Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow

In 1989 the Cannon Group released the movie “Cyborg.” The film did well at the box office, but it was the last film the company put into theaters. Trimark Pictures picked up the franchise and released a pair of sequels directly to home video, both directed by Michael Schroeder. This week’s movie was “Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow” from 1993, a film that has almost nothing in common with its predecessor. Angelina Jolie had her first sizable film role as “Casella ‘Cash’ Reese,” the Cyborg of the title, (although technically she seems to be an Android). She is manufactured by the “Pinwheel Corporation,” and is designed to be used as a bomb to destroy the executives of a rival company. Jack Palance plays a mysterious aged Cyborg named “Mercy,” who appears to her on a computer screen and reveals the company’s intentions. Cash and her human trainer/lover “Colton Ricks,” (Elias Koteas), decide to make a run for it, with company bounty hunters close behind.

Schroeder clearly has the movie “Blade Runner” in mind in regards to the production design, although the film is peppered with references to other sci-fi movies. It isn’t a good picture, but it is a serious effort and it does improve on the original. There is some imagination at work here, but the script is a bit rambling and disorganized and the film drags in the middle.

Angelina Jolie appears nude and engages in a sex scene in this movie, even though she was only seventeen at the time it was made. She was so disappointed when she saw the final result that she vomited. Jolie refused to appear in the next sequel and didn’t audition for another role for a year.