top of page

Cyborg: Collector’s Edition                  review by Bobby Blakey

For anyone that knows me they know I am obsessed with martial arts in both life and film. Ever since I saw Jean Claude Van Damme in theaters in No Retreat, No Surrender I have been a hardcore fan. I saw every film he released in theaters including the 1989 Albert Pyun directed Cyborg which quickly became one of my favorite in Van Damme’s filmography. Now Shout Factory is bringing the cult martial arts action flick home with a Collector’s Edition.

Cyborg follows Gibson Rickenbacker, a hired fighter living in a plague-ravaged apocalyptic America where a plague has infested most of the United States and the rest of the world. In New York City, Gibson encounters a woman named Pearl Prophet. Pearl reveals to Gibson that she is a cyborg who is carrying vital-information for a group of scientists in Atlanta who are working on a cure to the plague and Pearl hires Gibson to escort her back to Atlanta. But Pearl is kidnapped by "Pirates" a murderous gang led by Fender Tremolo, who wants the cure for themselves and they decide to take Pearl to Atlanta themselves. Gibson, joined by a young woman named Nady Simmons, goes in pursuit of Fender and his gang, as Gibson sets out to rescue Pearl, stop Fender and his gang from reaching Atlanta and defeat Fender who slaughtered Gibson's family.

There are so many things I love about this movie and revisiting it I was worried it might change my opinion, but I loved it just as much now as I did when I originally saw it in theaters. This is vintage Van Damme and the rare chance to see him in a gritty sci-fi flick. Director Albert Pyun knows his way around this genre and did an excellent job at crafting an interesting story while making sure that the action was front and center. Outside of getting to see Van Damme kick some major ass while oozing with charisma, the villain Fendor played by Vincent Klyn is awesome. He has a menacing cool vibe while bringing a dominant memorable presence to the screen.

The ending of the film obviously gives the audience the chance to see Van Damme and Klyn face off and it works on every level. I love everything about this movie from the great fight scenes, the 80s cheese and the post apocalyptic world that it all delves into. This is a film that you either love or hate, but there is no denying that it stands all its own and after all these years still needs a Van Damme starring sequel with Pyun at the helm that I would throw money at.

This new collector’s edition not only includes the film but also bonus content including theatrical trailer, new 2K scan of the interpositive, new interviews, new featurettes and more that take you behind this martial arts cult classic. Grab your copy  of the Cyborg Collector’s Edition when it hits Blu-ray on April 24th from Shout Factory.

 For more information head over to www.shoutfactory.com

bottom of page