Celebrate Oliver Gruner’s heyday by watching the B-movie masterpiece “Nemesis”. It’s really pretty good. Gruner may be the poor man’s Peter Weller, but he plays his 85% android character with an effective stone face and only shreds of humanity. Tight direction and good special effects also keep it fast moving and fun.<\/p>\n
Gruner plays Alex, an undercover cop\/cyborg hunter. He becomes involved in a dangerous (and at times confusing) plot that sends him fleeing through an industrial wasteland in search for answers. I was tickled pink by a story that doesn’t count on cheesy, cop-out twists to maintain its excitement, but simultaneously delivers the goods of a sci-fi and action movie. It lovingly references the movies it takes from, also- which include “Terminator”, “Robocop”, and “Blade Runner” which keep it on the respectable side of generic. Director Albert Pyun creates a slick neo-noir atmosphere which extenuates the story.<\/p>\n
And the action scenes. Oh, the action scenes. Hit and miss Pyun is in top form- using high-tech, but refreshingly not over the top, weaponry and beautiful urban sets. The shoot-outs are imaginative and never redundant or trite. Don’t miss the apartment shoot-’em-up where Gruner shoots at the floor spiraling as to create a hole for him to drop down, which he continues to do for two more floors. As if this wasn’t cool enough, Pyun uses a Raimi-esquire shot that stays on Gruner’s head as he drops through the building. Yes, 10 years later “Underworld” implemented this idea in a more popular film, but I hardly think it did so in better form. There are great stunts, focused direction and good acting to keep it unrelentingly fun.<\/p>\n
“Nemesis” does need work, don’t get me wrong. As Pyun demonstrated in his 1997 disaster “Mean Guns”, he has a hard time tapping into his characters and material which makes things seem distant, confusing and at times impenetrable. He has a difficulty capturing transitions adequately, which obscures some of the action scenes.<\/p>\n
Most in the audience will be pleased by the film’s unlimited sex appeal. The movie creates a fascinatingly erotic connection between the near future and wangled, unrestrained sexuality. Deboarah Shelton is endlessly sexy and gives the movie a raw energy that almost compensates for its distant connection to the material.<\/p>\n
I loved “Nemesis”. It has a wonderfully distributed blend of science fiction and action. While there may be a brick wall between the audience and any hope of an emotional connection, it is sexy and fun enough to remain a great time.