Omega Doom

• Directed by Albert Pyun
• July 8, 1997 (US)

On a devastated Earth, a machine plays both sides of a civil war.

Albert Pyun can be-I mean certainly IS-an acquired taste. He was not a great movie maker, but he loved making movies and if you can connect with that element, you will certainly enjoy what he put out in his career. This was his job, but it was a job he loved.

On his list of credits is Omega Doom, a surprisingly good post-apocalyptic science fiction action film featuring Rutger Hauer as the titular robot. I remember seeing this lurking around mom-and-pop video stores when they were a thing but never picking it up to watch. I thought it was simply a title trying to imply that things were very bad in the movie’s world thus quite possibly alluding to it being a very bad movie rather than it being the the name of Rutger Hauer‘s character.

I am not calling this deep or sophisticated, but it is more than one would get from a surface glance. Either handed to a different director or perhaps the script given to an uninterested third party for one last look and this could have reached a larger audience beyond the cult of followers that it has. The film touches on freewill and choice. Was Pyun actually trying to touch on something deeper or was that a happy accident? The world may never know…

Omega Doom is a robot (‘android’ would be more accurate) that was damaged as the final bombs dropped. This damage destroyed his core programming thus accidentally gifting him with freewill. He is freed from his programming so to speak.

The warring machine forces are still compelled by their programming (an allusion to social conditioning?) to keep fighting while Doom is seeking to end the conflict that is going on at this point just because. No one in the film seems to really want things to continue as they are but sees no other way as they are unable to think outside their program other than Omega because he is no longer shackled to it.

The character of Omega Doom is calm and cool and steely eyed as well as intelligent. Violence isn’t necessarily his first resort but he’s not afraid to use it. Rutger Hauer made you believe his character was tough just by walking on the screen. He didn’t have to do anything. You knew he meant business and could kick ass. That’s acting.

Events of the story are set off mostly by the surviving machines believing there is a group of humans coming to dig up a secret stash of leftover weapons and begin slaughtering the remaining machines. I am not sure if this was based on a bit of intel or some kind of machine legend. Anywho, Omega finds himself between two sides of machines. One group looks like they are background players in a Mad Max film while the others look like they are rejects from The Matrix. I can’t help but wonder given their dress, if they in fact somewhat inspired the leather look in The Matrix. The Wachowskis did take inspiration from other sources.

What this does better than many post-apocalyptic films is that by the end the hero has not saved the world but rather has changed the world of those in the story. Things are better for them and by extension you are left feeling things might get better for the rest. Those coming humans? You are not even sure if they are coming or even real. That bit of ambiguity helps sell this to me.

The dialogue is witty and the characters for the most part are well done and individualized to one extent or another. Even the three robots that look identical are different enough that while you may have trouble remembering their names, you will know the difference between A, B, and C. There is a point to the action scenes as they expand upon the story and are crafted with an eye towards that rather than being an exciting interlude. This is perhaps one of Pyun’s finest films. It is well thought through and well done and despite its clear financial limitations looks very good.

While not high art Omega Doom is an extremely well executed B-movie done by a well-known director of such things. For fans of post-apocalyptic science-fiction this is a must see. I highly recommend it!