Trancers 3: Deth Lives (1992)

Truly Dreadful Film

A Brilliant Conflict

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

If you have t seen the original Trancers film, and it's sequel, you'd be forgiven to think that this was just some random TV pilot that never made it to fruition.Jack Deth is timejacked to 2247 to save Angel City from a new wave of trancers. His mission is to find the origin of the trancers and end it with extreme prejudice. Jack learns that the new trancer program is government sponsored, and that his usual shoot everything attitude might not work this time. With R.J. and Shark, a crystal powered cyborg, Deth will have to find a way inside the trancer program and shut it down........It's bonkers for sure, But the way that everyone keeps a straight face throughout the whole thing is beyond me.....there is so much breaking of the fourth wall, and winking to the camera, you'd think that this was almost a fan made film.Thomerson has a classic screen presence, like he should have starred in some big movies from the thirties, but instead he became the B-movie Clarke Gable, and gained a massive following from doing so.Helen Hunt turns up looking a little bemused by the whole thing, as she was obviously hitting the big time around this point, and must have been contracted to do the whole blooming thing.It's really cheap, we have a random monster that travels around in a cheap looking Tardis, and Andrew Robinson plays the villain, because Ronny Cox must have been doing some other bad guy duty.It's an acquired taste, but although it's not very good, it's not on for very long, and it's bright and breezy.

A marked improvement over the strictly so-so first sequel, with a much darker tone, more (often grisly) violence, yet still retaining a nice line in frequently amusing sarcastic wit, and topped off by a spot on savage critique of military megalomania run dangerously amok, this third entry in the series finds rough'n'tumble ace trancer hunter Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson in splendidly sardonic form) traveling to 2005 to stop the fanatical Col. Daddy Muthuh (deliciously essayed with lip-smacking fiendish relish by Andrew Robinson) from succeeding with his trancer experiments on trainee soldiers. Writer/director C. Courtney Joyner largely downplays the light tongue-in-cheek sensibility of the prior pictures in favor of more gritty and hard-around-the-edges pulpy noir attitude (for example, Jack at the start of the film is eking out a living as a private detective). Moreover, Joyner keeps the pace snappy and nonstop throughout, stages the plentiful action set pieces with real flair, delivers a few startling outbursts of brutal violence, and concludes everything with a funny open ending that leaves room for more sequels. The sturdy acting from a capable cast helps matters a whole lot, with especially praiseworthy work by Melanie Smith as tough, perky deserter R.J., Tony Pierce as oily trouble shooter Jason, Megan Ward as the feisty Alice Stillwell, Dawn Ann Billings as Muthuh's fierce prize subject Jana, Stephen Macht as Jack's hard-bitten superior Harris, R.A. Mihailoff as hulking and intimidating robot Shark, and, in a regrettably minor role, Helen Hunt as Jack's fed-up wife Lena. Adolfo Bartoli's sharp cinematography makes neat occasional use of strenuous slow motion. The moody pulsating score by Phil Davies, Mark Ryder, and Richard Band likewise hits the spot. A worthy follow-up to the terrific original.

I liked this movie, as I tend to like movies from Full Moon Pictures. However, unlike some people, I would not go as far as to say that it was the best of the Series. I have only seen parts I, III, and VI, and so far, I & VI were both better than this. Why? First off, in this movie, the thrills and scares don't really come at a good time. The action builds up to a point to where Jack is "bullet proof", so we know what to expect, and end up bored. Also, nothing really makes us pay full attention to this movie.I would recommend it, but would recommend you get Part VI before.About 8 out of 10 pointsFans of Movies like this should Check out Puppet Master, Slumber Party Massacre, Skinned Alive, Sleep Away Camp, and other Full Moon Pictures flicks. For other recommendations, check out the other comments I have sent in by clicking on my name above this comment section.

"Trancers III: Deth Lives" is the best of the "Trancer" sequels and in some ways even out does the original. This Time Tim Thomerson as Jack Deth has to fight an even tougher trancer. Far better then the next two "Trancer" entries.