''Omega Doom'' is a 1996 American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Albert Pyun
Albert Pyun (May 19, 1953 – November 26, 2022) was an American film director who made low-budget B-movies and direct-to-video action films.
The Independent Film Channel said that Pyun "has carved out a unique niche as a director of low-budge ...
and starring
Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
. It was written by Pyun and
Ed Naha
Ed Naha (born June 10, 1950) is an American science fiction and mystery writer and producer. His first known publication was artwork that appeared in the first issue of ''Modern Monsters'' magazine, dated June 1966.
Education and early career ...
. The story, set in a
dystopian future, concerns a robot warrior who, during a nuclear winter, plays both sides of a robot
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
in a small town. The film is mostly based on ''
Yojimbo
is a 1961 Japanese samurai film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Atsushi Watanabe. ...
'' by
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
, and it was the third movie in Pyun's "
''Cyborg'' Trilogy". It is considered a
cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
.
Plot
At the end of a
World War
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
between humans and robots, a
nuclear bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
was detonated and a
Dark Age
The ''Dark Ages'' is a term for the Early Middle Ages, or occasionally the entire Middle Ages, in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire that characterises it as marked by economic, intellectual and cultural decline.
The conce ...
begun, without technology or electricity. On the last day of the war, as the nuclear bombs are detonating, one of the robots, Omega Doom, is shot in his head by a dying soldier. The shot causes Doom's programming for the destruction of mankind to be erased. After the world was cleared of humanity by the cyborgs, only the cyborgs and robots remain. Some time later, Omega Doom arrives at a destroyed city, where he encounters an unusual community of robots and roms (newer and more advanced robots), who are in conflict.
At the city Omega Doom finds there are two remaining peaceful robots - a former nanny who now works as a bartender and the head of a former teacher, whom the other robots use as a ball. Omega Doom helps The Head find a body and tells Doom about a rumored stock of hidden weapons. Both the robots and the roms want these weapons in order to continue the destruction of the remaining humans.
Eventually, Omega Doom gets the robots to promise to destroy the roms in exchange for half of the weapons; but he also proposes the same deal to the roms. The robots and the roms end up fighting each other, ensuring their mutual destruction. Afterwards, Doom leaves the last two peaceful robots (The Bartender and The Head) and the one remaining rom in charge of the city and continues his wandering.
Cast
*
Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
as Omega Doom
*
Anna Katarina
Anna Katarina is a Swiss actress.
Early life and family
Anna Katarina is the daughter of cellists from Bern, Switzerland, where she was born. She is a classically trained pianist.
Career
She came to the US in her twenties whereupon she join ...
as The Bartender
*
Norbert Weisser
Norbert Weisser (born July 9, 1946) is a German-born actor based in the US.
Based in Venice, California, he is a founding member of Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, the ProVisional Theater, and the Padua Playwrights Festival. A long-time collaborator ...
as The Head
*
Shannon Whirry
Shannon Whirry is an American actress.
Career
A native from Green Lake, Wisconsin, where she was the salutatorian of her 1983 high school graduating class, in 1985 Whirry was accepted to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, one of onl ...
as Zed, Droid Leader
* Simon Poland as Zed Too, Droid
* Jahi Zuri as Marko, Droid
* Earl White as Titus, Droid
* Tina Coté as Blackheart, Rom Leader
* Jill Pierce as Zinc, Rom
* Cynthia Ireland as Ironface, Rom
* Jozef Apolen as The Scientist
Production
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957) is a French-American actor, producer, and novelist. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Ta ...
was considered for the lead role before Rutger Hauer was cast.
The screenplay written by Albert Pyun and Ed Naha was originally set in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, at
EuroDisney
Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...
. The characters were supposed to be an
animatronic
Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions.
It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
's figures who continue to operate after a
global catastrophe
A global catastrophic risk or a doomsday scenario is a hypothetical future event that could damage human well-being on a global scale, even endangering or destroying modern civilization. An event that could cause human extinction or permanen ...
. Each "Zone" was the domain of the animatronic characters who were part of that same zone's theme. ''Omega Doom'' was originally built to be part of a new exhibit at EuroDisney established around the
''Terminator'' franchise, and the entire setting was within the theme park.
Reception
Critical response
''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' rated it 1/4 stars and wrote, "''Omega Doom'' is merely an exercise in reviving moldy sci-fi cliches from their familiar genre graves." Keith Bailey of the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' rated it 1/5 stars and called the film's action sequences "so poorly directed as to be incomprehensible".
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013. of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' wrote, "In addition to being incompetently written and directed, ''Omega Doom'' is also laughably pretentious".
References
External links
*
*
{{Yojimbo
1996 films
1990s science fiction action films
American robot films
American science fiction action films
Apocalyptic films
American post-apocalyptic films
Films directed by Albert Pyun
Largo Entertainment films
Cyborg (film series)
1990s English-language films
1990s American films