CYBER TRACKER: A martial arts science fiction, inspired by The Terminator

In the history of film, it hasn’t been very common to combine any form of martial arts cinema with typical science fiction. These attempts were mostly made in low-budget films, where paradoxically, the creators had more courage because they didn’t mind taking risks—they didn’t have much money and weren’t expecting huge profits anyway. “Cyber Tracker” is one of those slightly odd productions, directed by Richard Pepin, starring an icon of B-movie martial arts cinema in the lead role. Don “The Dragon” Wilson had some encounters with sci-fi in his career, but he never really found his place in the genre. This becomes clear after watching “Cyber Tracker”, which was never a big VHS hit. In Poland, the film was released by Vision, a fairly decent distributor, though with a terrible cover. You can still find the VHS tape online for a few dozen zlotys. This review is here not so much to encourage you to buy it, but at least to watch it on YouTube.

Even though Don Wilson appeared several times in this odd marriage of martial arts and science fiction, he always remained a fighter, even though the scripts of these films forced him into settings where he didn’t quite fit. In “Cyber Tracker”, it’s evident that his warrior talent was hidden behind a style that tries to imitate “Mad Max” a little, though set in an urban environment. This is mainly the fault of the script. Wilson plays a special agent framed for murder. Dangerous criminals like him are pursued by killer androids, and one of them follows Wilson throughout most of the movie, leading up to a final showdown. Only then do viewers get to see that Wilson knows martial arts. His skills weren’t used earlier. He was dragged into a shooting-heavy action film, for no apparent reason, even though he’s so experienced in karate and kickboxing, as he showed in the “Bloodfist” series and “Ring of Fire”. In “Cyber Tracker”, Wilson’s warrior identity is almost taken away from him, and the suit he wears doesn’t fit his usual action star persona. And paradoxically, that’s one reason I encourage you to watch this movie, as well as its sequel, also directed by Pepin. In the sequel, the director corrected some of the mistakes, or maybe it was Wilson himself who pulled himself together and acted dramatically better. In fact, the best scene in the first “Cyber Tracker” is the bar sequence at the very beginning, and the worst is the final fight between Wilson and the android, whose stomach explodes after a rather clumsy placement of an explosive device inside him. I still wonder how that was even possible!

It’s precisely because of such outlandish plot devices that B-movie sci-fi deserves to be classified as a special subgenre of science fiction—”parodic sci-fi”, as I’d tentatively call it. This is another reason why I recommend these kinds of films to all action movie fans. Their lack of pretension and the passion for making these types of titles can be quite charming. It’s also worth noting that “Cyber Tracker” was produced by a studio specializing in low-budget cinema. PM Entertainment existed from 1989 to 2002. During that time, it produced dozens of films that should be considered hidden gems of sci-fi, though unfortunately, no one remembers them anymore. “The Prince”, starring Billy Dee Williams, “T-Force” with Jack Scalia, “Steel Frontier” with Joe Lara, or “Bigfoot: The Unforgettable Encounter” with Matt McCoy, and many other VHS hits in the karate and action genres.

The third reason I recommend “Cyber Tracker” is its inspiration from “The Terminator”. At the time of “Cyber Tracker”‘s release, the legend of the T-800 was still very much alive, thanks to the premiere of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” by James Cameron. Pepin followed that path, though with much worse results, but it’s clear to the viewer that many motifs are copied, including the behavior of the android chasing the protagonist. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jim Maniaci practiced his lines and movements by watching Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance, scene by scene, both as the villainous robot and the reprogrammed one. Another potential inspiration for Maniaci could have been “RoboCop”, but there’s more “Terminator” in him. PM Entertainment aimed to produce films with budgets under $5 million.

So, even more credit is due to James Cameron, who made “The Terminator” for $6 million, escaping the cheap VHS vibe despite its dramatic tone. While “Cyber Tracker” carries the mark of cheapness, it still manages to make a positive impression precisely because of this clumsy imitation of iconic films. You could even have fun counting the scenes most similar to “The Terminator”, “RoboCop”, and “Judge Dredd”. I know that last example might seem off to some viewers, but you can’t deny “Judge Dredd”’s fame and perhaps even that it was inspired by “Cyber Tracker”. The reverse is unlikely for chronological reasons.