Customer Reviews

Blind Fury/Omega Doom

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I always enjoy watching a movie with Rutger Hauer in the cast. He is a good, sometimes great, actor who often appears in low-grade junk. Moviegoers know him from such stand out films as "Blade Runner" and "The Hitcher," but he is quite capable of turning in excellent performances in movies that, for all intensive purposes, reek. Some movie fans would probably castigate Hauer more than I would for making so many B films, and they would be right to some extent, but at least when this actor shows up in schlock you know you will see something interesting. If you have any doubt as to Hauer's acting skills, look no further than an obscure little film made a few years ago called "Fatherland." There is a scene in that movie where Hauer's character tells his son a story about a watchmaker that comprises one of the most powerful moments I have ever seen in a film. My admiration for this wonderful actor prompted me to recently view this Rutger Hauer double feature DVD. The two films on the disc are 1989's "Blind Fury" and 1995's "Omega Doom."

"Blind Fury" is the more recognizable of the two films. Hauer plays Nick Parker, a recently returned Vietnam veteran who went blind due to a combat injury. Afterwards, Parker spent years living in a Vietnamese village learning how to cope with his disability. Several of the men in the settlement taught Parker how to use a sword by relying on his sense of hearing, and through this training the former soldier knows how to get around quite well in the world. Parker's first goal on returning to the United States is to visit his old war buddy Frank Devereaux, a man supposedly living in Florida with his wife and young son. What Nick doesn't know is that his old friend left his family and now faces a heap of trouble after losing at the roulette wheel from a gambling tycoon in Las Vegas. The baddies want Devereaux, a chemist by trade, to whip up a batch of designer drugs that will help the tycoon keep his casino out of the hands of creditors. In order to persuade Frank to help them, the goons attempt to abduct his wife and child. A series of events beginning with Parker's arrival on his friend's doorstep culminates with a showdown between the blind man and Devereaux's enemies in Vegas. Nick also manages to bond with his buddy's son and find some closure about his disability.

"Blind Fury" is a fun movie, loaded with lots of shoot 'em up violence, nifty swordplay, and great character actors. Along for the ride with Hauer are Randall "Tex" Cobb as the right hand baddie of the tycoon, Terry O'Quinn as Parker's hapless war buddy, Meg Foster in a small role as O'Quinn's wife, and Nick Cassavetes as one of the thugs pursuing Parker. There are more recognizable faces in this movie than there are at a family reunion. Everybody does a good job with their roles, especially Hauer, who looks like he is having a heap of fun playing a blind guy who can wield a sword, drive a van, and generally beat up bad guys. Sure, there are plot holes you can sail a battleship through: why does the tycoon shell out big bucks to hire a sword-wielding assassin if he faces bankruptcy? Moreover, wouldn't be easier to just give up on Devereaux once the trouble with Parker starts instead of sending out waves of hired thugs to kill Nick and Devereaux's family? I could pick "Blind Fury" apart on point after point, but I really don't want to. I liked the movie and if you enjoy Hauer, you will too.

"Omega Doom" comes from the mind of Albert Pyun, a schlock director who occasionally manages to produce something worthwhile (see "Nemesis" and "The Sword and The Sorcerer" for proof of this claim). In the case of this 1995 Hauer vehicle, Pyun finds himself on shaky ground with a low budget rip-off of the spaghetti western genre set in an apocalyptic future where androids and cyborgs rule most of the planet. Hauer plays Omega Doom, a robot soldier who fought against the armies of the human race before receiving a wound to the head that destroyed his memory. Reconfigured by surviving humans, Omega Doom now roams the wastelands of America hunting down troublesome gangs of robots. The entire movie takes place in one or two buildings in a wasted city, where two groups of robots called droids and roms square off over the rumor of a huge cache of firearms. Both groups wish to acquire guns so they can deal with the potential threat of a renewed offensive by human beings. Omega Doom proceeds to play both groups of robots off of one another while killing off the more hostile machines. Pyun uses the robot characters to examine philosophical questions about destiny, change, and existence. This film is far from great, but it isn't nearly as bad as many people say.

Action fans will likely be disappointed with "Omega Doom," as will those viewers looking for lots of flashy special effects. The fact that the "killer" robots resemble Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wieldin with a bad case of vitiligo will certainly cause more laughs than anything else, and the robot known as "The Head" is downright offensive on every level. But if you accept this lack of conventional sci-fi attributes along with a few laughable scenes and cheesy effects, you might just enjoy "Omega Doom." Between "Omega Doom" and "Blind Fury," I think I can recommend this DVD. The picture quality of both films looks good, and extras include a Hauer talent bio and three trailers. Rutger Hauer fans will enjoy this disc.

This DVD combining 1989's "Blind Fury" and 1996's "Omega Doom" is a great value for your entertainment dollar. Two adventure tales that take differing paths. Using Lake Tahoe's gorgeous Squaw Valley Resort (home of the 1960 winter olympics) and Reno as the backdrop for most of the scenes, "Blind Fury" is the more typical approach with lots of location changes and several fight scenes. It has a quick pace, playing a blind character shows how good Rutger Hauer can be as an actor. Early 80s heavyweight boxing contender Tex Cobb is well cast as a bad guy. No plot surprises, just sit back and enjoy the action.

"Omega Doom" is a much more intellectual effort, a minimalist tale with very few locations and somewhat haunting background music. Rutger playing a robot reminds one of his superb robotic performance in "Blade Runner." "Omega Doom" is a mystery/sci-fi flick that has Hitchcock-like suspense, those looking for the special effects-driven movies (shootouts,car crashes etc.) typical since the mid-80s will likely be bored. If you like the first "Salem's Lot" (with David Soul) and its gradual buildup of suspense, you will likely really enjoy "Omega Doom."

This DVD combo is a solid value.

Rutger Hauer is a great actor. This movie would be nothing if it wasn't for his ability to help us suspend believe and be amusing. This may not be his best but it is certainly entertaining. Best known for his role in Blade Runner as a replicant (robot) that is hunted by Decker (Harrison Ford). He has made many other good movies. If you like him at all be sure to catch this one and Ladyhawke, Soldier of Orange, Escape from Sobibor, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Split Second, The Hitcher (not for the squemish), Deadlock, Nighthawks, and Surviving the Game.

I saw this film when it first came out and thought it was the second best movie to Blade Runner.Rutger Hauer plays a good role here and some very nice punch lines too.If you are a action fan then this is for you.The film is also nicely transferred to dvd and so is the sound : perfect in every way.

But my big question comes now How did they ever make a film like Omega Doom? the worst film ever produced and made in world.The story is bad,it's so rubbish that it will make you laugh so hard that the dvd will flip out by it's own.
Frankly it's a rip-off from a Fistfull of Dollars all the same jokes are here. I also noticed that there wasn't many actors in this film.Which wouldn't have helped much.

I would give Omega Doom 0 out of 10. sorry the second film is bad,sometimes i wish the dvd studio's would stop conning the public in this 2 movies in 1 business.

I like this movie since I saw it the first time blind fury is one of my fav thank you

I loved this movie it was and still is great, got them as a package because it was cheaper than blind fury by itself, but I watch this movie several times a year

if you a fan of Rutger this is a must omega is a lil like a foren film but is interesting, blind fury though is great and full of great humor

Omega Doom:

Nah, I don't think it's a horrible movie. Sure it lacks a lot of action that movies of the period had, but I never thought of this as an action movie anyway. It seemed to me to be more like a comic book/graphic novel meets 70's samurai movie meets spaghetti western. Despite the obvious overarching situation (apocalypse, possibility of humans returning, obvious society gone to hell), it pretty much all but ignores that and focuses on the problem at hand: ridding the robot town of the "bad guys." It ends with a sense that Omega Doom has really done nothing more than put a band-aid on the whole situation, but his actions are more along the lines of self-preservation than anything else. He just showed up for a drink and gets sucked into a fight. That's how pretty much any of the same genre starts. Someone comes along, wanting to be left alone, but some dumb schmuck picks a fight and then our hero has to teach them a lesson. Nothing is resolved, the world is still as crummy as it ever was, but the hero gets to get back on the road in one piece. Lather, rinse, repeat.

That's why this kind of movie appeals to me. I don't think it's boring or a waste of time. It's interesting enough in it's hopeless nothingness. I don't always want to see a happily ever after ending or some Matrix-y, save-the-human-race type of fight. Those are a dime a dozen. That's what has always appealed to me in old samurai movies, though those tend to focus more on making things better. This movie was very reminiscent of Philip K. Dick stories: bleak futures with small stories that just are what they are.

Of course this kind of movie doesn't appeal to everyone, not by a long shot. I think my little brother fell asleep. Van Damme movies were more his thing. Lots of fight scenes and the bad guys get their due. Not that I don't like those movies, I do. It's just that something of the type of movie that Omega Doom is, is a breath of fresh air. There's a pointless despair to it that I enjoy. Something is done, and yet it isn't.

Also, I know the special effects are bad, but I honestly thought it was an 80's movie. I was surprised to see 1995-1997 as a release date. I think it's much better thinking of it as an 80's movie if you're the type of person who just can't get past special effects not being as good as LotR or Star Wars.

So this gets 4 stars from me. Not the greatest, but not the worst. Despite IMDB and Amazon's plot description, it doesn't try to be anything other than it is, it fulfills my comic book/graphic novel pleasures, and I much enjoyed some of the talent in it compared to, say Van Damme.

Blind Fury:

This was much more of a Van Damme type of movie. I noticed most people who hated Omega Doom loved Blind Fury. That's fine, of course. It just goes to show that Omega Doom is the bleak, Dick-esque style of film, whereas Blind Fury is more of a revenge story in the style of Universal Soldier. I liked Blind Fury fine, but those kinds of movies are a dime a dozen. Yes, there was a lot of action, but after getting out of my Van Damme and Stallone phase, it occurred to me that action sequences aren't something to base a movie on. If it can run in the background while I'm cleaning house or reading a book and I still understand the entire movie and don't miss a thing, then it's nothing more than background noise. If I have to pay attention to it to catch the subtleties, then it's a movie I'm going to enjoy and watch.

I still can't tell the difference between most of those Van Damme movies. Same plot, same storyline. Somehow he's wronged, a friend is wronged, blah blah, and has to go lay a smackdown on someone. Someone shoot me now because the world doesn't need any more of them and could use a few more Omega Dooms (with better production values, of course).

Yes, I liked Blind Fury. I just liked Omega Doom more. I'm a bit of a comic and dystopian scifi geek. Of course I liked Omega Doom better. My brother is a martial arts and action movie geek. Of course he liked Blind Fury better.

Blind Fury is a very good if simple movie. I just could not get into Omega Doom. It had some promise, But never followed through on it.

At this price Omega Doom is a throw in anyway, so if you like
Blind Fury go ahead and buy this.

BLIND FURY IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE BY RUTGER
GREAT STORY AND HEARTWARMING LOVE

OMEGA DOOM IS DIFFERENT- GOOD MOVIE
"LOVED THE HEAD" !!!!!