Paycheck (2003)
Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck), a reverse engineer who erases his memory after completing secret projects, is targeted after a job goes wrong. With no memory and only a set of cryptic items he left for himself, he must unravel a conspiracy involving a device that can see the future. Directed by action maestro John Woo, Paycheck marked his final American studio film before returning to work in Asia. The movie reunited Woo with screenwriter Dean Georgaris and featured several of his trademark action flourishes — including slow-motion shootouts and doves. Interestingly, Ben Affleck filmed this just before his Gigli career slump, and the production faced studio pressure to tone down its darker sci-fi elements.
Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II (1994)
In a post-apocalyptic America dominated by toxic wastelands and underground cities, android Plughead (Jim Metzler) returns with the ability to hack minds. Meanwhile, a government agent and his allies attempt to stop Plughead from unleashing a new kind of neural warfare. The film was directed by Steven Lovy, who co-directed the original Circuitry Man with his brother Robert Lovy. For this sequel, Steven took the reins solo. Due to its low budget, much of the film was shot in abandoned industrial locations around Los Angeles, with many props recycled from the first film. Despite its limited release, it became a niche favorite for its eccentric style and over-the-top villainy.
Prototype (1992
Set in the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles of 2057, crippled former soldier Hawkins Coselow (Robert Tossberg) volunteers for a cybernetic program to walk again. He is encased in the Prototype X29A suit, gaining super-strength and machine interface capabilities. However, the procedure wipes his human memory, turning him into a relentless, pre-programmed killer. His mission is to eliminate the last survivor of a rebel faction: the woman he loves, Chandra Kerkorian (Lane Lenhart). This low-budget action film explores the classic cyberpunk tension of human-machine integration in a world of urban decay. The central theme is the subjugation of the individual, where the promise of a superior cyborg body (high-tech) comes at the cost of the soul (low-life). Hawkins becomes a weapon of the ruling powers, highlighting the dangers of totalitarian AI control over identity and personal autonomy. The use of a post-holocaust setting provides a grim backdrop of corporate-military overreach.