Nemesis (1992)

"Cyborgs really fuck things up, yeah?" - Angie

A cyborg cop tries to stop other cyborgs from doing bad cyborg stuff.
Starring: Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Merle Kennedy, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brion James

Link to IMDB

It's the year 2027 and technology has advanced enough that cybernetic implants are common place. This brings with it the danger of cyborg terrorists, who are at war with the rest of the world for information and territory.

We meet Alex, a tough cop with many cyborg implants of his own, but he's become disillusioned with his job and wants to retire before he loses his humanity. He almost makes a clean break, but his boss, Farnsworth, pulls him back in for one more job.
Alex is tasked with going to Central America and... and... and I'm not really sure what the heck his mission was.
This is the movie's biggest flaw that persists throughout the entire run time: the plot is so vague and convoluted, that you never really know what is going on!


In short, Alex has to stop cyborg terrorists, but things get a bit more complicated than that. Eventually, Farnsworth himself becomes the main antagonist, as he's helping the bad terrorists with their plan to destroy all of humankind, while Alex starts helping the good terrorists... Or something along those lines.

  Angie                                       Max                                Farnsworth

Alex gets some unlikely help from a thug named Angie, and even a sidekick in the form of a feisty lady named Max Impact. There are actually a ton of characters in this movie, but I couldn't keep track of who was who, and most get blown too pieces anyways.

Lots of guns

Since the movie lacks narrative substance it tries to redeem itself with style, and sometimes it works quite well. An interesting world is created, with lots of neat effects to create cyborgs doing cyborg stuff. There's actually a film noir vibe to much of the presentation, although this is still very much a 90's action movie.
The gun fights stand-out as a major highlight. They are action packed, with a raw visceral energy that make them a lot of fun.

Alex: "I don't know what's right or wrong anymore."

Jared: "Since when did you care?"

The disregard for a cohesive story is a problem though, because I never cared about the characters or whatever the heck they were fighting for. A lot of effort is spent on making Alex's struggle with his failing humanity feel important and sentimental, but since his story is so poorly explained he might as well just have been another brainless action hero.


Be sure not to miss:
- Alex sports a Rambo wig in one scene.
- There are some very questionable accents to hear.
- Enjoy this spoiler free clip of an old lady killing a cyborg!!
- Vincent Klyn and Jackie Earle Haley have cameos.

Internet review:
"It was just a bunch of loud noise." - MonsterHunter

Should I watch it?
Only if you need to watch every cyborg movie, like I do.

Where can I find it?
Links here.

Nemesis gets...