Nemesis 2: Nebula

I have a certain affection for the first "Nemesis" film. I know that everyone considers it to be pretty bad, but at least it was fast-moving and enjoyable. This first sequel doesn't have the original's non-stop action and narrative force, and it's awfully reminiscent of both "The Terminator" (in its "messianic" myth) and "The Predator" (in the look of the monster that pursues the heroine). But as B-movies go it's still somewhat above average, and Sue Price, the starring female bodybuilder, is not only impressively built but very appealing, too. (**)

I first saw this film a decade ago hidden in the nite program of a cable network. Only got half of it as I tuned in while it was already running and fell asleep before it was off. But that muscle babe kept me interested in seeing the whole thing. So now with the full DVD box of Nemesis I-IV available I could enjoy it in full.

On the contrary of many receptions here I am not in favor of Nemesis I. It is over ambitious and still crap. But Nemesis II catches what I would expect from a good action flick w/o budget - short introduction of persons, setting of characters and scene and then: Action! Not much suspense but a good laugh from time to time about plot holes so big even Sue Price could push through her broad shoulders . So for example the Cyborg first tries desperately to kill our hero whereas later revealing he would like to kidnap her alive.

Sue Price is really a feast for the eyes if you're into strong women. About her acting: if I had so many big muscles to co-ordinate I doubt I would find the time to control the small ones in my face to give it different expressions.

By the way Mr. Pyun had a wise choice of putting the storyline into African desert as only here our female hero can be densely clad to show mostly all of her beautiful body.

So all in all well entertaining and worth the time watching. I look forward to pt. III and IV in my DVD box with anticipation.

In 2077, the cyborgs have won the war against humanity which they started in the first part. Baby Alex is sent back in time to 1980, so she can safely grow up in the 20th century - and become the star of part 2. Stranded in Africa, the girl is raised by a native tribe who is one day attacked by Nebula, a warrior from the future. Her enemies did obviously discover Alex finally, and she has got only a knife at first to fight the heavily armored cyborg. So she is mostly on the run, also attacked by human enemies, (a rebel army), and on top of that, she also tries to rescue 2 American girls. Sounds like a mission impossible, doesn't it? But Sue Price in her first movie is quite a show with her muscles. Pyun dared giving the Stallone/Schwarzenegger role to a woman, and then look at the locations: a fight against a robot - that's something you'd expect to happen on a space station or a dark rainy city a la Blade Runner. Instead, Pyun takes us into a bright, sunny Africa (shot in Arizona, though) and the first third of the movie is just about Alex' initiation as a warrior, with dialogs in the tribe's language and subtitles. Strong colors and wide angle shots of barren landscapes make it look really good. The remaining two thirds of „Nemesis 2" are less remarkable: a constant battle, you can't get some popcorn before the next grenade explodes. Since the hunter has got a lot more technical options (radar, infra-red, audio scanning, laser, whatever), his prey stands no chance normally, but has a strong survival instinct. The ending titles already announce „Nemesis 3: Time lapse". I watched the 4 Nemesis movies (which I watched first in the 1990s) again now in chronological order for my reviews and voted 7/7/5/5.

This film has it all ... mainly because it unapologetically borrows from several other films, including "Dirty Harry," "Predator," and "Terminator." For example, the final battle scene looks like it was set in the exact same locale as in "Dirty Harry." They battle in some kind of rock-crushing mill, complete with conveyors, and a big fall from the top of a metal tower.

Of course the alien cyborg bounty hunter is a cross between Bobba Fett, the Terminator, and that alien guy from "Predator." He even has that partial invisibility screen that looked much cooler in the former film.

Speaking of "Predator," theres even one scene which is an hommage (rip-off) of when Schwarzenegger is escaping from the alien and gets all muddy and wet from trudging through the Amazon river.

Sue Price is stone cold in her acting, and you're never sure whether she's angry, sad, happy, or whatever. I'm not sure what else she's done, other than the rest of the Nemesis series, but I'll bet she's a much better weightlifter than actor.

All things considered, I've seen better episodes of "Sheena".

Ok the first one of these movies was bad but making a sequal is going to far. One the other hand it had nothing to do with it's predecessor. The first 1/2 an hour is all spoken in an African language and isn't subtitled. It is impossible to tell what anyone is saying and after about 30 seconds you stop caring. The "alien effects" were done by smearing vasaline on the camera when ever they filmed Nebula (the bad guy). The only thing worse than this movie was Nemesis 3 which was pretty much just footage from the second one scrambled out of order. I think they were supposed to be flash backs. The only notable thing about this movie is it had a member of the production crew with the unfortunate name Yolanda Squatpump.