I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I'm a fan of what I've seen so far from the "Trancers" film series. Granted, the second was somewhat disappointing, but the premise is still fun here, and it's executed in fine B movie fashion. Tim Thomerson is once again hugely enjoyable as sarcastic, sardonic Trancer hunter Jack Deth. Some of his former co-stars have no more than extended cameos, but there are great contributions by some new cast members.Written and directed by C. Courtney Joyner, this sees Jack working as a low rent private eye in 1992, complete with a hilariously cheesy, inept commercial, who's abducted and taken down the line to the year 2352, where he finds out that the Trancers have taken over and made life miserable for the humans that are left. He's assigned by Harris (Stephen Macht) to go back in time to the year 2005, to try to destroy those damn Trancers at their source.This sequel is very short and sweet (even shorter than the first movie), with decent action, makeup effects by the KNB guys, and good production design for the low budget. As usual, there are some good laughs to be had. Only the conclusion fails to be truly satisfying, serving mainly to set up further sequels. What this movie does have is a great villain, played to the hilt by Andrew Robinson of "Dirty Harry" fame; the role was actually written with Robinson in mind. It's nice to see Helen Hunt, Megan Ward, and Telma Hopkins from the previous entries. R.A. Mihailoff is a hoot as towering alien Shark, whom Jack takes to calling "Godzilla". And the script does come up with an interesting explanation for how the Trancers came to exist in the first place.In the end, it's the wonderful Thomerson who makes the "Trancers" series what it is; it wouldn't be the same without him.Seven out of 10.

Shortly after the gabby Trancers II, a six and a half foot tall trancer called Shark materialises in convenience store to bring Jack Deth back to the 23rd century, to give him his newest assignment. Convenience store trancer looks like a mutant fish from a 1950s B-movie; too silly, even for a series like this, especially when the overall tone of this film is much darker and more violent than its two predecessors. (Great line from a cop however, to Shark: "Hey, bonehead! I'm talking' to you!") As far as the plot, it's mostly business as usual here, with Jack Deth being sent back to hunt still more trancers unleashed in modern day L.A., this time, by the US government.With her character now separated from Jack Deth, Helen Hunt has merely a two-scene cameo, as does the delicious looking Megan Ward; the latter's presence, especially, is sorely missed by this reviewer. Shorter run time should help to keep the pace from lagging, but it seems as though it takes forever for anything of note to happen. A bit of S&M seems out of place, as does the American Gladiators-inspired fight sequence. As with part II, the two deaths at the end of the film are badly photographed and edited.It is good that the filmmakers tried to change the tone of this film, rather than copying the first film again, but the downside to that is, that this film is hardly any fun at all.

Trancers was a very enjoyable B Sci-Fi flick. The sequel was rather poor, and left me questioning the wisdom of making the movies into a franchise. However, Trancers III made me rethink that.Trancers III reunites us with Jack Deth, a cop sent to 20th-Century Los Angeles to protect the future. In this brief installment, Jack is temporarily brought back to his own time to find that things have gone terribly wrong in Angel City (though no one seems to call it that in this movie for some reason). He is then sent back in time to 2005, to try and destroy the project that originally created the titular Trancers; humans turned into killing machines.Charles Band appears to have wanted to amp up the action in this movie, I think it had more shoot-outs than the first two movies combined. However, it fell into the trap a lot of movies (especially Sci-Fi movies) do. The bad guys had worse aim than a company of Star Wars Imperial Stormtroopers. It sort of takes the wind out of an action scene when one guy is able to take on foes who outnumber him 10 to 1 and walk away without a scratch.One thing that I was pleased by was the main villain in this movie. I won't give anything away, but I will say that he was the more complex than the bad guys in the previous two films. He had motivation beyond the typical Evil Overlord Megalomania used by lazy screenwriters.Jack Deth didn't toss off one-liners quite like he did in the original film (and the one at the very end felt rather forced), but Tim Thomerson nevertheless was enjoyable to watch. The cameos by Helen Hunt (who by this point was on Mad About You) and Megan Ward were nice touches, as well.The internal logic of the movies always seemed non-existent to me, and this one was no exception. I get the feeling Charles Band was more or less making up things as he went along, as there was little continuity in the movie. But, that's true of the series as a whole, and if you're willing to ignore such things, then you should get a good deal of enjoyment out of this movie.

The first "Trancers" was light-hearted fun. "Trancers III" plays up the dark film-noir aspects of the concept and adds a healthy dose of violence, not to mention a scathing attack on military "morality." Much ham acting and some tacky moments (including a dual trancing/sex scene) detract from what is, overall, a commendable attempt to make a serious science fiction film. On first viewing, I hated this one, but a few years later the social commentary sunk in. This does not rate high on my "fun" meter, but it is well made. Look for Helen Hunt in a teeny-tiny cameo, on the verge of stardom but still with one foot in the B-movie camp.