Omega Doom (1996)

Machines reign supreme in a bleak post-apocalyptic world. Rival factions the Roms and the Droids fight over a hidden cache of guns in a rundown old town. Salvation materializes in the unlikely form of shrewd and lethal hybrid automaton Omega Doom (a fine and smooth performance by the always cool Rutger Hauer). Director Albert Pyun, who also co-wrote the engrossing script with Ed Naha, relates the fun story at a steady pace, presents an intriguingly grim and harsh futuristic environment full of despair and bereft of hope, stages the showdowns with flair, and gives the whole thing a neat and imaginative "Man With No Name"-type spaghetti Western kind of gritty'n'groovy vibe. Moreover, the cast have a ball with the offbeat material, with especially stand-out work by 90's erotic thriller starlet Shannon Whirry as the pragmatic Zed, Norbert Weisser as a sage, much abused, and frequently disembodied robot head, Tina Cote as the ruthless and impulsive Blackheart (her big climactic confrontation with Omega Doom rates as a definite exciting highlight), Anna Katarina as a weary and gentle pacifist drone bartender, Jill Pierce as the tricky Zinc, Cynthia Ireland as the suspicious Ironface, and Jahi J.J. Zuri as the brutish Marko. George Mooradian's garish cinematography gives the picture a funky-punky bombed-out look. Anthony Riparetti's flavorsome score hits the rocking harmonic spot. A very enjoyable oddity.

"Omega Doom" is a movie whose ambitions clearly outweigh its budget. However, there is something to be said for genre filmmakers like Albert Pyun who try to make the most of the budget they do have. As others have already pointed out, this is essentially a spaghetti Western transported to a post-apocalyptic setting. At times laughably pretentious, at other times interesting. Rutger Hauer (who has the "stoic, mysterious and deadly loner" role, in the classic Clint Eastwood tradition) still has screen presence, and Tina Cote is pretty hot even when she's playing an emotionless, cold-as-ice killer robot. Their last fight could have been longer and better edited, though. (**)

Albert Pyun is really underrated. This guy deserves more attention on how bad he is. Bad as a director and writer, a couple of years ago I already declared him the Ed Wood of modern movie making. Sad thing about directors like Pyun is that they have no talent for movie-making but keep on making movies nevertheless.Reason why I watched this movie in the first place is because Rutger Hauer is in it. It's too bad that he is given awful material to work with, the script has some terrible dialogs.Still I can appreciate a big fat B-movie every now and then. B-movie's are always ridicules and awfully looking with terrible acting. In a way its always very relaxing to watch after a hard week of work. This movie is no exception. Fans of the genre and I know that there are a lot of those, will enjoy this movie big time. It has all the typical modern science-fiction B-movie elements in it.The special effects are laughable bad at times, especially for the character Head. The sound effects also made me laugh. Remember that Cain droid from "Robocop 2"? Remember that sound that he made when he walked? It's a kind of scary sound for Cain but a laughable sound when it is used for just normal human looking droid characters in this movie. It's really not fitting.Don't stop making crap Pyun! In a way I always enjoy it....I kind of like the cover though.4/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

From the imagination of Hawaii-born filmmaker Albert Pyun, director of such classics as Nemesis, Cyborg, and Captain America, comes this gem of a film. Omega Doom is without a doubt Pyun's magnum opus. It combines elements from American westerns and science fiction.The basic plot is a loving homage to Kurosawa's Yojimbo. A lone figure comes into town and works the two warring factions against one another. By setting this timeless story in the future and making the characters androids, Pyun is making an ironic observation about human nature. I will not reveal details of the plot. Having the twists and turns revealed is part of the joy of watching this movie. But I will talk about Rutger Hauer's performance. This is his second time playing a robot (the first being Ridley Scott's Bladerunner) and he was born for this role. His engaging, nuanced performance takes Pyun's writing to a whole new level. The character of Omega Doom is so subtle and multifaceted that one almost doesn't notice Hauer's brilliant acting.As with all his work, Pyun's writing and directing are top notch. He is a master of pacing. His films never drag and the action is always engaging. He is also one of the best writers of dialogue in motion picture history. He truly is the Elmore Leonard of film. I highly recommend this film to both movie buffs and casual film-goers alike.10/10