2-minute review: cyborg 2 is a b-rate straight-to-video movie that is far better than it has any right to be. i came for angelina jolie in her first major film role, stayed for, dare i say it, a surprisingly rich story nestled inside a silly exploitation film. firstly, you do not need to know anything about cyborg to watch cyborg 2. we enter into a world that isn't exactly post-apocalyptic, but is more just a vision of the grim future we're heading towards: where mega-corporations treat people as disposable and income inequality leads to the uber-rich and the squalid. jolie plays a cyborg in training to be essentially a super-spy, used like black widow would be. koteas plays her trainer, and jack palance digs in and chews the scenery all over the place as a disembodied mouth that pops up on computer screens and prompts them to escape the mega-corporation's facility and fight back. it's a very fun romp that's well worth seeking out. -------------------------------------------------------------- for the real cinephiles: there was a time back in the late-80s/early-90s where i watched just about every b-rate sci-fi/fantasy film out there, and there were a lot. many of these were really enjoyable actually, with a lot of creativity, and dialogue and plot twists that you could never get away with in a studio film. they were just fun, and often had enough softcore sex and surprising violence sprinkled in to titillate any teenager. cannon films was a nutso production company purchased by a couple israeli cousins and used to make such classics as hercules (with ferrigno), breakin', missing in action, revenge of the ninja, american ninja, a bunch of other ninja movies, lifeforce, the death wish series, bloodsport, and cyborg. cyborg continued the rise of one young jean claude van damme, in a film where the plot is barely comprehensible but is filled with enough standout moments to make it, and van damme, a modest hit. writer/director albert pyunn stuffed standout action sequences and wild anti-establishment ideas into other great b-films like nemesis, mean guns, the sword and the sorcerer, and yes, i'm even going to stan for the first theatrical captain america movie back in '89 (scott paulin does a great version of the red skull!) however, even pyunn knew better than to come back for a cyborg sequel. the result is that the replacement director doesn't have the same flair, but the script by ron yanover and mark geldman is a lot tighter. yes, i'm actually going to talk about the story, because i couldn't believe there was one. i mean, i heard jolie talk about this on inside the actor's studio and was just amused by the idea of her taking over for van damme. but i forgot that van damme wasn't actually the cyborg in the first film, so it's really elias koteas filling his position (more on that later). finding out she did nude scenes for this was a big plus, not going to lie, and seeing the rest of the cast list sealed the deal. so what i expected was a fun exploitation film, which this totally starts out as: hot cyborg sex scene with the girl who plays the prostitute in the infamous scene in showdown in little tokyo (renee griffin). b-movie gold that immediately turns into a surprise about espionage and corporate warfare in the late 21st century. then the script starts playing with questions of free will, agency, and i'm not lying, meditating on immortality and quality of life. but let's face it, these are not the central focus of the film. that's mostly going to be the action (which is competent, not van damme level) and the scenery-chewing performances. this is from a funny period where koteas' agent was apparently trying to get him cast in tough guy action star roles, like as casey jones in teenage mutant ninja turtles. i mean, he looks good here, but he's no van damme substitute. there are great cameos from people like b-movie star tracey walter and martial artist karen shepherd, but narrowly beating out palance for my favorite performance is billy drago as a kind of bowie-esque nutball bounty hunter with scenes evocative of blade runner. of course, jolie is just on a different level than anyone else here. part of my goal in watching this was to figure out what made her take the role, and i instantly got it. she was 17 when filming, looking life a victoria secret model, and got to play a pretty badass chick. she has some funny, smart lines, is never girly or unconfident, and has a lot of physical scenes where she kicks a lot of ass. it's almost a dry run for her lara craft role later. the film was delayed for a year (maybe to release when she was 18?) and apparently she didn't like the final results, which do focus more on koteas' character as the lead. i think she comes off admirably, but it's undeniably an exploitation film. you can make the love scenes as artful as you want, but there are still some pretty salacious glimpses of her body, and jolie undeniably serves as a lust object for a lot of the film, agency or not. however, for this kind of movie, that could be a big draw for some people. in the end, i've got to say that the film has just enough bonkers scenes and fun moments that i have no hesitation recommending it. look, a lot of the supporting acting is poor, the lines are sometimes silly, and nobody is going to mistake this for a serious drama or romance. but it does have a lot of creativity and a bit of heart, and by god, i don't think jolie has anything to be ashamed of. i'd rewatch this any day over more recent choices she's made like the eternals or maleficent or alexander!