Droid Gunner (1995) User Reviews

If only Matthias Hues had a bigger role...

[theduke_87 · 4/10 · 20 December 2006]

With Matthias Hues on the cover and only $3.00, i had to buy it. I enjoyed some moments, like Hawks annoyance with the pleasure droids, but i only really watched to see Matthias Hues' scenes. I particularly enjoyed the showdown at the end. It was a cross between Clint Eastwood's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "For a Few Dollars More" (a 3 man quick-draw showdown, with a musical pocket watch used as the countdown timer). Apart from that, there's really nothing more I can add. The actors gave good performances, (all except the "Assassin Droid" whose performance was nothing outside of comical) but the movie really lacked depth and purpose; simply not enough to fill up 1hour and a half of standard movie time, so we're stuck with the main characters aimlessly wondering around from place to place for an hour or so, until the ball gets rolling. For example, the main character returns to the same strip club about 4 times, taking up two-fifths of the movie.

The scenery really lacked depth and creativity, probably due to the films budget. I don't think we ever did get to see this "perfect city" of New Angeles that was always talked about, in fact, when the main characters finally reached New Angeles, its set in a factory or warehouse full of pipes and walkways; hardly the kind of "kingdom" the owner/creator of an entire city would dwell in. The "super-high security" of New Angeles was also always talked about, but only a total of 15, maybe 20, security guards were counted, even when the alarm went off; not even close to Matthias' approximation of "at least a hundred men out there".

If you are a fan of any of the actors/actresses in this film, then you may want to watch it, simply to "add it to the list". However, if you value 1 and a half hour of your time, or $3.00 of your money, you may want to give this one a miss.

Lots of fun!

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 28 May 2022]

Is it Cyberzone or Cyber Zone or Droid Gunner?

More to the point, is this Fred Olen Ray film a homage to Star Wars or Blade Runner?

Marc Singer is Jack Ford, an android hunter out to capture four robotic ladies of ill repute and bring them back to their owner, Mr. Reginald (Cal Bartlett). They've been taken by a smuggler named Hawks (Matthias Hues) and Reginald needs them back immediately.

It's a movie that uses the robot suit from Star Hunter, spaceships from Battle Beyond the Stars, dialogue directly from Predator, an ending that references For a Few Dollars More, an appearance by Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, Robert Quarry playing Jabba the Hutt but named Chew'bah, a world where New Angeles is under water, and most importantly, finds a part for Brinke Stevens as a human/cat hybrid dancer named Kitten.

That's more than enough.

Squandered talents

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 1 March 2021]

I saw this under the title CYBERZONE but it also lurks under the titles DROID GUNNER and PHOENIX 2, although it's not a connected sequel to anything. It's one of those 'space westerns' that have been perenially popular since the late 1970s, made on a shoestring budget by hack director Fred Olen Ray. He deserves kudos for casting musclebound Marc Singer as the protagonist - I've always loved Singer - and featuring a rare good guy role from the even more hulking Matthias Hues to boot. Unfortunately their talents are squandered in a dull BLADE RUNNER-type storyline about the hunt for missing sex droids. All of this is an excuse for as much titillation and nudity as possible, alongside weak action and cheesy humour, although the sets and FX are okay for the budget. Not good.

Would've been better if Rochelle had gotten topless at least once.

[TroyAir · 23 June 1999]

This film is a "B" movie impersonation of "BladeRunner", but without the great acting of Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, the fantastic cinematography, and the character development of the original story. Instead, we have Mark Singer doing a decent job at imitating Harrison Ford's character but there really is no character to match Rutger Hauer's android portrayal. The closest thing is Matthias Hues playing a smuggler-turned-sidekick. There's Rochelle Swanson in the role of the hero's love interest instead of Sean Young, and Swanson does a much better job of keeping my interest in the film than any of the other actors. I counted three opportunities for Rochelle Swanson to take off her clothes: a) when she sneaks into the brothel as a prostitute; b) when she comes running out of the brothelowner's room; c) when she's alone with the owner of New Angeles and he's trying to judge her qualities as a "pleasure droid". I guess they just didn't pay her enough money to do the nude scenes. They should've written the space battle parts out of the script and offered the money savings to Rochelle, because, really, she's the best reason to see this film.

Most of the other female characters get naked, including a part at the beginning where Brinke Stevens is dancing on the local bar's stage, but nothing very erotic or adventurous. Nobody gets tied up or beaten, there's no gore (except for some wires coming out of an adroid's mouth), no scary parts, and no suspense. The big fight scene is just like any other gunfight scene out of a 1970's tv show - a couple guys crouching down shooting their pieces at a couple of other guys crouching down shooting their pieces. At least we're spared any goofy space suits or costumes.

Worth watching twice. First for the plot, then for Rochelle.

Awful Film

[db_teamextreme · 1/10 · 26 October 2005]

I was given this film by my uncle who had got it free with a DVD magazine. Its easy to see why he was so keen to get rid of it. Now I understand that this is a B movie and that it doesn't have the same size budget as bigger films but surely they could have spent their money in a better way than making this garbage. There are some fairly good performances, namely Jack, Beth and Hawks, but others are ridiculously bad (assasin droid for example). This film also contains the worst fight scene I have ever seen. The amount of nudity in the film did make it seem more like a porn film than a Sci-Fi movie at times.

In conclusion - Awful film

Inconsistently poor B-Grade movie

[rtmaxi_man · 1/10 · 27 December 2008]

Cyber zone, as this DVD was sold in Oz, is about the worst B-Grade junk I have seen. Apart from a restrained deadpan act from Singer, indicating he knew how bad the movie was going to be, the other actors sway about genuine attempts at line delivery (Swanson and Quarry) or absurd imitations of classic movies scenes. Mathius Hues makes the most ham-fisted portrayal of dying since Jim Carrey's Mask. All of this with no real thread to suggest an attempt at a spoof by genre, period or any common vein is plain annoying. Don't even try to join the dots with the plot. It is Blade Runner, thinly disguised with no content, actors or scenery due to a very limited budget. "You gets what you pay for" is never more apparent. There is repeatedly annoying re-use of limited sets, with no attention to set dressing and a spew of special effects that would have hit the cutting room floor for Dr Who in 1976. The Helicopter explosion is worth a rewind to demonstrate my point. Of course there are masochists that will lap up this tripe but if you are watching this movie for a bet, make sure you get more than your pay rate. At $2 this DVD will make a cheap and interesting beer coaster.

Boring!

[muffin-52875 · 1/10 · 24 May 2020]

If you like Mark Singers ripped sinewy body just avoid this and watch Dead Space instead theres a scene in there where he sits nude in a chair.

Unnecessarily lewd P(orn)-grade space SciFi at its worst!

[mikeadams110 · 1/10 · 5 September 2014]

Apparently this motion picture was a vehicle used by Marc Singer to showcase his juiced up torso and ramped up abs one last time before hanging up his jock. Beyond that sole purpose it has no other possible redeeming entertainment or creative value whatsoever.

Totally impressive intriguing cover artwork is this movie's sole and finest asset. Don't waste your time viewing anything beyond it. But for those who fail heeding such profoundly wise advice be sure to give this DVD at least 20 seconds on high in the microwave before disposal.

Doing so will be the only other enjoyable part of your viewing experience and guarantee sparing anyone the agony of ever having to watch such space monkey excrement again.

Fantastic Shlock!!!!!

[bennozoid1 · 7/10 · 19 May 2006]

me and a coupla friends form university - alberto lopez, dave hall, celina alcock (we graduated from uea, norwich, uk in 1997) still get together and watch b-movies once a month.

We are consummate experts in the art of bad movie-making, and this film was quickly placed in the top 10 of awful/brilliant movies.

so if you've just got the beers and weed in, and need a film to laugh like a drain at, DROID GUNNER aka PHOENIX 2 is the film for you! Marc Singer is totally aware he's in a turkey of a film here, and milks it for everything he can! Matthius Hues is sublime in his wooden acting and musclebound moronity (is that a word??) as he grunts "But I want my 20 thousand!" Pure Shlock Gold! If you liked this, also see: TRANCERS, THE RUNESTONE, DOLLMAN and anything by Charles Band or Fred Olen Ray.....(but be warned: some of their films are completely and utterly without merit and you'll be screaming for those lost hours of your life!!!?!).

Campy fun, but not great

[JoeB131 · 4/10 · 19 February 2021]

This movie in themes has a lot in common with Blade Runner, without the acting talent, deeper themes, music, dialog, special effects, or plot coherency.

So stop me if you've heard this one before. Some Androids are smuggled to Earth, and a bounty hunter is hired to track them down. Except that the Bounty hunter is played by Marc Singer, who just simply wouldn't be mistaken for Harrison Ford under any circumstances. The movie includes a dystopian Phoenix, which is on the coast now that California has fallen into the ocean.

Except, the Androids aren't important to the plot. They are barely characters, and in one scene, you realize they've lost one and no one seems to care. They are given no personality. (One has a humorous line about bondage) and they are recovered relatively easily. I guess they are the McGuffins of the film, but they could have been knicknacks for all the purpose they serve.

Some of the dialog makes no sense, nor do the actions of the characters. Singer's acting is wooden, and everyone else is kind of dull.

You can tell the movie was made on the cheap when they hire a helicopter to have someone shoot out of, but are too cheap to destroy a helicopter or even a helicopter model. Death by Editing.

So why am I giving it four stars when everyone else gave it one? Well, let's give them credit, it's in that "So bad it's Good" category of camp.

The tongue planted firmly in the cheek

[manson-m · 9/10 · 12 November 2004]

After watching this film I experienced a new sensation. I had watched a film in which the lead actor had put in a performance that almost rivaled the legend Chevy Chase in 'Fletch'. This isn't to say that the performances are comparable, but both give practically flawless delivery of their lines. That actor is Marc Singer! Singer is Jack Ford, the 'Droid Gunner' of the title, grinding out a living collecting the bounty on androids.There are some mutants, topless pleasure droids(!), a Scandinavian smuggler, and possibly a half-hearted attempt to make a statement on class or maybe even globalization or......... well it doesn't really matter. What matters about this film is the dry manner in which Singer delivers his lines resulting in side-splitting humour! What matters about this film is that director Fred Olen Ray seems to realize that serious sci-fi very rarely works, and when your budget is skimpy it is best not to take yourself to seriously. Olen Ray has said that everyone involved in this film had great fun and this transfers onto the film.I dare you to criticize a film that allows itself to portray futuristic Earth as eternally dark and neon-lit and then ends in a 'pipes and valves' warehouse. Self parody is a very redeeming quality. To summarise, Fred Olen Ray is an ambassador for independent film making and Marc Singer the perfect B-movie lead.If only Olen Ray could draft in Tim Thomerson to the equation then we'd have a film on our hands.

Below B

[fleroux-96950 · 1/10 · 5 July 2021]

This is a horrible poorly written T&A film and not much more. In the end it takes a weird swipe at Christianity that's out of the blue. Where did that come from? A lot of B movies have some story and this one was made up as it went along. I think the budget was higher than most B Movies, so the b is for bad on this one.

"BladeRunner" on a budget

[TroyAir · 22 June 1999]

Don't be misled by the phrase "rated R for nudity and strong sex scene". The scene in question is not strong (though it is a bit lengthy for no apparent reason) but does have a bit of humor at the end.

Rochelle Swanson turns in a strong performance as a technician assigned to assist Marc Singer in recovering 4 "pleasure droids" which have been smuggled into Phoenix for eventual shipment to New Angeles. Have I lost you? Ok, from the top.

In the future, Earth suffers a strong earthquake, which causes California and Nevada to slide into the ocean. It seems that most of America's beautiful women were in California at the time of the tragedy and so technology has created android human-lookalikes to serve Man's carnal pleasures (no, no strong sex scene here, either). There are 3 civilizations in the future: a) a cloud city where the wealthy, intelligent people live; b) the surface, where mutants and the dregs of society live; and c) New Angeles, a new community being build under the sea, which forbids sinful activities. So where are the droids being sent? Yep, New Angeles, where a crimelord is going to set up a monopoly on sex, gambling, booze, drugs, and more sex.

Singer is hired to recover the stolen pleasure droids by the owner, who also assigns Swanson to tag along with Singer to make sure he doesn't blow the droids away. Swanson does a good job playing the beautiful technician and most of the humor comes during her scenes. For example, Singer has entered the throne of the surface crimelord to recover a bounty on a dead droid. The crimelord offers Singer 10,000 for Swanson. Singer looks over at her (her expression is great here), and declines the offer. After exiting the throne room, Swanson asks what that was all about, and Singer replies "Down here, your value is reduced to the worth of your body, sometimes just the value of a watch." Since Swanson knows that she is worth 10,000, she asks Singer what he's worth. "About 5,000. Too many bullet holes."

The quality of the film is about average for a "B" level film. The supporting actors do a passable job, but don't look for a range of emotion from anyone. Swanson is a dead ringer for television's "Wonder Woman" Linda Carter, but no, she doesn't have any nude scenes. Singer does a good impersonation of Harrison Ford's "Blade Runner" character (though I didn't like the porkchop sideburns they stuck him with). Mathias Hues does a good job as the smuggler who becomes Singer's assistant in recovering the droids when the New Angele crimelord double crosses him. And look for Brinke Stevens as a mutant strip dancer (took me a second to recognize her - I never forget a pair of, ah, er, arms).

See this film for Swanson's performance. The rest is just the stuff needed to give the film a plot.

Less than B-movie cheese.

[amesmonde · 14 March 2021]

A futuristic bounty hunter is assigned to track down four female androids smuggled to Earth for illicit purposes.

Busy director Fred Olen Ray's Cyber Zone aka Phoenix 2, Droid Gunner is as bland and heavy handed as they come. In this cheap Bladerunner and The Terminator rip-off Marc Singer is his likeable usual nonchalant self. Rochelle Swanson along with Singer know what type of film they're in but Matthias Hues (Dark Angel) looks uncomfortably duped and disappointed.

While borrowing lines and plot points from other better films, it feels DTV rather than B-movie. Some sound effects are not in sync but the score delivers. The sporadic action is clunky, the effects limited, but some miniatures, notable the underwater segments look pretty good. Ray offers a lot of nudity and soft-core moments pushing the adult rating. The locations and sets are a mixed bag, some backdrops are interesting while others look as if they were filmed in a hotel lobby or stage.

Overall, if script-less, stolen droid and cyborgs with super low budget Total Recall-like mutants is your thing, you may want to take a look. But be warned Ridley Scott, James Cameron and Paul Verhoeven maybe be disappointed with you.