+++ title = "Hardware (1990)" author = ["Michał Sapka"] date = 2024-02-17T19:39:00+01:00 categories = ["brainrot"] draft = false weight = 3002 image_dir = "brain-rot/screenshots" image_max_width = 765 primary_menu = "brain-rot-ascifi" abstract = "My mirco reviview of a killer-robot thriller" aliases = ["/brain-rot/hardware-1990", "/blog/2024/hardware-1990/"] rating = 3.5 [menu] [menu.brain-rot-ascifi] weight = 3002 identifier = "hardware-1990" +++ I ue my descend into American cyberpunk cinema[^fn:1]. I spent my formative years watching _Anime, art house_ and ignoring most of USA movies. This means I haven't watched a lot of the _cult_ movies out there. _Hardware_ is a 1990 movie about a killer robot in a post-nuclear world. Think of a mix of Terminator, Aliens and Short Circuit. I heard of this movie years ago, but it seemed to be noting more than a cash grab after the success of _Terminator_ - a movie which I don't partially enjoy. After watching, I have to say that there was a of true in this assumption. But somehow I ended enjoying _Hardware_ much more. Not that the story is better - if anything, it is much simpler, or just plain _simplistic_. Say what you will about _Terminator_, but the basic premise was great. _Hardware_ on the other hand doesn't offer a great idea. This is a straight movie about a killer robot. However, I enjoyed it more, as it is much closer to what _Alien[^fn:2]_ achieved The entire action is encapsulated in only a few, closed locations. Half of the runtime is spent in a single apartment, where the _Mark-13_ robot shows up from to time a try to murder someone. Much like the _Nostromo_! This allowed the movie to be **stunning** visually. I loved every frame here! I know that most of the effect is based on fog and lighting, but I dig it! Just take a look at the gallery below. Another thing which reminded me of _Alien_ is how they handled the special effects of the _monster_. We see very little of _Mark-13_ - he is often hard to see, covered in darkness. From time to time we see his movements, and well. Hiding him was clearly a good idea... just like with the _Xenomorph_. All in all, I enjoyed the movie. I'm not calling it one of my favorites, but I enjoyed every minute of its short runtime. I give it a `3.5/5`. {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0001.jpg" >}} Red sky of postnuclear... summer? {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0002.jpg" >}} The Nomad. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0003.jpg" >}} Nomad searching the desert for stuff for sale. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0004.jpg" >}} An ordinary store. Great vibes! Fun for the whole family. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0005.jpg" >}} Same store, different view. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0006.jpg" >}} The perfect glasses. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0007.jpg" >}} Seems like somene realy liked Jin-Roh. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0008.jpg" >}} What posses as art now. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0009.jpg" >}} Computer we want but don't deserve. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0010.jpg" >}} An art studio. Nothing out of the ordinary. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0011.jpg" >}} Remember when spirituality was cool? {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0012.jpg" >}} Let's give our murder-robot eyes from a camera lense. I'm sure no one will drop it. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0013.jpg" >}} UI we all want. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0014.jpg" >}} What lurks in the shadows. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0015.jpg" >}} Yup, Jin-Roh. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0016.jpg" >}} Yankee-Roh. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0017.jpg" >}} With some striking shadows. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0018.jpg" >}} I have become bread, the destroyer of worlds. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0019.jpg" >}} Prelude... {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0020.jpg" >}} And the (most likely) last usage of a refrigerator as a safe place which makes any sense in the history of cinema. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0021.jpg" >}} Yup, a hand. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0022.jpg" >}} Hold the presses! The glasses are back! I repeat: the glasses are back. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0023.jpg" >}} Mark-13 in all of its glory. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0024.jpg" >}} This is only a window, but what a window it is. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0025.jpg" >}} They have not used Wilhelm's scream. What a wasted opportunity. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0026.jpg" >}} In 2024 those are rookie number when it comes to unnecessary lights inside a computer. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0027.jpg" >}} I am a sucker for this type of fish eye. Always reminds me of _City of Lost Children._ {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0028.jpg" >}} It doesn't get more era-apporiate than this. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0029.jpg" >}} Ok, it does. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0030.jpg" >}} One of the few CGI moments here. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0031.jpg" >}} And one of _many_ lighting shots. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0032.jpg" >}} Look how black it is. Classy. {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0033.jpg" >}} But does it run Quake? {{< /img-c >}} {{< img-c "hardware-1990-0034.jpg" >}} Back to the desert, like a fine sandwich. {{< /img-c >}} And a few nice _gore_ sceenes which I won't show it. This is a family-friendly website! Links: - [Hardware on TVDB](https://thetvdb.com/movies/hardware) - [Director's official website](https://www.theofficialrichardstanley.com/) [^fn:1]: I disagree with calling those movies "cyberpunk" as they lack the "punk" element... or most of "cyber". No one rebels against the system, no one enters the _cyberspace_. But following this definition, I am not sure if we can call any movie other than _Johny Menomic_ a _Cyberpunk_. Often we put all dark-sf into "cyberpunk" genre, which limits our ability to be pricks about it. [^fn:2]: Aka "the clearly superior of the _Alien_ series"