Retro Review: Nemesis (1992)

Back in the day, we movie geeks discovered a lot of our favourite films on VHS. Living in small town Canada, we didn't get many options outside of Hollywood blockbusters at our local theatres, so the hidden gems were found at our local video store.

One of those gems was Nemesis, Albert Pyun's 1992 cyberpunk thriller starring Oliver Gruner. It was a mind blowing little movie that featured cool stunts, lots of gunplay and that holy grail of B-movie must haves: boobies!

Nemesis was the cat's ass, and I'm pretty sure my buddies and I wore out the tape watching it over and over again. Then it, like many movies of my youth, faded from memory.

Surprise! I found Nemesis on VOD the other week, and immediately sat down with a few pints to watch it. Does the film hold up? Is it the classic B-movie I remember?

It's cool to see Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Brion James in action. These dudes were icons back then, and are still a joy to watch. And yes, former beauty queen turned actor Deborah Shelton is still a major babe!

What disappoints me today is the action. Sure, Pyun loads his film with cool shoot outs and stunts that still impress. But, watching it now with seasoned eyes, it's clear he was ripping off the Hong Kong stylings of John Woo before they'd caught on in North America, right down to firing two guns at once while wearing sunglasses. I admit, this realization is a let down, and did diminish the watch.

I still enjoy Nemesis for what it is, a solid B-movie of its era. But its impact is now lacking. It's a Bad, which makes me sad.

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