Rebels in the year 2087 send back a cyborg (Michael Rennie) to prevent the release of the technology ("radio telepathy") that ultimately leads to their dystopian world, in which free thought is prohibited. One of the first films to use the term 'cyborg' (a portmanteau of 'cybernetic' and 'organism' originally coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline), Arthur C. Pierce's tale of agents from the future fighting over the present is much better than the movie that ends up telling the story. The low-budget science fiction film is one of the United Pictures Co. releases intended for second billings or TV, so the production values are limited although Rennie (admittedly late in his career but familiar to science fiction fans as Klaatu from 1951's 'The Day the Earth Stood Still') provides some 'star power'. Much of the film's running time is filled with time-killing 'action sequences' (lengthy and repetitive fights and chases) and there is little of visual interest in the recuycled sets and props. We get a glimpse of a future city (that looks like an illustration a 40s pulp magazine) as the opening credits roll but otherwise the 'special effects' are limited to a couple of ray-gun beams and some unconvincing prosthetics seen when Garth demonstrates his hybrid status (his peeling back of his sleeve to reveal his 'cybernetic arm' is remarkably similar to the scene in 'Terminator 2' (1991) when the T800 peels back his flesh to reveal his (somewhat more impressive) 'cybernetic arm'). Considering that Harlan Ellison managed scare some compensation out of the producers of 'The Terminator' (1984) for allegedly stealing ideas from his 1964 'Outer Limits' episode 'Soldier', I am surprised that Pierce and/or the producers of this film didn't target James Cameron and crew as well - 'Cyborg 2087' is much closer in plot and premise to T1 and T2 than is Ellison's story. All in all, a clever idea let down by the limited resources available to bring it to the screen but at least the film attempts to tie up the loose temporal ends inevitable in time-travel stories. Be warned, I am basing my rating more on intent than on outcome.
Review of Cyborg 2087
