Review of Hardware (1990) by J M — 12 Jan 2008
Highly entertaining cyber-punk B-movie shlock, that owes a huge debt to the last ten minutes of "The Terminator" and the more techno-nihilistic strips found within the pages of "2000 A.D.
". The confines of what must have been a small budget pop through at moments, but on the whole the director gets a lot of mileage out of what he's got, channelling as he does the spirits of James Cameron, Ridley Scott and Stanley Kubrick.
The film manages to create its own little dystopia effectively, with a dark, sadistic over-sexualised media burbling away in the background, whether it be the inane TV shows or Iggy Pop's shock-jock DJ.
No new concepts are plundered here, but the mix of genres and influences is a highly satisfying one although one has to take in their stride the wobbly acting and the very 80s stylistic tics. The psychedelic sequence towards the end is very good too.
"Hardware" is a cult classic that's worth plugging into.
This review of Hardware (1990) was written by J M on 12 Jan 2008.
Hardware has generally received mixed reviews.
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