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Trancers -
To say that The Terminator is influential is the kind of general statement about movies few will disagree with. However, if you still need hard evidence, consider how many B-movies cribbed from it, some of which even came out in the same year. One such movie - and one of the better ones - is Trancers, which has enough things guaranteeing it as such right off the bat that are just as valuable, if not more, as Rotten Tomatoes' "Certified Fresh" seal. Charles Band is at the helm, it's a Full Moon, ahem...Empire production, and not only is Tim Thomerson in the lead, but he also does what he does best: play a futuristic "Dirty Harry" type. While the plot isn't that different from The Terminator's in abstract, it does enough clever things to distinguish itself. One is its time travel method, which is sort of a combination of the ones in La Jetee/Twelve Monkeys and Quantum Leap. On top of that, the notion of using the technology to wipe out entire generations is pretty darn scary. This combined with Michael Stefani's sly, snakelike villain gives Thomerson's Jack Deth and Helen Hunt's punk-rocking companion Leena, who also hope to protect the future council's ancestors, please on both action and mystery fronts. It's also a joy to get a grand tour of '80s L.A. from its shopping malls to its tanning salons as well as to see how Helen Hunt kicked off her career.
While I had a good time with this, it's more of a supplement to The Terminator than a substitute. There are a lot of bells and whistles in the story and concept, but compared to Cameron's movie, there's not nearly as much elegance or cohesion. We're also given little explanation as to why Leela is so willing to be Jack's companion other than him being such a tough, manly dude, especially since he's not the kindest person to her at first. Granted, the ancestor who Jack supplanted when he went back in time and Leena have a history, but it doesn't seem to be a long or pleasant one. Despite these flaws, when it comes to an easy recommendation for someone who is hungry for more of something like The Terminator, but with extra cheese, it's an easy go-to. I mean, it even has zombies for some reason!
To say that The Terminator is influential is the kind of general statement about movies few will disagree with. However, if you still need hard evidence, consider how many B-movies cribbed from it, some of which even came out in the same year. One such movie - and one of the better ones - is Trancers, which has enough things guaranteeing it as such right off the bat that are just as valuable, if not more, as Rotten Tomatoes' "Certified Fresh" seal. Charles Band is at the helm, it's a Full Moon, ahem...Empire production, and not only is Tim Thomerson in the lead, but he also does what he does best: play a futuristic "Dirty Harry" type. While the plot isn't that different from The Terminator's in abstract, it does enough clever things to distinguish itself. One is its time travel method, which is sort of a combination of the ones in La Jetee/Twelve Monkeys and Quantum Leap. On top of that, the notion of using the technology to wipe out entire generations is pretty darn scary. This combined with Michael Stefani's sly, snakelike villain gives Thomerson's Jack Deth and Helen Hunt's punk-rocking companion Leena, who also hope to protect the future council's ancestors, please on both action and mystery fronts. It's also a joy to get a grand tour of '80s L.A. from its shopping malls to its tanning salons as well as to see how Helen Hunt kicked off her career.
While I had a good time with this, it's more of a supplement to The Terminator than a substitute. There are a lot of bells and whistles in the story and concept, but compared to Cameron's movie, there's not nearly as much elegance or cohesion. We're also given little explanation as to why Leela is so willing to be Jack's companion other than him being such a tough, manly dude, especially since he's not the kindest person to her at first. Granted, the ancestor who Jack supplanted when he went back in time and Leena have a history, but it doesn't seem to be a long or pleasant one. Despite these flaws, when it comes to an easy recommendation for someone who is hungry for more of something like The Terminator, but with extra cheese, it's an easy go-to. I mean, it even has zombies for some reason!