Manborg (2011)
Starring: Matthew Kennedy, Adam Brooks, Meredith Sweeney
Writer: Steven Kostanski, Jeremy Gillespie
Director: Steven Kostanski
Story:
Hell’s army has taken over Earth with the evil Count
Draculon at the helm. A young soldier who dies during the Hell Wars awakens
years later in a dystopian future. Only now, he is Manborg! He forms a
resistance with Justice, Mina, and #1 Man, and their goal is to bring an ass
whoopin’ to Count Draculon and his demon army. Round One… FIGHT!
Well fuck me running, this movie rules. I asked a buddy last
weekend if Manborg would be worth my time and his reply was “Guaranteed. It’s
like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon as a movie.” That pretty much said to me that I
definitely needed to check this shit out. Filmed with a budget about the amount
of my monthly rent, astron-6 took all of my favorite 80s Sci-Fi flicks and
video games and threw them into orgy, and out of the finishing ooze walked
Manborg. This flick is Duke Nukem and Mortal Kombat going steady. It’s
Terminator and Cyborg if they were besties. It’s They Live and The Running Man with
a Hardware wasteland backdrop. Take all of these references and pour a thick
layer of cheese over top and eat ‘em like they’re the best fucking nachos you've
had all year…. this is Manborg.
The film runs at about 75 minutes, with nary a second of
downtime. I personally would have been ecstatic had it went on about half hour
longer. It’s ridiculous in terms of story, visuals, and acting, and gleefully celebrates just how absurd it is. However,
there are some “hit you in the feels” moments scattered throughout. I’m not
saying you’re gonna shed tears over a movie like this (unless you are as fucking
weird as I am); I’m just saying there is more heart to it then how it comes off
at face value.
Onto acting…. who fucking cares!? It’s called Manborg, gimme
a break. You know what, though? Perhaps a huge deal of credit is deserved here,
because I couldn't pull this shit off. Matthew Kennedy is awesome as Manborg
with his robotic type dialog and movement, and both Conor Sweeney and Jeremy
Gillespie are hilarious as Justice and The Baron. Ludwig Lee speaks in
epic overdubs (voiced by Kyle Hebert) and is the Liu Kang badass of the freedom
fighters. Meredith Sweeney as Mina is a blade slinging toughie and ridiculously
cute. Andrea Karr has not a cinch of dialog but is hotter than hell and mean as
fuck as the evil Shadow Mega. The
performances here are everything they need to be in order for you to have good
time.
On the FX front, you get a lot of outrageous gore, awesome
stop motion and creative miniature set design, and an absolute ton of green screen
visual effects. The way it’s all done up is an old school fan’s wet dream, and
it’s obvious that the astron-6 crew are just as in love with this stuff as we are. The music of Manborg is also another high point; very NES era video
gamey with some metal here and there. I loved it.
After the end credits is a faux trailer called Bio-Cop. I’m
not gonna say anything other than it is a seriously fucking hilarious and
badass 4 to 5 minutes of film, and goddammit I want it to be a full length movie so bad.
Final Word:
KICKS FUCKING ASS!!!
-Brobocop Entering Sleep Mode
