|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Death Machine (1995) Though it aspires to seem influenced by Ridley Scott and James Cameron, as the Warbeast combines design elements of the Alien and the Terminator, the blandly-named Death Machine is more in the tradition of previous second generation cyber-thrillers like Hardware, from which William Hootkins returns as chubby robot meat, and Split Second. It lacks the brisk economy of its predecessors, spinning out its Die Hard-with-a-killer-robot plot well beyond the 85 minutes it merits and failing to sustain suspense beyond a few odd spurts of action. By trying for an expansive action feel rather than being content, as was Hardware, with claustrophobia, this stretches its admirable effects and stunts a little too thinly. Part of the problem is a sappy fanboy attitude, epitomised by in-joke character names (non-anoraks note, Weyland-Yutani is the evil corporation in the Alien films), which prevents any involvement with people who are merely compounded of gag references and character traits that tend to be either bathetic (Cale is especially afraid of the Warbeast because it reminds her of the kitchen disposal unit that killed her daughter) or running jokes (Yutani's ability to survive crippling wounds and keep fighting). Mainly a British production, this is apparently set in America and hangs on the overacting skills of perennial Hollywood weirdo Brad Dourif, but its retread corporate future wears thin as the script goes for cheap laughs with explicitly contemporary references, to Oprah or Arnie, that also ups the fanzine feel at the expense of conviction or purpose. The sets are impressive, conjuring a corporate limbo and moral vacuum
that is merely a standard aspect of the script, and there are one or
two decent shock sequences (as the Warbeast claws through the bottom
of a lift to get at its victims or Dourif rants and raves with a knife
through his hand). But an occasional budgetary skimp undermines the
impact: a potentially strong confrontation, out of Blade Runner
and Die Hard, between the surviving goodies and the
Warbeast on top of the skyscarper during a heavy storm, loses its nerve-shredding
factor through a lack of overhead shots to emphasise how high up the
characters are and how precarious their dangling is. First published here (though commissioned by Sight & Sound) Visit Kim's Official Website at www.johnnyalucard.com
|
||||
