Eliminators Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Eliminators Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 2, 2017

If any of the 80s Empire B-grade Sci-Fi movies epitomizes the studio's output, it has to be Eliminators. The film features a cyborg, or a "Mandroid," as well as a sexy scientist, a ninja, and a rough-and-tumble riverboat captain. On the antagonist side of the ledger: a maniacal scientist and his band of misfit ruffian henchmen who are cousins to the folks from Deliverance. It's a clash of ludicrous low-budget goodness that holds up not as a great movie per se, but as a quintessential low budget 80s extravaganza.

A downed pilot is transformed into "Mandroid" (Patrick Reynolds) by an evil scientist named Reeves (Roy Dotrice). Mandroid, against his programming, decides he must stop Reeves at all costs. His attempt to kill him fails, however, leaving him wounded and with no choice but to seek out Dr. Nora Hunter (Denise Crosby), whose work was stolen by Reeves. Now, Mandroid and Hunter, along with a riverboat captain (Andrew Prine) and a ninja (Conan Lee) who is also seeking revenge on Reeves, must fight through waves of Reeves' henchmen and put an end to their enemy once and for all.

Eliminators doesn't have much going for it beyond a lot of cheaply constructed costumes and special effects, behind which is an immense level of charm. The movie's budgetary constraints are clear, but it somehow eeks out enough of a cool factor -- which really couldn't be truly appreciated but in hindsight -- to keep the movie relevant and viable as a fun little escape backwards in time. Certainly, the action is rather flat and the characters likewise dull, but the collective absurdity and low-rent style somehow works well enough to inject the film with enough likability to satisfy. Of note is that the film appears to have been a major influencer in the wonderful video game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, which expertly parodies all things 80s Action and Sci-Fi.

Eliminators Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eliminators certainly shows its age. The Blu-ray's transfer is riddled with print wear, though in this case it combines with an otherwise filmic image to give it a pleasing (to these eyes, anyway) drive-in quality. Detailing is largely firm, with only a few examples of softer textures and mushier grain. Colors are a bit flat, but effective. Skin tones appear to run fine and black levels aren't too problematic. For the most part, the finer-layer grain and well rounded skin, clothing, and "Mandroid" suit details allow the movie to shine on Blu-ray, in its own vintage, lower budget, shot-on-film sort of way.

Eliminators Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eliminators features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack, and while it lacks the fullness of multichannel presentations, it works hard to stretch itself rather far. Indeed, front-side reach is never an issue. Clarity zigzags around the range, from fine and firm to flimsy, with various effects, musical cues, and even dialogue sometimes struggling to maintain consistent pitch. There's some crunchiness to various effects, like gunfire and laster blasts, but the core details satisfy. Dialogue is adequately clear and presented with natural front-center positioning.

Eliminators Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Eliminators contains no supplemental content.

Eliminators Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eliminators looks cheap, lacks thrills, and fails to offer much characterization of significance, but it's one of those era movies where little works but the film as a whole is kind of a blast in a retro and low expectations sort of way. It holds up today as a cornerstone of cheap 80s Sci-Fi thrills, reminiscent of movies like The Terminator and capturing the core era silliness-meets-impressive-end-product. Shout Factory's Blu-ray offers flawed, but enjoyable, video. The audio is fine but no extras are included. Recommended.