BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Lawbolisted Powerful

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The_Phantom_Projectionist In an era of movies like TERMINATOR: GENISYS and CHAPPIE, can a B-grade robot adventure from the mid-90s find an appreciative audience? The answer is yes, at least if it can find its way into my hands. No low-budget filmmaker loved the sci-fi genre more than Philip J. Roth ("APEX"), and this particular cyborg-themed outing highlights the best that he – or almost anyone – could bring to the table under B-movie constraints. Though not terribly original, DIGITAL MAN is engaging and action-packed enough to accommodate its target audience and perhaps win over a few new fans as well.The story: A squad of futuristic soldiers (led by Ken Olandt) is sent to a backwater Earth settlement to neutralize a deadly combat cyborg (Matthias Hues) run amuck.It bears emphasizing that viewers who need expensive production values and state-of-the-art special effects to enjoy sci-fi flicks will be disappointed by this one, with its outdated CGI and gooey prosthetics. Personally, I love the production design, which is so skillfully implemented that there's no stylistic discord even when the setting shifts from a high-tech space station to the dusty Earth setting. Despite a handful of esthetic lifts from ALIENS and THE TERMINATOR, DIGITAL MAN looks and feels very much like its own movie, and in the process manages to avoid the artistic pitfalls of basing a production in the desert: it's never not fun to look at, despite its limited color palette.The action's comprised primarily of explosions and shootouts, with a smattering of kickboxing. Though bluntly effective, the firefights aren't worth the price of the picture alone, and it's disappointing that Hues' physical talents are limited to only a single, one-sided brawl. Despite looking cool in his armor, Matthias is generally the worst-utilized performer of the film, having next to no lines and virtually nothing to do other than stalking and shooting. The rest of the cast does much better, with especially the soldiers getting enough character moments so as to not feel expendable. The rest of the cast is pretty memorable, too: Don Swayze (brother of Patrick) is a decent supporting goof, Amanda Wyss does what she can in an uncredited role, and the great Susan Tyrell has two glorious cameo scenes.Director Roth infuses the picture with the enthusiastic pacing and gusto so often missing from low-budget productions, thereby keeping the film upbeat and rolling along nicely. He might have also included a tad too much story for his own good, as the paranoia angle of squad members potentially being cyborgs themselves feels unnecessary for a movie this small. Nevertheless, the film is worth a rental, and potentially even a purchase if you still own a VCR.

movieman_kev Not really that much to say about this one other than this movie about a cyborg (for lack of a better word) who goes AWOL and causes all sorts of trouble is not anything great but on the flip side it's not really too bad either. Perfectly suitable as either a flick you turn on for a rainy Sunday or even just as background noise while doing something else. It's not the type of film that you have to pay rapt attention to. The digital mans interactions with some local white trash is a highlight of the film. Forgettable, but still a solidly average popcorn flick.Eye Candy: Chase Masterson gets briefly topless My Grade: B-

Bloodwank This was my second Philip J. Roth picture in three days, after A.P.E.X., which was also his previous film to this one. Digital Man does some things better and some things worse, mostly it's just stolidly competent. The story boils down to the old saw of a crack military team attempting to take down a renegade robot, although there's context and a spot of complication wrapped around the basic events. Nothing too sophisticated but it at least provides a mild interest to sustain things, which comes in handy once the umpteenth round of gunfire and explosions get tiresome. Set on the outskirts of a desert town there's a feel of arid isolation here that works well as a backdrop and contrasts with the larger than life, bumptious characters, the setting and the more humorous than average writing as well as faint flashes of emotional connection or suspense are the biggest advantages here. Well, fans of explosions and ludicrous guns will be pleased by the frequent pyrotechnics and comically huge weaponry on display. The acting just about conveys the appropriate sense of battle hardened veterans, the anonymous likes of Ken Olandt, Kristen Dalton and Sherman Augustus fill their roles with a kind of solid bad-assery, though the main plaudits go to Don Swayze as a daft redneck and Adam Baldwin as a military bigwig. Swayze is fitfully amusing in his utterly clichéd role, while Baldwin has the right sort of brusque authority to convince. The titular digital man is played by Matthias Hues, he has nothing to do other than walk around slowly and look tough, this he does in fine fashion, being a pretty imposing sized guy. Oh, and there are little cameos for the quirky Clint Howard and scenery chewing favourite Susan Tyrell (Night Warning). All in all nothing to write home about performance wise but everyone is suitably committed. Like A.P.E.X. the one black character is an obnoxious caricature which is a bit sad, but I don't tend to look for sensitivity in these sorts of junk flicks anyhow. Broadly speaking this is worth watching if you go for this sort of low grade sci fi action, I suspect I would have liked it more had I seen it a decade or so back when I first caught sight of the video box in a local rental place but despite its problems I was still glad to finally see it. Occasionally decent in both action and effects, with amusing old school cheap cgi and one or two brief but neat robotic effects, there's just about enough to go on even though its never any great shakes. Worth a watch if nothing else is on and you like the genre

VCRanger Digital Man is a very entertaining movie, with good acting, excellent photography and outstanding F/X. It does suffer from a mediocre script however. A very good, overall effort from a bunch of actors who fall into the category of "where have I seen them before?" A rating of 8 out of 10 was given.