| Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow |
11/13/2006 |
by Tom
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R.I.P. Mr. Palance. You were very haggard.
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With the sad passing of actor Jack Palance (GQ recently voted him “Craggiest Man of the Year”), I felt it fitting to revisit one of his greatest cinematic performances. No, not “Shane” or even “City Slickers. I’m speaking, of course, about “Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow.”
“Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow” is arguably the best direct-to-video sequel to a John-Claude Van Damme movie (“Cyborg”) ever made and it’s the best direct-to-video futuristic robot movie of the early 90s…next to “Robot Jox.” No small feat.
Mr. Palance plays Mercy, a cyborg with a heart of gold who helps renegade cyborgs escape and find safe haven in another country. Appearing mostly via low resolution computer screens, Mercy passes along valuable cyborg info to a female cyborg (“cyborgress”?) named Cash played by some obscure actress named Angelina Jolie (no IMDB information available on her, but she’s reminiscent of a young Mila Kunis). Palance commands the viewer’s attention with his mix of altruistic philosophy and incomprehensible techno babble. Even under the cinematic constraints of a blurry and speckled computer screen and creepy extra tight close-ups, Palance shines. It’s not until the movie’s coda that Palance makes his grand entrance. Armed with a plethora of weaponry and military gear, Jack delivers such Bonsmots as “If you're going to dine with the devil, make sure you bring a really long spoon!” and “Looks like you kissed the wrong ass goodbye” before dispatching the bad guys of the evil cyborg manufacturing PinWheel corporation. (Thank goodness that company went bankrupt after the more union and environmentally friendly SkyNet came around.)
While heavy on poorly choreographed action and laughably sub par special effects, “Cyborg 2” also presents a series of questions to the viewer that challenge the very notion of what it means to be human: Could cyborgs have souls? How does one define “the self”? Does one really require extra long utensils when dining with the devil? Does Angelina Jolie show her boobs? (Yes.)
In this regards, the film is right up there with “1984” and “The Twilight Zone” as one of the great thought provoking masterworks of science fiction. Plus, you get to see Jack Palance kill a bunch of people.
Godspeed, Mr. Palance wherever you are. Hopefully, you’re doing one armed push-ups with Baby Jesus.
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