Lorenzo
Lamas stars as a cop (who is also a veteran of the “Russian Cartel Wars”) in
the far-off year of 2008 where Virtual Reality sex is all the rage. His next assignment is acting as bodyguard to
the world’s hottest Virtual Reality starlet, played by Kari Wuhrer. Chris Sarandon is the tech kingpin who is
bored with making Virtual Reality video games that are so real that they
actually kill people. His new racket is cloning
women to be used as sex and murder slaves.
With the help of nutzo doctor (Peter Coyote), they have just begun
rolling out the initial test models. When
Lamas’ partner is killed in the line of duty, he teams with a tech nerd (Tod
Thawley) to bring down Sarandon.
Directed
by Rick (Kickboxer 3: The Art of War)
King, Terminal Justice: Cybertech P.D.
is intermittently amusing, if only to see how the screenwriters thought the
future would look. They rightly predicted the uptick in VR sex, as well
as the use of a robot voice to control the lights in your home (although her
name is Ludmilla, not Alexa.) They kind
of missed the mark with having cops that have night vision and infrared scopes embedded
in their eyeballs though.
There
are admittedly some cool ideas here. I liked
how Lamas could study a crime scene through Virtual Reality. We also get an odd sequence where Lamas does
battle with a killer remote-control helicopter in a fancy restaurant. I even found myself enjoying the scenes where
Lamas is fighting for his life inside a Virtual Reality video game. The oversaturated backgrounds give a nice sense
of something that is both real and unreal at the same time. Too bad these scenes end before they can
gather any real momentum.
The
film also brings up an interesting point late in the game about the legality of
clones. Is it legal to murder a clone if
they are technically classified as “genetic material”? Can you even prove a clone was murdered if
the original donor is still alive and walking around? Unfortunately, it is handled in a rather
clunky manner and the climax is wrapped up way too abruptly to make for any sort
of satisfying conclusion.
Mostly,
Terminal Justice: Cybertech P.D. feels like
three scripts stitched together. We have
the “Avenging the Partner” plot, the “Virtual Reality Remake of The Bodyguard”
plot, and the “Law and Order: Clone
Victims Unit” plot. A movie about any
one of these things would’ve worked.
Having all three plots fighting for supremacy just falls flat. (The fact that the title is comprised of two
titles is the tip-off the filmmakers couldn’t decide which movie to make.) If I had my pick, I would’ve stuck with The
Bodyguard rip-off, but that’s just me.
Lamas
is usually enjoyably goofy in something like this. Here, he doubles down on the dramatic aspects
of his character’s plight, and tries to really emote, especially during the
scenes where he is coming to grips with his PTSD. He doesn’t do a bad job. I just wish he didn’t spend the movie whispering
like Clint Eastwood. Wuhrer handles her
role decently enough, despite the fact that she and Lamas have no chemistry
together. Sarandon is kind of wasted,
but Coyote is fun to watch as the clone doctor who takes maybe too much pride
in his work.
For
every interesting and/or potentially cool thing Terminal Justice: Cybertech P.D. had going for it, there was
something wrongheaded or lame that held it back. Still, it’s not a total loss or
anything. I just can’t bring myself to
recommend it though. Ultimately, I guess
I’ll file it under “Watch It If You Ever Wanted to See Lorenzo Lamas Kick Peter
Coyote in the Face”. I mean few films
can deliver on that promise. This is
certainly one of them. When you’ve seen
as many bad VR-themed action movies as I have, you have to embrace the ones
that try to offer something unique, like Peter Coyote getting kicked in the
face by Lorenzo Lamas.
Lamas
gets best line of the movie when he reminisces about the war and the effects of
being on a drug that amplifies a soldier’s killer instinct: “It was better killing through chemistry!”
AKA: Terminal Justice. AKA:
Cybertech. AKA: Cybertech P.D. AKA:
Police Future.