for what it is then I can’t really see how anyone can go wrong watching this. Loved it.
May 30, 2011
bloodnet said:
You should also review Split Second with Rudger Hauer. It’s very heavy on cyberpunk visuals and it’s much better than Omega Doom, mostly because of its awesome (and cheesy) one-liners.
September 3, 2011
Hellscion said:
the only thing that struck me as particularly bad in this film was the acting / dialogue. made me cringe at many parts, and seemed like much of this was written by teenagers or somethin..
Other than that this was interesting..