Eliminators (1986)

As part of their experiments in time travel, Drs. Reeves and Takada construct a cyborg with the body of a downed pilot. After the success of the initial experiments, Reeves decides to have the Mandroid scrapped. Not wishing to be taken apart, the Cyborg, lovingly called Mandroid, flees with the help of Dr. Takeda, who is killed for his disobedience. Distraught by the death of his one friend, the Mandroid goes north to America in search of someone who can help him in getting revenge and stopping Dr. Reeves in whatever evil plan he intends to use his time machine for......Well this something I've never seen before. Obviously influenced by The Terminator, our friendly neighbourhood Mandroid just seems like a knock off of Cameron's creation, and is doing nothing more than trying to cash in on that, especially with the time travel element.But then our lovely Mandroid has a car, and the film couldn't be further away from Arnie's star making turn.It's B-movie cheese for sure, with Mandriod dressing up like Phillip Marlowe for one scene, following some blue orb with a very disturbed looking heroine, and then getting on a boat with the real love interest, because I really thought she was into some mechanical stuff.It really doesn't make any sense, and the makers know this, so instead of trying to make the narrative more coherent, they chuck in a ninja, some cavemen, and two henchman so hilarious, thy should have appeared in every film for the rest of eternity.And then we have the bi boss fight at the end, and a finale ripping off the last shot of Disney's The Black Hole.It's a stupid film for sure, but if your like me, an absolute geek when it comes to anything 80's, then this is a must.

A mandroid (played in an appropriately stolid manner by Patrick Reynolds) vows to get revenge on evil mad scientist Abbott Reeves (well essayed with lip-smacking villainous gusto by Roy Dotrice). He's assisted by tough beautiful techie Nora Hunter (a winningly spunky portrayal by the fetching Denise Crosby) and mysterious ninja Kuji (earnest and amiable Conan Lee). Director Peter Manoogian, working from a gloriously offbeat and ridiculous script by Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson, relates the entertainingly asinine story at a snappy pace, maintains an engaging lighthearted tone throughout, and stages the action with aplomb. Moreover, it's acted with zest by a game cast: Veteran actor Andrew Prine brings a delightfully self-deprecating humor and easygoing appeal to his colorful character of scruffy low-life native guide Harry Fontana, Peter Schrum has a ball as mean fat hombre Ray, and Peggy Mannix provides plenty of sass and spunk as Harry's antagonistic rival Bayou Betty. The mandroid's funky tank, a cutesy robot scout called Spot, a lively barroom brawl, a subplot concerning time travel, and a tribe of pesky caveman further enhance the infectiously wacky merriment. As a tasty extra plus, Crosby rocks a wet t-shirt in one scene. Mac Ahlberg's slick cinematography gives the picture an impressive polished look. Kudos are also in order for John Buechler's nifty make-up f/x and the spirited score by Bob Summers. A choice cheesy chunk of vintage 80's kitsch.

You just can't lose with the wacky PG-rated nonsense in this irresistible, campy genre picture. It knows full well that it's a B movie, but the cast and crew were clearly having a fine old time, and that feeling is infectious. The story has a "let's throw different kinds of ideas into the mix and and see how they hang together" appeal. The result is a harmless diversion with a lot of humour and a fair bit of action. The actors play it for all that it's worth, to be sure.Our four character heroic team is made up of Harry Fontana (Andrew Prine), a charming rogue of a river guide, Nora Hunter (Denise Crosby), a young scientist, Kuji (Conan Lee), a ninja, and a "mandroid" (Patrick Reynolds). The mandroid used to be a pilot before a power mad villain, Abbott Reeves (Roy Dotrice) got a hold of him and turned him into a half-man / half-machine experiment. Now the mandroid has escaped and wants revenge, first seeking out Nora who then hires Harry to transport them through Mexico to Abbotts' lair.As written by the reliable team of Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo and directed by Peter Manoogian, "Eliminators" should prove to be quite a hoot for kids of all ages. As said, it's pretty harmless. The youngest members of the audience should take to "Spot", a cute surveillance robot created by Nora. It's hysterical when the neanderthals are introduced into the plot. As it turns out, good old Abbott was messing around with time travel. Just wait until you hear what his ultimate goal is; you may howl with laughter as this viewer did. Sex and violence are kept to a minimum; note that future 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' co-star Crosby has a scene where she removes a wet top, but does so with her back to the camera.The cast is a pleasure to watch. Prine is an interesting choice for the lead; originally Tim Thomerson was meant to play Harry, and one can easily imagine Thomerson in this comedic role. Crosby is appealing, and Reynolds and Lee are okay in their parts. Dotrice is an entertaining bad guy, and further antagonism / comedy relief is supplied by Bayou Betty (Peggy Mannix), a butch competitor of Harry's.One can see early on that this is never meant to be taken too seriously, and this extends all the way to the final shot, an absolutely hysterical "freeze frame" moment.Highly recommended to lovers of '80s cheese.Seven out of 10.

I basically bought this movie with the idea it was complete garbage, so I could mock it as it played. As it turns out, it's actually decent! I'm not saying -good-, but certainly not the worst movie.If I were to explain, it's a movie about a cyborg, a ninja, Tasha Yar, and a guy doing a Han Solo impression teaming up to fight a time-travelling Roman cyborg who has a shield that shoots lighting force-fields at people. If that doesn't sound a -little- cool, I got nothing to say to you.Again, it's not a particularly good movie, but had I watched this when I was 9-12 years old, it would've blown me away. That's my recommendation. It's a good 80s action flick for the kids. They'll like it, and you needn't worry about heavy violence or swearing.