The Jean-Claude Van Damme Cyberpunk Film That Deserves Rediscovery
Before Hard Target, Double Impact, and Kickboxer, Jean-Claude Van Damme found himself playing a mercenary-turned-hero named Gibson Rickenbacker (like the guitars) in 1989’s Cyborg. Though the idea for this cyberpunk odyssey was conceived, hastily written, and shot for less than $500,000 in less than a month, it has garnered a cult following and marks an interesting time in the history of Cannon Films, who went bankrupt in 1987 after the commercial failure of Masters of the Universe.
Cyborg isn’t currently available for streaming, but it can be rented on platforms like Apple TV+, Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube.
The only reason we mentioned Masters of the Universe is because the Dolph Lundgren starring film is very much responsible for the creation of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Cyborg. Upon the commercial failures of Masters of the Universe, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and Lifeforce, Cannon Films was in dire financial straits but had already spent a considerable amount of money developing a Masters of the Universe sequel, as well as a live-action Spider-Man film.
Wanting to recoup their loss in the face of bankruptcy, Cannon films decided to repurpose the costumes and sets, and director Albert Pyun wrote the story-line for Cyborg in its entirety over a 48 hour period.
When Cannon came to the realization that they couldn’t afford their respective deals with Mattel and Marvel Entertainment Group, they had to scrap both projects but had already spent $2 million on costumes and sets for both films.
Wanting to recoup their loss in the face of bankruptcy, Cannon Films decided to repurpose the costumes and sets, and director Albert Pyun wrote the story-line for Cyborg in its entirety over a 48-hour period. Pyun originally thought that Chuck Norris would be the right guy for the role, but Jean-Claude Van Damme was ultimately cast for the lead role of Gibson Rickenbacker.
The entire production set the studio back less than $500,000 and was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 23 days, earning roughly $10 million at the box office.
In other words, Cyborg was pretty much created for accounting purposes and would have never otherwise materialized if Cannon Films had a better financial situation at the time. But sometimes, the most hastily written films are the most entertaining.
The most entertaining part about this Jean-Claude Van Damme film is that nearly every single character’s name was seemingly lifted from the Guitar Center catalog as if Pyun tacked it to a wall and haphazardly threw darts at the pages. In addition to van Damme’s Gibson Rickenbacker, we’re met with the primary antagonist, Fender Tremolo, a bodyguard named Marshall Strat, and the cyborg named Pearl Prophet.
Cyborg boasts a linear plot that is mostly driven by roundhouse kicks on Jean-Claude Van Damme’s part. His Gibson Rickenbacker character is tasked with transporting Pearl Prophet – a woman who is transformed into a cyborg through surgical augmentation – to Atlanta, Georgia, where the CDC is located.
The reason for her transformation is simple: the cure for the “living death” plague that has decimated humanity is stored in a computer and needs to be brought to the CDC to save the human race from extinction.
The most entertaining part about this Jean-Claude Van Damme film is that nearly every single character’s name was seemingly lifted from the Guitar Center catalog as if Pyun tacked it to a wall and haphazardly threw darts at the pages.
Now, you may be asking yourself why a woman had to be surgically modified to become a cyborg to transport information when a Post-it note could have served the same purpose, and we don’t have an answer for why this decision was made.
Cannon Films was under a lot of pressure, and they probably figured that Jean-Claude Van Damme running through the post-apocalyptic wasteland carrying a crumpled-up piece of paper didn’t make for an engaging story. With Pearl Prophet comes a moving target, and a moving target creates conflict between Gibson Rickenbacker and Fender Tremolo, so sometimes it’s best to just not ask any questions, and to trust the narrative.
Fender Tremolo is a warlord who wants to intercept the cure for the living death plague so he can have a monopoly on its production, and will stop at nothing to take down Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Rickenbacker so he and his gang of pirates can continue to rule the wasteland in Cyborg.
Pyun originally thought that Chuck Norris would be the right guy for the role, but Jean-Claude van Damme was ultimately cast for the lead role of Gibson Rickenbacker.
Through a shocking turn of events in this Jean-Claude Van Damme film, Rickenbacker is overpowered and crucified by Tremolo and his gang, but in a final fit of rage a day later, when he’s near death, he’s able to kick down the very cross he’s affixed to, which brings us to the final showdown in Cyborg.
Through clever accounting, spray painting costumes that were originally meant for another movie, and piggybacking off of the success of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport, Cyborg was a commercial success but a critical flop, garnering a 22 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes.
But not all sci-fi flops are created equal, and for some reason, Cyborg simply works. It may not be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s finest hour, but it’s a whole lot better than Street Fighter. If you’re brave enough to sit through this one, and you know what you’re getting into, you’ll be glad that this is what was offered to audiences back in 1989 instead of a sequel to Masters of the Universe.
