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Eve Of Destruction

(1991)

When U.S. scientists play God, in creating their own synthetic being in female form, which also just so happens to be a global threat deterrent, all hell lets loose when her circuitry gets frazzled. Modelled upon her creator Dr. Eve Simmons (Renée Soutendijk), this robotic chick is just one automated click away from going nuclear. Once her internal twenty four hour clock kicks in, and when the countdown concludes, anything, and anyone, within a ten to twelve block radius gets obliterated !.

Robotic humanoid Eve VIII is being monitored out on a field test in the real world environment. She is in a bank when a robbery takes place, and the instigators of the act start shooting. Eve is shot and the result triggers a defence mechanism within her that sends her off out into the wide world environment. Her purpose is to act upon memories inherited from her blueprint creator Dr. Eve Simmons. It later transpires that Dr. Simmons experienced a traumatic youth that involved an alcoholic father, one who would beat his wife, and Eve’s mother. Tragedy would also befall as Eve’s mother gets killed in a car collision, brought about by being pushed into the oncoming vehicle in a drunken rage by the husband.

The military call upon their top problem solver Colonel Jim McQuade (Gregory Hines) to reel Eve back in. Brought up to speed with the humanoids capabilities, and week points, by Dr. Simmons, Colonel McQuade is not told the complete picture, and is unaware of Eve’s true purpose of being. When the military receive notification of Eve’s destruction mode becoming live they have to tell McQuade the whole truth, and implore him to render Eve defunct within twenty four hours. The robots area of vulnerability lays in her eye sockets. McQuade must use his precision targeting hand weapon to deploy the bullet direct to the eye of Eve in order to close her down, or her destructive device will explode as per her initiated directive.

A race against time unfolds as Colonel McQuade and the military track the Eve VIII model down. Intermittent action plays out as Eve adapts to her new found surroundings and situations, but another trigger, recessed in her human counterparts shared memory, brings out a violent side in her nature. Whenever anyone calls her a bitch to her face it unleashes her wrath, and this bionic babe is one striking lady you do not want to offend !.

Another very nice quality high definition enhanced showing for the MGM HD Channel. It is good to see that MGM is proudly showing off their back catalogue of movies, be they blockbusters or reasonable enough mid range fare. This film as a whole has a well intentioned made for television movie feel to it. Its identity is somewhat clouded also. There is the evident comparison to The Terminator (1984) and Terminator II (1991) films, but Eve Of Destruction seems to try and avoid sending its humanoid creation directly down the robot out of control route, and rather go for a more creative and emotive one. Ironically it is a more obscure Indonesian film called Lady Terminator (1989), which does not hide its rather obvious intent to ‘borrow’ heavily from The Terminator theme, with a rampaging female robot out of control on the city streets, that gives the rather promiscuous appearance and makeup of Eve VIII her look. Red leather jacket and tight fit, knee length skirt, totting a machine gun, is exactly the image torn from Lady Terminator (1989), made just two years earlier.

Neither main stars help raise proceedings, as Gregory Hines is just not believable in the Schwarzenegger, Willis or similar hard action guy role. The film would have been far better suited to someone like Dolph Lundgren. Renée Soutendijk does not convince either, coming across too cold and unapproachable in her role as Dr. Simmons, which curiously enough still does not greatly bear fruit when aptly applied to her robotic counterpart Eve VIII.

The film elevates itself in the action and excitement department enough to conclude things satisfactorily. Eve VIII clicks into the memory mode of Dr. Simmons as a mother, and in so doing goes in search of her young son. The race to stop her in time comes to New York City, and Colonel McQuade gets his chance to come eye to eye with the object of his pursuit in the New York subway. This is where it definitely turns Terminator, and both Sci-Fi and action fans get a pay off pick me up to end upon.