It is a shame that Stephen Norrington's directing career was buried by Extraordinary Gentlemen, since he could've pulled off some interesting things! As his directing debut this is a fairly strong movie, and with Blade he showed that he did have what it took... If only he had avoided LoEG!!Sure, the plot isn't anything special nor are the effects that spectacular... But they work, and workable practical effects are always better than naff CGI! Brad Dourif is also always a pleasure to watch, even though it seems that he's been typecast into slimebag roles for a lot of his career. The other actors also give decent performances, and didn't make me cringe... Well, not too often, anyway. ^^All in all, "Death Machine" is, if not a gem of a B-movie, at least a solid performer for friends of the genre. It recycles known cliches but remained entertaining for its runtime (111min UK version) and thus I give it a recommendation.

This movie is really far from a great or interesting one but it's also a movie that starts to somewhat gets better as it progresses.It was a great movie that they decided on not making this movie a too straight or serious one. It's a movie with some quirky and comical moments. Had they decided to play this movie straight, it would had been a real bad and ridicules B-movie, with an obviously not too high budget. The movie instead now at times is even more of a spoof than a good movie on its own really.The movie is basically a whole bunch of many different genre movies thrown together, only made more entertaining to watch. It for most part makes "Death Machine" a pretty fun movie to watch but it also doesn't exactly surpasses the level of average.The script, the effects, the acting, it's all being pretty average. It's all good enough but not quite enough for the movie to stand out. I can see why this movie has a sort of a steady cult following but like basically almost every cult-favorite movie, the movie itself isn't exactly anything too great itself.It also really takes awhile for the movie to actually start off and become a good and interesting one. It wasn't about well halve way through that the movie finally really started to get my attention.It was Stephen Norrington directing debut and he must have got some attention with it, since his next directed movie would be the blockbuster "Blade", which in all honesty is the only real true great movie he has ever directed so far.All good and fun enough, especially when you're into the genre but also far from a great or perfect movie really.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Here's the deal. I am a big fan of Brad Dourif, have been since CHILD'S PLAY. Three years ago or so I met Brad Dourif at a fast food restaurant close to where I live. He's a great guy. But that doesn't influence me in my reviews one bit. I like this movie, I think Brad Dourif is great at being the insane villain type. Now there are some character issues, I mean these peace mongers don't understand without weapons certain Governments of this world would walk all over you and steal you basic human rights. Also, some of the dialog in the movie is a tad on the corny side. But I love WARBEAST. That is one cool robot monster and I for a party of one would have loved to see a DEATH MACHINE 2: WRATH OF THE WARBEAST. But it's not to be. Anyway, I give DEATH MACHINE...8 STARS!

A group of people trapped in an isolated location that is inhabited by a vicious and nearly unstoppable creature bent on there demise. The premise is old, but it still holds water, and under Norringtons direction it is both enjoyably kinetic and wholly frustrating.The evil CHAANK corporation (I know, stupid name) is developing unethical and illegal weapons, ranging from advanced robotics to human experimentation. One noble hearted senior executive catches wind of this and wants to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, the royally insane head tech developer (Brad Dourif), who also happens to have a crush on her, learns of her change of heart and isn't about to let that happen. At the same time, a group of rebel soldiers (rebels for whom exactly? Who knows) break into the corporate headquarters to conduct a little merry mischief making, but instead get caught up in Dourif's sour revenge, in the form of a cybernetic killing machine, aptly called the 'war beast'.To Norrington's credit, the film visually well done. Except for an overly long opening section, the film is briskly paced with energy to spare. Lots of camera movement, creative usage of lighting and a smart eye for angles. The editing is for the most part pretty good, but there are a couple of parts that should have been shortened.The script is the real weak point of the film, it just isn't all that good. The film exists in a sci-fi world that is tragically underdeveloped, the characters as 2D as they come, and the plotting lacks any kind of good twist or sense of purpose. The script is awash with horror film references, which work just fine, and cheesy jokes, which don't. The dialogue is much to get excited about, either.As for the 'war beast', it looks nice, but isn't terribly interesting; the big draw for the creature is that it detects pheromones (ie fear) and that is how it is able to track it's prey. It's really nothing more than a big metal bi-ped with lots of teeth and claws that seems to be suffering from a caffeine over-dose. It does cause a couple grisly deaths along the way, but nothing too spectacular.For a low budget effort, it is definitely a worthy accomplishment. Much of Norringtons style is already apparent, just in need of refinement.6/10