A lot of movies used this plot. This one is for sci-fi ppl.
jo bear | Colorado | 01/12/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The idea for this "lone warrior enters town with two rival gangs and plays upon them both", was started by Akira Kirowsawa with his film "Yojimbo". "Fistfull of dollars","Last Man Standing" and lastly "Omega Doom" all reiterate the plot because it's a mythos with some power. For one thing it moves away from the notion of a simplistic "good v.s. evil" conflict and presents us instead with the relative dyanmics of beings with different agendas struggling with one another. One could complain that they use such an oft repeated plot in "Omega Doom" but if you look at the majority of what comes out of HollyWood...a mere 4 versions of one storyline makes it pretty fresh! [: I would recommend seeing Yojimbo before seeing any of the remakes, BUT as remakes go I like Omega Doom best.The plot is a bit THIN in comparison to the others. It's not as involved or as direct to the plot. BUT the movie makes an interesting point about the concept of artificial life. It imitates real life without itself being completely real. So a certain depth is lacking in the story line because certain interactions that occur in the other stories would make no sense applied to Robots.The filming is VERY creative, considering it is a low budget film.The ending leaves one feeling they could have continued or elaborated more. I wish it had been a little longer because I enjoyed it so much.I think this is one of the best low-budget sci-fis I'd ever seen. True it's not quite as snazzy as some other high budget pics I could name but if one takes into account what they had when they made this film I'd say they utilized thier resources better then most filmakers with 10 times the budget....If you have any interest in AI based films. "Terminator, Blade Runner" etc; this would make a good addition to your collection. also:Wether or not you like any of the spinoffs, if the plot interests you check out "YoJimbo" because when it comes to depth, charecter and all the stuff people want in a film, there is still nothing like the original..."
Not Supposed to be Van Damme
K. M. Burright | Laramie, WY | 07/11/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Nah, I don't think it's a horrible movie. Sure it lacks a lot of action that movies of the period had, but I never thought of this as an action movie anyway. It seemed to me to be more like a comic book/graphic novel meets 70's samurai movie meets spaghetti western. Despite the obvious overarching situation (apocalypse, possibility of humans returning, obvious society gone to hell), it pretty much all but ignores that and focuses on the problem at hand: ridding the robot town of the "bad guys." It ends with a sense that Omega Doom has really done nothing more than put a band-aid on the whole situation, but his actions are more along the lines of self-preservation than anything else. He just showed up for a drink and gets sucked into a fight. That's how pretty much any of the same genre starts. Someone comes along, wanting to be left alone, but some dumb schmuck picks a fight and then our hero has to teach them a lesson. Nothing is resolved, the world is still as crummy as it ever was, but the hero gets to get back on the road in one piece. Lather, rinse, repeat.
That's why this kind of movie appeals to me. I don't think it's boring or a waste of time. It's interesting enough in it's hopeless nothingness. I don't always want to see a happily ever after ending or some Matrix-y, save-the-human-race type of fight. Those are a dime a dozen. That's what has always appealed to me in old samurai movies, though those tend to focus more on making things better. This movie was very reminiscent of Philip K. Dick stories: bleak futures with small stories that just are what they are.
Of course this kind of movie doesn't appeal to everyone, not by a long shot. I think my little brother fell asleep. Van Damme movies were more his thing. Lots of fight scenes and the bad guys get their due. Not that I don't like those movies, I do. It's just that something of the type of movie that Omega Doom is, is a breath of fresh air. There's a pointless despair to it that I enjoy. Something is done, and yet it isn't.
Also, I know the special effects are bad, but I honestly thought it was an 80's movie. I was surprised to see 1995-1997 as a release date. I think it's much better thinking of it as an 80's movie if you're the type of person who just can't get past special effects not being as good as LotR or Star Wars.
So this gets 4 stars from me. Not the greatest, but not the worst. Despite IMDB and Amazon's plot description, it doesn't try to be anything other than it is, it fulfills my comic book/graphic novel pleasures, and I much enjoyed some of the talent in it compared to, say Van Damme."
Call me Mr Weird but I liked it...
Ragnog the Viking | UK | 07/21/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I think some of this film's reviewers are so 'blown away' by films with excesive CGI, big budgets - and even bigger names - that they either won't, or cant, see the good in lesser offerings. This film makes so many sly references to other films that part of the fun is spotting them.
Take the opening where we see a foot coming down on a pile of human bones and skulls. Terminator, right? Then there's all the other stuff that people have picked up on by Sergio Leonne but why has no one mentioned Clint Eastwood and Pale Rider? The scene at the end where Hauer's character just disappears into the sunset? I mean, come on... Oh yeah, and the penultimate fight scene between the Bauhaus look-a-like droid and Hauer is straight out of The Matrix PLUS the Talking Head was like a character out of the Wizard of Oz.
To me this film had humour,atmosphere and subtlety and a cracking performance from Rutger Hauer as the thinking man's - or woman's - Schwarzenneger. I feel sorry for all those who possess the attention span of a goldfish and see any film where 2 mins go by without some scene of mindless sex, or violence, as boring. Don't try reading Dickens guys!"
B-movie with a plot
Ragnog the Viking | 10/13/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Yes it is a cheep movie that was made in a day, however it has a good plot. I enjoy watching it because of the creativity involved. (unlike the other movies released now days) Its a good film with a good plot."
Cybernetic Knight Errant
Ragnog the Viking | 05/14/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The setting of this movie is unnerving but powerful. Also, it takes its time revealing characters and motivation, which would help get past the violence, but I came away very happy with both the touches of humor and the overall idea of a cybernetic Don Quixote"